Jesper Brun Oh my, what a watch! This is definitely not for everyone who is either very fond of cats or just expecting animation to be for kids. It is littered with disturbing images, explicit sexual content and complex and harsh themes from reality. The animation is terrific with great detail added to enhance the mood of whatever it is trying to get across. The effort put into it astounds me, and it could easily have been a Don Bluth project on par with The Secret of Nimh. But that's taking it a little too far, because to be honest it has some flaws which takes down a notch. The character movements were almost always constant, and it was distracting and exhausting to watch at times. It is not ruining the film at all, but made my thoughts wander once in a while. The film is driven by dialogue most of the time, and the voice actors were good, but sometimes the lines seemed like filler and were at times awkward. You may sometimes wonder why they said that particular line, that's how I felt. The discussions they have about the mystery going on is engaging, but can get a little tedious when not much is going on around. But the atmosphere added by the bleakly sounding musical score and the top-notch animation which added the most disturbing nightmare scenes and gory images I have seen yet in an animated movie make this a standout in the world of animation. But watch it at your own risk. You have been warned!

Alyssa Black (Aly200) Who knew that a story about a cat solving a series of brutal murders could be so engrossing? Germany entered this controversial thriller into the animation game that has become the country's own masterpiece, earning global praise. Its fame has even surpassed the literary source novel it was based upon.Francis is a house-cat who has just moved to a new neighborhood with his magazine writer owner and stumbles into a murder mystery that involves scientific experimentation, a feline cult and a bloody body count as he gets closer to the truth. Aided by a colorful cast of diverse characters from the wise-cracking deformed Bluebeard (Bleubart in German), the blind, gentle and wise Felicity (Felicitas in German) to the fatherly figure-like and all- knowing Pascal, Francis comes to learn that the truth is stranger and more horrifying than he could have known. Our leading feline is a simple cat who must become a hero in extraordinary circumstances. Francis is naive yet intelligent despite little knowledge of the film's events prior to his introduction. His voice is what guides us through the story as we see everything from his perspective, allowing us access into his mind when Francis begins to experience nightmares so horrible that it pushes the limit of what should be seen. Francis is also flawed as he gives in to temptations that could cost him his life or the answers to the murders, but in the end the hero does prevail thanks to his resourcefulness, razor-sharp wit and fierce combat skills.The violence is graphic and unyielding as the bloody aftermath is not shielded from the viewer. We never actually see the crimes occur, but are given details in some instances that would make one's stomach twist and turn. The carnage is spine-chilling as the murders grow more gruesome in the film's short run-time (I won't divulge here for the sake of not offending my readers). Best not to see this on a full stomach or if you are squeamish.The narrative takes many twists and turns as the mystery is slowly unraveled. By the time the killer's identity is revealed, the tension is so thick that the air could be cut with knives and still the adrenaline pumps through the veins. Even as the fiery and brutal final battle takes place, you can't look away as the hero and killer face off in the most epic cat- fight since "The Lion King (ironically released the same year as "Felidae")". It is only over when blood is spilled, but there is a bittersweet final word of advice that wraps up the film with a bow but not in a condescending way.If you are brave enough, give this little gem a watch but be prepared for one hell of a ride.

Screen Squinty This is not the kind of animated feature that you would stick the kiddies in front of unless they have a great deal of maturity to understand graphic (violent) imagery. This is a story that takes talking animals to a whole different, nitty-gritty level.The first thing to note is the differences between the original German voice acting and the English dub later developed. You can tell right off when doing a comparison between the two, that the voice acting and the lines is definitely better in the German one, the voice actors matching their characters personalities quite well, with Ulrich Tukar as the voice of Francis and Mario Adorf as Blaubart. The English version cleaned up a lot of the language which actually felt part in setting the tone, particularly of Blaubart, and did have some noticeable differences to wording outside of that which was not to the film's advantage.So like with anything else that is done in a language different from your own, if your English, stick to the subtitled version if you want the full effect of the film.The animation was a rather fascinating mix of the standard, though good, quality of animation during that period, but then you get these moments where it takes a step above itself, particularly in Francis' dream sequences, and one in particular whose contents won't be given away, but its style works well with the disturbing and potent imagery you're not likely to forget.There is also a sense of environment with this, an idea of the sort of old run down once lofty urban district which is established through the movements of the cats, done particularly well through a really well animated and detailed chase scene between Francis and the cult followers.The story itself is another highlight, appropriate given the popularity of the books, the narrative flows from one sequence to another well enough, though there are moments that do feel a little rushed, it does weave its mystery in a very engaging way with equally engaging characters, Blaubart being a nice humorously crass counterpoint when it gets a little too heavy at the right times. It actually reads almost like a film noir, with some of the tropes of the genre, but not dominantly so.One of the things going against it is that there are certain things that do make it dated, and a product of its times, such as a scene or two of less than PC use of homosexuality in a negative connotation, particularly exemplified in the scene between Kong and his crew and Francis and Blaubart in the first half, but that is very brief thankfully, and doesn't impact with the rest of the film, so it can be skipped.The other negative perhaps is that while the climatic ending was really well done, the "bad humans and there corruption" message did feel a little forced here, almost shoe horned in with those last words of the antagonist, and then Francis before he passes out. It felt already established and stated by the antagonist's back story already, but then again, it is a product of its time, and it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the film.This was a great film that has a really compelling narrative and tone that sucks you in, a great set of characters in Francis and Blaubart, great animation, particularly in the dream sequences, and a gripping action-filled ending, if a little preachy here and there. Definitely a recommended watch for those who enjoy a good horror/mystery, are not squeamish, and like good quality adult animation.

cdietz94-667-599244 I love cats, I own 6 of 'em myself. I heard of this film while watching Watership Down (Which was excellent) and decided to check it out. It has a pretty decent dub, but an unknown dub cast.The film itself is bloody brilliant. Its a mystery of a hybrid of Sherlock Holmes and Batman, the animation on the cats is rather good and the sheer amount of gore and blood in this movie is astounding so DO NOT let your kids watch it.I want their to be a proper American release someday, outside of Youtube. Truly an underrated classic.89/100