Starring: Gizmo Cat, Cullen, Zero and Butters
Directed by: Steve Rudzinski

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: A cat named Ms. Whiskers (played by cat actor Gizmo Cat and voiced by Amie Wrenn) and a mouse named Chuck (played by mouse actor Kida and voiced by Aaron Fletchersmith) help their inept owner Detective Wally Griswald (Steve Rudzinski) solve the mystery of disappearing Christmas presents.

Featured Feline: Ms. Whiskers (who is always called Mr. Whiskers by the clueless Wally) is a chonky tabby cat who likes to make cat puns that drive Chuck the mouse crazy.

Ms. Whiskers religiously watches an online program called Data Battle Live which is hosted by a conspiracy-driven nut. He warns everyone that corporations have kidnapped Santa to keep Christmas as a money-making venture. Oh, and aliens are also to blame. Ms. Whiskers buys into all this and dreams of fighting the aliens. Charles is less convinced.

This plays into Ms. Whiskers concerns when strangers start visiting a house nearby, little realizing the people she suspects are the package thieves.

It all leads to a really goofy Home Alone rip-off in which Whiskers and Chuck set traps to catch the crooks.

Kitty Cameos: A long-haired tabby cat named Cleveland (played by cat actor Cullen and voiced by Dave Hubbard) and a ginger tabby cat named Arthur (played by cat actor Zero and voiced by Robert Miller) are seen doing nothing to stop the crooks robbing their home because, as Cleveland explains, “I got cat stuff to do.”

Later Ms. Whiskers watches a YouTube video starring an orange and white cat named Kevin (played by cat actor Butters and voiced by Kevin Klem) who does unboxing videos, meaning the cat rates the box itself.

Let’s be honest, this short movie is low budget and inane, but the actors give it their all and while it is aimed at kids it surprisingly does not talk down to them. It also doesn’t take itself at all seriously, such as when completely obvious fake cat paws are used to show Ms. Whiskers setting up the traps. But in the first scene Rudzinski is bouncing the cat actor around roughly and then supposedly brushing Ms. Whiskers teeth while literally sticking the toothbrush in the poor cat’s eye. Thankfully most of the time the cat and mouse actor are just filmed by themselves.

There was actually a second entry in this series, A Meowy Halloween, which we will review at some point.

Final Mewsings: Cats don’t like having their eyes brushed.

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