IMDb > Felidae (1994) > IMDb user comments

IMDb user comments for
Felidae (1994) More at IMDbPro »

Filter: Hide Spoilers:
Page 1 of 2:[1] [2] [Next]
Index 18 comments in total 

6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A rare movie, 9 March 2008
10/10
Author: Meaghan Edwards from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

After seeing The Plague Dogs for the first time and being very impressed by it, I was told about Felidae. At first, I was cautious. I'm not a big fan of of sci-fi and gory movies in general, but this movie turned out to far better than I had anticipated.

Not only was the storyline well written, the quality of the animation was great. There were no obvious CGI effects -- which the movie didn't need -- which sadly seems to be a rarity these days. For those of you who think animated movies are just for kids, guess again! For those looking for a well made, adult animated movie, consider giving this one a try. I did, and did not regret it.

Was the above comment useful to you?

5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow!, 5 April 2009
8/10
Author: Vastarien202 from United States

This is an amazing film. I had never heard of it before yesterday, but I found and watched it on Youtube....talk about blown away! I was not expecting such a deep story, or how graphic it was. I didn't walk in expecting Rainbow-Brite, but I was completely unprepared for the intense gore and scenes of the lab. I literally couldn't watch some parts of that, and I'm a gore-hound and horror fan. I'm not complaining, I just got caught off guard by it. I understand why it was done, and it was integral to the plot, but...brrrr. Anyway, I can't praise this film enough. The colors are rich, the characters are solid and strong, and the artwork is magnificent. I was surprised at how recently this was made, because it has the feel of something done much earlier. I have three felines of my own, and the body movements and mannerisms were perfectly right. As soon as the credits rolled, I immediately placed an order for this film. I will give it a place of honor in my animation collection, and I suggest you do the same. Just be aware that this is in no way a film for kids, and you have only yourself to blame if they see it and freak. Just hug your kitties when it's over.

Was the above comment useful to you?

7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Feline brilliance, 7 July 2006
9/10
Author: patronise from Australia

Isn't it always a shame that the best films are often the most unknown? I had to order my copy through eBay from a German seller to get my hands on the DVD of Felidae. Although there are no English subtitles, thankfully there is at least English dubbing, albeit in Dolby 2.0 as opposed to 5.1. Still, the English voice talent is quiet excellent and never irks, the way some foreign dubs can. Now, onto the actual film, Felidae is a feast for the eyes. What initially appears to be a typical animation with lavish colours, top art and high production values becomes much more. For one, there is animated violence that would shock an adult Japanese animation studio. We're talking gritty, horrid violence that makes this tale all the more real. Secondly, there are some brilliant dream sequences with incredibly surreal effects that just have to be seen. The most alluring aspect of this film is most definitely its noir feel. There's a murder mystery, thugs, grit and guts, femme fatales and a story that'll make your eyes pop. The story is arguably the most intriguing yet seen in animation. It covers cults, murder, ancient Egypt, animal experimentation, genetics and much more. It's definitely a film you need to see multiple times to soak it all up. Lastly, a word of warning. This is a feline noir film, so there's not only violence, but sex too. Yes, kitty porn. Well, not really, but it's definitely an unexpected event even for this animation. One of the best things you can do right now is to hope online to eBay or some other store and get yourself a copy of this excellent DVD. Here's hoping that someday there will be a re-release of this film with subtitles so that us non-Germans can watch the film in its original language, listen to the directors commentary and understand what's being said in the making of.

Was the above comment useful to you?

8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Great book adaptation, not so great execution, 19 July 2004
10/10
Author: andriy-tanatar from Toronto

I have to say: I love this animation. This was one of the few movies I tried to find for years - and when I found it, I wasn't disappointed.

Bad things first. The movie is obviously a book adaptation. It is a good book adaptation, since it preserves most of the plot. Unfortunately, due to this approach the actual movie story line lacks smoothness and some attention to details. There are also very few 3d effects if you are concerned, but there couldn't have possible been many at that time.

