Une Vie de Chat

Story

In Paris, there lives a black cat who lives a double life. During the day he lives with a mute girl called Zoé, whose mother is a police officer, and during the night he accompanies a burglar called Nico who steals jewels. What will Dino the Cat do when these two worlds collide?

Why we chose it

A hand drawn animated comedy thriller with the roof tops of Paris as a stunning backdrop.

Where it came from

The film is inspired by the French genre “polar” (“roman policier”, meaning detective novel). It is also influenced by references from other films, such as the Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief, which inspired the rooftop chase scene. The film also makes use of different painting styles, such as those of Picasso, Matisse and Hockney.

Where it went next

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and it became one of two foreign-language films nominated for Best Animated Feature. The film also received a nomination for the César Award for Best Animated Film in 2011.

Associated stories

Gagnol and Felicioli have worked together on other animated films, including L’Egoïste in 1995, and the animated series Les Tragédies minuscules in 1999.