by Mark Murton
Starring: Benny and Jimmy
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Eccentric but loveable Georgia (Georgia Groome) deals with the ups and downs of being a teenager.
Featured Feline: The titular Angus makes his first appearance sitting outside the family home during the opening credits.
Inside the house Georgia opens the fridge to find Angus inside, put there by her younger sister, Libby (Eva Drew).
Libby dresses Angus up in a bib and bonnet . . .
. . . as well as sticking a dummy in his mouth.
Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Looking for an excuse to talk to Robbie (Aaron Taylor-Young), the new boy at school that she fancies, Georgia visits the shop where he works and is delighted to find he too has a cat, a tabby he calls Jubbly.
Georgia hatches a plan with her best friend Jaz (Eleanor Tomlinson) to fake the disappearance of Angus so that Robbie will agree to help find him and in the process spend time with her.
Things don’t go quite as planned when Jaz, walking Angus on a lead, is distracted by her attraction to Robbie’s brother Tom (Sean Bourke). Angus spots a poodle and takes chase.
Angus is captured by Tom just as Georgia and Robbie arrive on the scene.
Later, the family, including Angus, see Georgia’s dad off as he leaves for a new job overseas.
Angus’ next appearance is when Georgia comes home from school to find Libby has dressed him in a bridal outfit!
Angus comforts Georgia as she ponders her future.
Georgia’s mother (Karen Taylor) comforts her in the kitchen while Libby is dressing Angus in spaghetti!
When Georgia’s 15th birthday arrives, Angus watches on as she’s awoken by her mother and sister bringing her a cake.
Georgia’s mum and school friends have arranged a surprise party for her where Robbie’s band, the Stiff Dylans, play live, with Robbie sporting an Angus t-shirt as the film heads for its feel-good conclusion.
Angus makes one final appearance, again in the kitchen in fancy dress courtesy of Libby.
Behind the Scenes
Angus was played by two Smokey Persian cats named Benny and Jimmy. The cat actors were supplied by Birds and Animals UK, with Esther Kelly and Mark Vaughan acting as Animal Wranglers. Julie Tottman also worked with the cats on the film, as mentioned in her book Superstar Cats.
The cat actors show extreme patience in being dressed up in costumes. They are also very talented, which is obvious in the scene when Angus is chasing the poodle . . . this is done in a wide shot with both the dog and cat present as well as the actors in the background. Usually the cat scenes are shot completely separately using edits to put the other animal and human actors into the scene. Cat actor Benny even made an appearance at the film’s premiere, held by director Gurinder Chadha.
In the book (titled Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging) Angus was a mixed-breed (half domestic tabby and half Scottish Wildcat) and just one of four cats owned by the character Georgia.
Posters were even printed with the “Angus Rocks” logo seen on Robbie’s t-shirt.
Final Mewsings: Just because cats let you dress them up it doesn’t mean they enjoy it!
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