Good things. Plot is great! It keeps you wondering what happens until the last moment, so, when I found the final scene lacking sound on the tape I ordered I had to re-order it. Animation is *very* fine - the cats are all real. I've never ever seen a better cat animation. There are no holes in the plot.

Conclusion. Not the best thing to watch for pre-teens, but just fine if you're 14 and above, since the movie has scenes of sex and violence. The execution is unusual, but hard to find, the plot is solid, all the characters are great, and you've got to see that cat animation!

Was the above comment useful to you?

5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
dark vivid beautiful and staggeringly artistic violence., 18 October 2007
10/10
Author: pointofbeing from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Before I saw this movie I thought the darkest and most beautiful animal based animated movie ever, was the secret of nymph. honestly every challenging and dark subplot of that movie is done here, only better. there's animal cults, there's scientists playing god, there are also false profits, there's a fight scene with enough violence to make Clive barker blush, there's also side taking and backstabbing, sexuality, a beautifully mature who done it plot, and to top it off it's brutally violent in an artistic way.

SPOILER ALERT: when Frances first enters his revealing dream's the beauty of the animation is unmatched in artistic beauty, the dark faceless scientist that merges into reality out of the shadows is one of the finniest thing's I've ever seen animated, the pixar Disney animation of domination has no heart compared to this stuff, the other one of the finniest things I've ever seen animated, surprisingly comes later in this same movie, in Frances second revealing vision, he sees a false profit talk of the amazing improvement's to hibernation and genetics while this massive dark master gets crosses with strings attached to the damned cat's that have been mutilated, this is the darkest most beautiful thing I've ever seen, I'm an avid fan of a comic called JACK, and that's the closest thing to this kind of artistic violence.

SPOILER ALERT 2: The story flows to it's conclusion which has a fight seen, if this fight seen with fire surrounding to melodramatic cat's fighting to the death is accurate to the 1989 book, then Disney has clearly riped this ending off in the lion king(still a good movie). This seen flows with a great brutal battle with an finality that is both emotional and ultra violent, in fact this whole movie, feels like a mix between the emotional beauty of Don Bluth, with the artistic violence of Clive Barker. I saw the dubbed English version, which i was expecting to be horrid, but most of the voices fit, and gave heart in their acting. which is what really counts. seriously if your a fan of any of these three Clive Barker, Don Blouth, or David Hopkins, then you owe it to your self to see this movie.

Was the above comment useful to you?

3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
An exceptional film, 18 August 2009
8/10
Author: lisacamillek from Switzerland

Felidae is a noir cartoon about cats and murder, based on the best-selling novel by the same name. It is very rare and unique in its genre - an animated animal picture with some of the most disturbing and dark subjects in film.

A serial killer slaying fellow cats in gruesome manners when they are on heat with the wrong race. There are visions of hell, animal experimentation, dead mutilated bodies, sex scenes and race purification - very much like Germany was during the Nazi regime.

It starts out as a plot similar to Basic Instinct, has a human-like tone just as Watership Down had, gruesome murder notions and Satan worshiping somewhat akin to Angel Heart and a few tragic characters like in Apocalypse Now.

Not recommended for children of course! But it is true to the novel and shows the world as we are in now, violent, hateful and cruel and more so in the past but with a future that still leads a way to hope.

Was the above comment useful to you?

4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
For an animated movie, surprisingly gruesome - but *so* worth a watch!, 19 December 2002
Author: Maja B (hkmaja) from Hong Kong

When I rented out this movie a few years ago, I was expecting a cute, maybe even sappy happy little movie. Instead, I got one of the most disturbing animated strips I've ever seen.

First of all, having read the two books by now, kudos to Pirincci for making a murder story concerning CATS into such an intriguing tale. I remember being mesmerized by it more than the usual Who-did-it? murder mystery. It held me glued to the screen and actually repulsed in some of the more gorey scenes (Yuh huh, plenty of gorey stuff at that. In an animated cat movie. Whaddaya know.) I think the best thing about the movie, as well as the book, is the perspective from which the story is told: We see the entire movie with Francis, the cat, narrating and giving off his wisecracking and smartarsey comments. It's amazing just how well Pirincci portrayed the general cat's attitude; He manages to keep the arrogance and general feline-ness about them yet manages to bring more complex, what we believe to be human themes into the story without making it seem presumptuous or farfetched.

