Movie · 2010 · Animation, Comedy · 1h 10m · PG · French
Curator score: 6.0/10 (33.6K ratings)
By day, a pet... By night, a thief!
Overview
A thrilling mystery that unfurls in the alleys and on the rooftops of the French capital, Paris, over the course of one adventurous evening.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.0/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.69/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Metacritic: 63
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Production
Folimage, Digit Anima, France 3 Cinéma, Gébéka Films
Cast
Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone, Jean Benguigui, Bernadette Lafont, Oriane Zani, Patrick Ridremont, Jacques Ramade, Jean-Pierre Yvars, Bernard Bouillon, Philippe Hartmann, Patrick Descamps, Yves Barbaut, Line Wiblé
Curator Review
Verdict
A stylish, compact animated mystery with real visual personality, balancing child-height emotion, rooftop suspense, and a playful noir mood. Its hand-drawn look and Paris-at-night atmosphere do a lot of the heavy lifting, but the film’s charm and momentum make it easy to recommend.
Best for
families looking for a smart animated adventure
viewers who like light noir and mystery stories
fans of distinctive European animation
people who enjoy short, elegant films with strong atmosphere
Skip if
you want broad comedy or constant jokes
you prefer hyper-polished mainstream animation
you need a very deep or twist-heavy crime plot
you dislike stories that are more mood-driven than intricate
Overview
A Cat in Paris is a small movie with a big sense of style. It turns Paris into a nocturnal playground of roofs, alleys, shadows, and silhouettes, and the animation gives every frame a hand-crafted, slightly angular beauty that feels instantly memorable.
Worth noting
What makes it work is the mix of tones: part family drama, part caper, part gentle noir. The mystery is simple enough for younger viewers to follow, but the film keeps enough tension and visual invention to stay lively for adults too.
Bottom line
It is not trying to be deep or complicated, and that is part of its appeal. The emotional thread is clear, the pacing is brisk, and the cat is exactly as useful and cool as you want a movie cat to be.
Top Letterboxd reviews
lauren (4★) · 435 likes
cats 👏 get 👏 shit 👏 done 👏
potatorican (5★) · 325 likes
god every frame of this movie is beautiful
🦇 · 224 likes
oh to be a cat in paris
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3.5★) · 170 likes
JUNIMATION II: F*** YEAH!
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, the film follows a young Parisian girl whose (badass awesome) cat leads her to unravel a thrilling mystery over the course of a single evening.
One of the things that immediately stood out for me, as has been the case for many of these films this year, was the animation. Everything is very, ah, how do I put it? Pointy? Stretched out? Both? It's definitely pretty original and… more