Marnies Welt (2018)

by Linda Kay

Also Known As: Marnie’s World, Spy Cat

Directed by: Christoph & Wolfgang Lauenstein

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

Synopsis: A pampered ginger house cat named Marnie (voiced by Alexandra Neldel) is obsessed with crime dramas and convinced she is a spy herself. When a suspicious relative comes to visit, a string of robberies plague the small, quiet town. Are the two connected? A loose adaptation of the classic folk tale The Bremen Town Musicians.

Cartoon Cat: Marnie is an adorable little kitty who fancies herself a secret agent based on her favorite television show.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie sitting in room

Her owner, Rosalinde (voiced by Addison Rae) treats Marnie like a baby and will not allow her to go outside, so Marnie leads a very sheltered life.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie sitting at table with Rosalinde

One day Rosalinde’s stepbrother Paul (voiced by Obada Adnan) shows up with two broken legs and confined to a wheelchair. He asks to stay with them.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie sitting at table with Rosalinde and Paul

Secretly, Paul is a master thief and when Marnie discovers he doesn’t need to be in the wheelchair he tricks her into thinking he is also a spy and asks her to join him.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie looking at Paul through stair banisters

Instead he ships Marnie to the North Pole in a box. Luckily the box falls out of the delivery truck just outside of town.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie peeking out of cardboard box on road in middle of nowhere

To catch Paul and the other thieves, Marnie teams up with a cowardly watch dog named Elvis (voiced by Axel Prahl) who craves freedom, a fugitive rooster named Eggbert (voiced by Sylvain Urban) who seeks inner peace, and a donkey named Anton (voiced by Erik Borner) who is posing as a zebra to work in the circus.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie in car with Dog Elvis, rooster Eggbert and zebra donkey Anton

Gaining access to the internet, they find out what items are the actual targets of the thieves.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie and rooster Eggbert dangling over woman who is on computer

Due to a series of misunderstandings, the animals become suspected of the crimes and Marnie is even arrested.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie inside chain link enclosure

It takes the team all their skills working together to save the day.

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie, dog Elvis, rooster Eggbert and donkey Anton in plane

This film was originally released in Germany and while on the surface appears to be straight children’s fare actually contains some hints of adult humor (reportedly some even more adult jokes were cut for a friendlier rating in the international market).

Marnies Welt - Spy Cat - cartoon ginger cat Marnie

Interestingly, there is a short claymation-style film which appears to have been made when the idea was in development by the Lauenstein brothers. You can watch it by clicking here.