So if you like cats, aren't too turned off by the idea of seeing some fur and intestines flying while our most beloved kittycoos reveal their somewhat darker side, this is a movie you should definately see.

Was the above comment useful to you?

6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Can anyone tell me WHY there's been no American release?????, 27 April 2006
10/10
Author: maxeythecat from United States

I love this film! After spending nearly two years trying to track it down, I finally got a copy thru Amazon Germany, which wasn't the easiest thing to do when you don't speak or read a lick of German! Clever little me...I opened up two windows on my computer, one with American Amazon and the other with the German version and since both pages are laid out exactly the same, I just used the US one as a guide and went from there.

Anyway, I got my copy and I gotta tell ya, I was quite pleased with the film....the animation is great, the imagery at times quite stunning ( the dream sequences especially) and the English vocal cast ain't too bad. Obviously it's not a film for kids and should appeal to those adult animation nuts such as myself that prefer something a bit edgy, and most definitely a film that should've been seen on this side of the water ages ago. My question is why hasn't it? Is it possible that the House of Mouse had a hand in preventing this from being shown in the US just like they prevented the Jungle Emperor Leo theatrical film from being shown? Wouldn't surprise me..."Felidae" was released in 1994, and if I remember correctly Mr. Eisner was pretty heavy handed when it came to squelching all competition real or perceived when it came to any other "Disneyfied" animated film from a rival studio. Too bad, because this is a film that deserved a lot better than it got.

Was the above comment useful to you?

6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant, 14 August 2002
10/10
Author: Jochen Maas (Jochen_Maas1@web.de) from Elstal

I think this is one of the best German movies ever made,especially because of the genre (crime), which is something Germans are good in because it is serious( look at all the german movies in the 30´s). Unfortunately, it wasn´t a big success, probably because people still think that animated movies are only for kids. Unfortunately, even animated movies for kids and adults, only work because they are also made for kids( with the exception of South Park).Especially, because this is something out of the ordinary, I give it a 10.

Was the above comment useful to you?

2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A Unique, One-of-a-Kind Murder Mystery!, 27 April 2009
10/10
Author: paranoid-basterds2009 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I never once expected to get what came out of "Felidae", a German animated film directed by Michael Schaack which, in this humble reviewer's opinion, may in fact be one of the most original films made in the 1990s; an animated film covering a vast number of genres such as mystery, science fiction, and horror and including elements of surrealism, comedy, and good old-fashioned suspense. However, a parent really should keep their children away from "Felidae", being that it's a mature film with mature themes revolving around violence and sex. But inside those themes is a film with a very powerful message, and one really hard to stop thinking about.

"Felidae" features many metaphors, touching on such things as political control, animal brutality, and sexual promiscuity. But its all buried deep down in a film that's surface is a fascinating and intriguing mystery in which the film's hero, a cat named Francis, tries his best to piece together the mystery behind the serial killings of local cats; all while battling with his own personal sexual urges and frequent, terrifying nightmares. Many characters he has to face include a blind female cat in which he gathers secret information from, a butch cat who sets his eye on raping the film's hero with the help of his transsexual lovers, an old man living in a hole surrounded by skeletons claiming the dead walk to him, and a femme fatale kitten who the film's hero has sex with, only to figure out that there's more to her than meets the eye.

As I stated, "Felidae" covers very mature themes, but its all relevant to its message, and when the film ends (minus the last 30 seconds which are, in my opinion, a bit bogus) it was practically impossible to shake off what I had just saw. It's a one-of-a-kind film, with one of the scariest scenes I have ever witnessed in an animated film, and is surely, in its own unique way, a masterpiece.

Was the above comment useful to you?
Page 1 of 2:[1] [2] [Next]

Add another comment

Related Links

Plot summary Ratings External reviews
Parents Guide Plot keywords Main details
Your user comments Your vote history