Starring: Stimpy, Felix, Mad Cat, Clyde, Killer, Rio, Tom-Cat, and ‘Fraidy Cat
Directed by: Kenny Ortega
This review contains a couple of Kitty Carnage Warnings!
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: In 1639 Salem, three dastardly witches, Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy) are hung for killing a young girl to steal her life force. The villagers don’t know that the witches have turned the girl’s brother, Thackery Binx (Sean Murray), into a cat and have condemned him to eternal life. Three hundred years later on Halloween night a new kid in town, Max Dennison (Omri Katz), accidentally resurrects the sisters who then plot to steal Max’s little sister Dani’s (Thora Birch) life force. With the help of Binx, who is still a cat (voiced by Jason Marsden), and a fellow student named Allison (Vinessa Shaw), they struggle to put an end to the witches’ evil practices once and for all.
Featured Feline: Thackery Binx is turned into a cat by the Sanderson sisters after he attempts to rescue his little sister. Along with the change is a curse that dooms the boy to remain a cat forever and never be able to die.
Poor Binx is not able to explain to his family what happened to him and they consider him lost.
Three hundred years later when Max, Allison and Dani enter the Sanderson’s house, Binx watches them through the window.
Binx tries to stop Max from stupidly lighting the black candle by jumping on him.
Unfortunately Max still lights the candle and the witches appear. Binx tries to stop Winifred from hurting Dani by jumping on the witch’s shoulder.
As the kids make their escape, Binx says “Nice going, Max!” then urges him to grab the Book. Max is shocked that the cat can talk.
Binx leads them to a graveyard, which is hallowed ground the witches cannot enter, and explains his story.
Winifred casts a spell to raise the dead, bringing up Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones) which shocks the kids and Binx.
Kitty Carnage Warning! Binx helps the kids escape through a sewer but is unfortunately hit by a bus (driven by Sarah) when they emerge. But Binx, although flattened (and obviously fake), comes back to life, having been cursed with eternal life.
The kids try to convince the adults at a Halloween party about the Sister’s resurrection but the witches cast a spell on the entire party, instructing them to dance all night.
Luring the witches to the school, the kids and Binx trap them in a kiln and roast them.
Thinking themselves safe, Binx is offered a home by Max and Dani.
While Binx sleeps with Dani, Max and Allison open the Book, which leads the witches to them. Binx jumps on the Book and swipes at them, warning them that nothing good can come from looking into the Book.
The witches come after the kids and they run to the graveyard again but Dani is captured. Binx bravely runs up a tree to the rescue.
Kitty Carnage Warning! Attacking Winnifred, Binx saves Dani from immediate danger but is thrown violently to the ground, hitting a rock.
Sadly Binx dies but with the defeat of the witches Thackery’s soul is finally released.
This is a somewhat dark and scary movie considering it’s for kids, but despite really harsh and unfair initial criticism upon its initial release, the film has garnered a loyal following over the years, and has become a favorite for many, especially around Halloween, even spawning a sequel.
Behind the Scenes
The head animal trainer on this film was Gary Gero assisted by trainers Larry Madrid and Stacy M. Basil with Birds and Animals Unlimited. Eight cat actors named Stimpy, Felix, Mad Cat, Clyde, Killer, Rio, Tom-Cat, and ‘Fraidy Cat were employed to perform the different tricks needed for the film. Clickers and food rewards were used to encourage the kitties to perform. The special effects house Rhythm and Hues used both animatronic puppetry and digital animation to create Binx’s ability to speak.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, cast members shared memories of making the film, including some stories regarding the cat actors and their characters.
Vinessa Shaw remembered being the only one intrigued by the multiple cat actors on the set. Omri Katz and Thora Birch were less thrilled, considering that working with various cats, each performing one specific action, could be trying. As Shaw recollects, “There was literally a wall of cats, one cat for each trick. It was a cat to walk with you, a cat to sleep on you, a cat to jump on you, a cat to swipe your face. There was an animal trainer for each of those tricks, and we’d have to have a treat in our pocket to rehearse the scene.”
Shaw went on to explain the difficulty in shooting the moment when Binx jumps on the book while she and Katz were perusing the pages. “We had to do it over and over again because the cat wasn’t landing in the right spot. It had to do two parts to its trick: It had to land and then bat our faces. That was a more complicated cat, so it wasn’t landing right, and it batted us improperly. At one point it was batting way too much, and we were going crazy. It was overacting.”
In an interview at Disney 23 in 2018, director Kenny Ortega explained to the audience how Binx was sometimes a green wall, a stuffed cat or just not there, in addition to the team of cat actors. “It was always fun, it was always exciting” he enthused, then added, “You had to be really patient, of course, because sometimes Binx wasn’t hungry and so it didn’t matter that there was a piece of tuna on your shoulder.”
Some behind the scenes footage of Gary Gero working with the cat actors can be seen in this behind the scenes compilation:
Final Mewsings: Cats would rather have nine lives than one never-ending one.
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