BEFORE: Well, damn, this is not the way the new year was supposed to start. I've got this crazy notion that as my January 1 goes, so goes my year. It's a silly superstition, I know. Last year I kicked things off with "Les Miserables" and it sort of set the tone for a year of dark movies - or maybe I'd already watched most of the fun ones, who can say? But my wife had been SO looking forward to seeing that film, making her wait until Jan. 1 was the hard part. Since this year she'd been similarly looking forward to "Anchorman 2" (she's only watched the original, like, a million times...) I thought we'd try to replicate the feat of going out to the theater to start the year.
Then, once we got back from Christmas in Massachusetts, I got sick. Head cold followed by stomach flu, or perhaps it's some new supervirus that's constantly mutating. Then, SHE got sick. And New Year's Day was on a Wednesday, we were exhausted and didn't have the strength to go out, and you get the idea. So then I thought maybe I'd hold off starting Movie Year 6 until Saturday, we can go out to the movies then - and... cue the blizzard which is about to have the whole tri-state area in its icy grip. Now I don't know WHEN we'll be able to dig out and go to the theater. Clearly, a new plan is required before I start falling behind in the count again.
So, cue up the animation and kiddie films. This one seems to be the hardest to link to, so that's my starting point. In case you're just joining me, I've also got this silly superstition that films need to be linked by shared actors whenever possible, if no shared actors then I have to name a separate film that connects an actor from one film to an actor in the following film. OK, it's really not a superstition, it's more of an OCD thing. (The exception - no need to link between the last film of 2013 and the first film of 2014. A new chain begins tonight.) I'll start here and see where the linking takes me.
The good news is, there are so many cameos in the "Anchorman" sequel (yes, I peeked) that no matter when we see it, I can link to it from just about any other movie. So maybe in 2 weeks when the car is unfettered by snow, we can venture out again. And if I'm housebound for another long weekend, even better, I can watch more movies.
Celebrating symmetry in all of its forms, I realize that last year I began with a film set in France, and I'm doing that again. Switching to this film also gives me a chance to mention my annual Jan. 1 dedication - we lost our cat Gypsy this year. (OK, we didn't lose her, she died...we know where she is.) I didn't get much into the details 6 months ago, but perhaps I will tonight.
THE PLOT: Mouser Jaune-Tom and housecat Mewsette are living in the French country side, but Mewsette wants to experience the refinement and excitement of the Paris living.
FOLLOW-UP TO: "The Aristocats" (Movie #1,001)
AFTER: I honestly never even knew this film existed, until TCM ran it a few months back. Which is odd because I work in the animation industry, and I feel pretty knowledgeable about animated features in general (plus my Mom took me to nearly every Disney film released or re-released during my childhood). But, this is NOT a Disney film, it's a Warner Bros. film, so the fact that it's not very well-known just demonstrates the type of stranglehold that Disney had on the marketplace in the 1960's.
But let's put all that aside for a second - is the film any good? The story is really quite basic - a female cat heads for Paris, and a male cat follows. They both get into some trouble in the big city before they're reunited. Honestly, this could have been a killer short film, but when you throw in a fair number of rather simplistic songs ("Roses Are Red"? You don't say...), some chase scenes and a few other delaying tactics, you've got yourself a feature. A lot of the humor also depends on whether you find puns like "Meow-lin Rouge" acceptable.
I thought there was one stand-out song, performed by Thurl Ravenscroft (most known for being the voice of Tony the Tiger, and singing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the old TV Christmas special). But they didn't really know what to do with the evil characters while this song is sung, so they just sort of dance around or walk along the rooftops, so whatever plot there is seems to come to a dead stop during all the musical numbers.
Midway through, there's a listing of French artists and all their different styles - I'm in favor of this on principle, even though it's sort of an over-simplification of the ways that Monet, Van Gogh and Seurat painted. Monet - "air and space"? Really? Was that was he was going for? And did you know Van Gogh sometimes used paints straight out of the tube? WOW! And let's keep an eye on that young upstart, Pablo Picasso - that kid's really going places. Unfortunately, all of this seemed very disconnected from the main storyline. Why would cats even be concerned with the great French artists, or art at all for that matter? It just seemed like more filler.
But the film looks great - the French countryside is often portrayed using designs similar to Monet's work, so that really makes it look like something out of an art museum. By contrast, the animation of the cats was comparable to the Tom & Jerry cartoons from the same era. You know, the ones where you don't see any human faces, but you see a lot of people's hands and feet? But before the Tom & Jerry cartoons got all weird in the 1970's, where the animation was really loose and the sound was all muted, like everyone was underwater.
There's not much of an ending - the film just sort of stops when the main characters reunite. I guess there was nothing more to say, or the project ran out of money. Or maybe I just fell asleep, I'm not sure. If I have time tonight I'll re-watch the last 15 minutes to be sure I didn't miss anything.
Oh, right, Gypsy. Part Maine Coon cat, the long-haired freak who liked to stick her head under the faucet and also lick the shower. She was found on the streets of Brooklyn, pregnant and covered in paint, but she cleaned up real good and ended up practically running our house. We somehow integrated her with my older cat Merlin, but after that she wouldn't let any other cats in the house, or any other humans without her approval, basically. And she would never let anyone rub her belly, except for me, late at night in those last few months. I think she liked it, but she found that out way too late. A very photogenic cat, she liked eating grass the few times I let her into the backyard, but I had to keep her on a leash, because if she saw another cat or a squirrel or something, she'd tear off after it. And if she saw a bug or mouse inside the house, she stayed focused on it until it was caught or dead. That was a great cat.
Starring the voices of Judy Garland (last seen in "Meet Me In St. Louis"), Robert Goulet, Red Buttons (last seen in "The Poseidon Adventure"), Paul Frees, Hermione Gingold (last seen in "Around the World in 80 Days"), Mel Blanc, Morey Amsterdam.
RATING: 4 out of 10 champignons
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