Directed by: Edmond Séchan

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

Synopsis: A little boy wins a goldfish and takes it home, only to have it threatened by a cat.

Featured Feline: This short subject does not include any dialogue, only music, and tells its story with simplicity and gentleness. The little boy already owns a canary which is in a cage by the new fish bowl. From the beginning of the short we have also been following the story of a homeless black cat who is scrounging in the streets for food. After the opening credits, in which the cat is silhouetted in a doorway, the cat is seen on the roof, panting (either the poor animal is hot or stressed).

We next see the cat hoping to rummage through some garbage cans but the truck comes too quickly.

Eventually the cat hears the canary and fish who are playing happily when the boy is at school. In a reckless moment of happiness the fish leaps out of its bowl and is floundering on the table.

The cat sneaks into the apartment and paws at the canary’s cage before noticing the helpless fish. The canary tries desperately to distract the hungry cat.

We won’t give away what happens but the overall film seems to be about not judging things as you first see them.

This short film, which was produced by noted oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, won the Oscar for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects and the International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was often compared to and marketed with another notable French short film, The Red Balloon.

Final Mewsings: Hungry cats are not villains no matter what!

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