Starring: Blue, Donald

Directed by: Osgood Perkins

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

Synopsis: An updated version of the Grimms’ tale finds Gretel (Sophia Lillis) coming of age as she battles the reclusive witch (Alice Krige).

Cat Burglars (Scene Stealers): When Gretel and her little brother Hansel (Samuel Leakey) come upon the witch’s house they spy all kinds of delicious food inside. Hansel sneaks in through an opening. As he enters, a Sphynx cat can just barely be seen through a doorway in the background.

The cat, who is not named and is never seen interacting with the witch at all, is usually with the children in their room. Their first night in the witch’s home they have eaten themselves full. First the cat rubs against Gretel and then hops over to Hansel’s bed.

Often when Gretel wakes from nightmares the first thing she sees is the cat sitting on Hansel’s bed.

In one shot the cat is again at the end of the hallway.

As Gretel shares her concerns with Hansel, the cat is on Gretel’s bed in the background. Unfortuately the cat jumps down from the bed at one point which leads to the animal being in some shots but not others in the same scene.

After Gretel has defeated the witch she is seated with the cat on her lap.

The cat was played by two cat actors, Blue and his sister Donald (no that is not a typo, Donald is a female!) According to The Nenagh Guardian, an Irish newspaper, the Sphynx cats belong to Aimee Hanson, a veterinary nurse. The animal coordinators on the film were Rita Maloney and Phillipe Zone working for Fircroft Animal Actors.

Final Mewsings: Cats can cause continuity errors.

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