by Linda Kay
Directed by: Tol
This review contains Kitty Carnage Warnings!
Synopsis: An adorable space cat named Tamala (voiced by Hisayo Mochizuki) sets out for the constellation of Orion in order to learn about her origins. On the way she lands on a planet within the Feline Galaxy that is suffering the effects of a decaying society brought on by over-commercialization and corporate control. But what is her connection to this corruption?
Cartoon Cats: Despite her cutesy exterior, Tamala is a cigarette smoking, often foul-mouthed and unpredictably violent little tough girl.
Even the Dark God of Death is terrified of her.
She lands on Planet Q and meets Michaelangelo (voiced by Shinji Takeda), whom she persist in calling Moi Moi.
Tamala has a tendency to sleep a lot and her dreams are of a 3D world with a giant cat robot named Tatla (voiced by Béatrice Dalle).
Kitty Carnage Warning! While looking for a bathroom, Tamala finds a room with a mural depicting atrocities against cats and the image of Orion above. There are several scenes of violence against cats later in the movie as well.
At a nightclub, Tamala is worshipped by the chanting crowd. There is more to her than Michaelangelo suspects.
From this point on the story goes into such bizarre territory with conspiracy theories that owe more than mere coincidence to Thomas Pynchon’s novella The Crying of Lot 49. To even attempt to explain it would pretty futile. It’s a film one must experience themselves.
A fascinating amalgamation of varied pop cultures ranging from movie references to designs reminiscent of those by manga artist Osamu Tezuka, this film is really impossible to explain in words and is definitely not for everyone. But if you appreciate Japanese culture and have a dark sense of humor, it may be worth your while to dig into the meaty undertones of this one.
Kitty Cameo: A ginger tabby cat’s face appears at the end of the credits. We assume he or she is the pet of one of the filmmakers.
This movie has now been released on Blu Ray by Deaf Crocodile.
Final Mewsings: Cats are definitely cute but tough!
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