by Mark Murton

Directed by: George Cukor

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

Synopsis: In this USA-Soviet co-production based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1908 play, filmed four times previously, a pair of peasant children, Mytyl (Patsy Kensit) and her brother Tyltyl (Todd Lookinland), embark on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness. On their journey, they are accompanied by the humanized forms of their dog, Tylo (George Cole), and their cat, Tylette (Cicely Tyson), plus the personifications of Fire, Water, Bread, Milk and Sugar.

Kitty Cameo: Tylette, a ginger tabby cat, is first seen sitting on a chair just before she transforms into human form.

She remains in human form until the final scenes. Sadly, but predictably, the cat is shown to be duplicitous, running ahead of the group and trying to thwart their search. At the end of their quest, the children return to the cottage where their companions revert to their natural state, with Tylette the last to regress and her final words, in response to Mytyl’s question, “Do you love me, Tylette?” are a double-edged, “I love you both as much as you deserve.” She then changes and Mytyl moves in to pet her. Note that the journey must have been harrowing because Tylette is now a ginger and white tabby!

The cat is seen just once more after this when the children rise the next morning and come down to, much to their parents bemusement, greet each of their former travelling companions. As Tyltyl crouches down and bids “Good morning, fire,” Tylette can be seen in the background sitting on her usual chair.

Final Mewsings: You don’t need a blue bird to find happiness, just a cat of any color.

Many thanks to Nick Wale for also letting us know about the cat in this film.

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