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film

WHEN CATS ACT
by Michael Bergeron
March 2005

Did you hear about the cat that shot its owner? (Some guy left a loaded gun on the shelf that the kitty knocked over.) Or maybe the guy in Wisconsin who wants their state Senate to make it legal to gun down stray cats ­ it must be something in the cheese. The former story sounds like the cat did it on purpose. Quite frankly the cat probably had good reason. Like the owner wanted to make the tabby wear Soft Paws (www.softpaws.com), which are vinyl nail caps invented by a vet so he could have more crap to sell pet owners.

Regardless, cats are news just for being themselves, and when they appear in films they are infectiously cute if not cunningly feline. Anyone who saw the Oscars has to be scratching their heads over the fact that Morgan Freeman won Best Supporting Actor while Puss In Boots from Shrek 2 was not even nominated. The current film Inside Deep Throat includes a shot of Linda Lovelace¹s cat, named Adolph Hitler. The filmmakers cut to a shot of her hirsute companion and sure enough the soft white fur of its head is distinguished by a black dash atop its lip.

Three short subjects featuring cats only reinforce the notion that these tiny tigers are capable of the same emotions, perhaps even greater, than expressed by humans. The highest profile would belong to Lorenzo, an animated short from Disney studios that was up for an Academy Award this year. Like the Disney produced effort from a few years ago Destino (a concept originally started by Walt Disney and Salvador Dali and completed many years later by Disney animators), Lorenzo was an idea nearly a generation old that has only now seen the light of day. Made using computer software that imitates the look of tempura paint, Lorenzo spotlights a cat dancing to a tango with its own tail. Lorenzo was also run as the opening short to the Disney feature Raising Helen.

More cutting-edge are two more shorts found while perusing the schedule of the Slamdance Film Festival: Milton is a Shitbag and Ceasar Eats a Mouse. Milton was an entry in 2004 and Ceasar played this year. Both offered lovable yet quick to anger felines.

Milton is a Shitbag, another animated effort, sports a great website (www.miltonisashitbag.com) offering t-shirts, credits and reminds that Milton will be making upcoming appearances at film festivals in Beaumont and Galveston next month. Milton is the brainchild of Austin filmmaker Courtney Davis and chronicles the ins and outs of living with a cat full of attitude. Milton runs about 4 minutes and shows the merciless mouser making its owner¹s life complete hell.

Ceasar Eats a Mouse originated as part of the Slamdance $99 Special, wherein filmmakers are given $99 to make a short film. As the title would imply Ceasar, a black cat with an icy hypnotic stare, snacks on an unfortunate rodent and then calmly trots over to its food bowl obviously to complete its a two-course meal. Hardly an animal snuff film, Ceasar represents cinema verité according to New York based filmmaker Joe Maggio. Responding to an email question about his film Maggio replied that nothing about the short was staged. "I was playing around with my new video camera," Maggio stated. ³And suddenly I heard this awful commotion and saw that Caesar was chasing a mouse.

I figured, it's the laws of nature at work, right? I'm not going to stop him because frankly I don't like having mice in my apartment." Ceasar Eats a Mouse depicts progressive cat and mouse antics as if Ceasar were choreographing his action to the music on the radio, and in the middle of the mayhem the phone rings and a New Year¹s message is heard being left on the answering machine in the background. One would think a cat that had just chowed down on a mouse wouldn¹t still be hungry for more food. After all, cats are known for their peculiarity not for being overeaters. ³When he goes to his food bowl - that I can't explain,² wrote Maggio. "I guess the mouse was a bit of an appetizer, or perhaps it left a bad taste in his mouth. Who knows, right?"

Some things are certain when it comes to cats. If you have one in the house don't leave loaded weapon lying around. It's a safe bet that if your viewing habits include media with kitties you won't be disappointed with their innate ability to entertain.