Cat Burglar

Last updated

Cat Burglar
Cat-burglar-movie-poster-md.jpg
Promotional poster, depicting Rowdy (left) and Peanut (right).
Directed byJames Bowman
Written by
Produced by
Starring
Music by Christopher Willis
Production
companies
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
  • 22 February 2022 (2022-02-22)
Running time
Variable; approx. 15 minutes [1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Cat Burglar is a 2022 animated interactive film created by Charlie Brooker and co-written by supervising director Mike Hollingsworth and director James Bowman, with Annabel Jones as an executive producer. Debuting on Netflix on 22 February 2022, the viewer plays as a cartoon cat burglar named Rowdy who is trying to steal a valuable artwork from a museum which is being protected by a security guard dog named Peanut. The viewer must answer a series of trivia questions correctly in order to advance the story, and avoid Rowdy losing his three remaining lives. The film pays homage to the works of animator Tex Avery.

Contents

It was nominated for two Children's and Family Emmy Awards, including one for Outstanding Interactive Media. The soundtrack's composer, Christopher Willis, won the Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program category. [2]

Plot

Rowdy (James Adomian), a feline burglar, learns that a museum is displaying a valuable artwork which he decides to steal. Peanut (Alan Lee), the museum's canine security guard, is ordered by the museum's director (Trevor Devall) to protect the artwork from being stolen. The story sees Rowdy attempting to break into the museum and successfully steal the painting without being caught by Peanut, which is done by the viewer answering a series of trivia questions. Every time the viewer gets the questions right, the story progresses. Wrong answers lead to Rowdy losing one of his three remaining lives—a montage shows him losing six lives prior to the burglary. The cartoon ends when either Rowdy successfully steals the artwork and wins, or when Rowdy runs out of lives and loses.

Voice cast

Production

The film was released on 22 February 2022. According to Netflix, the typical runtime is 15 minutes, and the film offers around 90 minutes of animation depending on the viewer's route through the story. [3] The film consists of several hundred segments; the animation, sound effects and music required dovetailing so that each path between segments progresses seamlessly. [4] With Christopher Willis in charge of music, the soundtrack was performed by a London orchestra of 40 musicians. [5]

Cat Burglar was the first production by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones's production company Broke and Bones since it was acquired by Netflix. The pair were previously involved in interactive fiction in the 2018 special Bandersnatch , part of the science fiction anthology series Black Mirror . [6] Though a fan of the genre, Brooker had not previously worked in animation. [4] Mike Hollingsworth served as Supervising Director. It was inspired by the animated shorts made by Tex Avery for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Hollingsworth was a fan and named his child "Avery" after the "King of Cartoons", while Brooker liked the "timeless, surreal anarchy" of the cartoons, which were "smart and brutal and subversive". [5] Ideas for animation, such as the style of Rowdy's death, were primarily pitched by Hollingsworth and James Bowman, and then refined or rejected. [4] Brooker pushed for a high level of violence in the cartoon. [5]

Brooker's previous experience with interactive fiction led him to be wary of complicated story paths. He was interested in the viewer determining the storyline outcome indirectly, rather than through direct choices as with Bandersnatch. [5] He arrived at the idea of a skill-based game, like those in the franchise Dragon's Lair . The questions in Cat Burglar are intended to emphasize speed of answering over knowledge. [4] The interactive work was the first by Netflix to incorporate trivia, preceding the April 2022 game Trivia Quest, an adaptation of Trivia Crack with episodic trivia questions framed within a narrative story. [7] The animation was done by Boulder Media. [1]

Reception

Cat Burglar received generally positive reviews. Stuart Jeffries gave it 4 out of 5 stars in The Guardian, praising the music and the homages to classic cartoons. [8] Lauren O'Neill of i also gave Cat Burglar 4 out of 5 stars, liking the interactive elements which make the viewer less passive in comparison to most streamed television. [9] Caroline Framke of Variety enjoyed the interactive aspects, saying that it was tempting to mess up to see what kind of twists the show would take. [10] Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph , however, was more critical, giving it 3 out of 5 stars, liking the animation, but feeling frustrated by the interactive elements, arguing that they felt "tacked on". [11]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
2022
 1st Children's and Family Emmy Awards Outstanding Interactive MediaCat BurglarNominated [12]
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program Christopher Willis Won

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tex Avery</span> American animator and director (1908–1980)

Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel, The Wolf, Red Hot Riding Hood, and George and Junior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden age of American animation</span> Period of animation where theatrical sound cartoons were common and popular

The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound synchronized cartoons in 1928 and gradually ended in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television. Animated media from after the golden age, especially on television, were produced on cheaper budgets and with more limited techniques between the 1960s and 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Clampett</span> American animator (1913–1984)

Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil. He was born and raised not far from Hollywood and, early in life, showed an interest in animation and puppetry. After dropping out of high school in 1931, he joined the team at Harman-Ising Productions and began working on the studio's newest short subjects, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.

<i>The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show</i> Television series

The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show is a half-hour American animated comedy television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and aired in 1995 as a spin-off of the show Marsupilami, a spin-off itself of Raw Toonage. The show represents Disney's attempt to do a more "edgy" cartoon in the vein of Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show and Rocko's Modern Life. Unlike other Disney Afternoon cartoons, Shnookums & Meat only aired once a week, usually Mondays. Only thirteen episodes were produced.

An interactive film is a video game or other interactive media that has characteristics of a cinematic film. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, often through the use of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screwy Squirrel</span> Fictional character

Screwy Squirrel is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic squirrel created by Tex Avery for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>ToonHeads</i> American animation anthology series (1992-2003)

ToonHeads is an American animation anthology series consisting of Hanna-Barbera, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros., and Popeye cartoon shorts, with background information and trivia, prominently about animators and voice actors of the shorts. ToonHeads was originally broadcast on Cartoon Network from October 2, 1992, until November 23, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio</span> Division of MGM film studio responsible for producing animated shorts

The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio was an American animation studio operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) during the Golden Age of American animation. Active from 1937 until 1957, the studio was responsible for producing animated shorts to accompany MGM feature films in Loew's Theaters, which included popular cartoon characters Tom, Jerry, Droopy, Butch, Spike, Tyke, and Barney Bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Scribner</span> American animator (1910–76)

Roderick Henry Scribner was an American animator best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons. He worked during the Golden age of American animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Adomian</span> American comedian and actor

James Adomian is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and impressionist. He is best known for his work on Comedy Bang! Bang!, Chapo Trap House, Last Comic Standing, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson where he impersonated President George W. Bush until 2009, and for portraying Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Trump vs. Bernie tour. He voices Talking Ben in the Talking Tom and Friends animated series.

<i>The Wacky World of Tex Avery</i> French-American animated series

The Wacky World of Tex Avery is an animated television series created by Robby London and co-produced by DIC Productions, L.P., Les Studios Tex SARL, Milimetros, M6 and Telcima.

<i>Bad Luck Blackie</i> 1949 film

Bad Luck Blackie is a 1949 American animated comedy short film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Northwest Hounded Police</i> 1946 American film

Northwest Hounded Police is a 1946 American animated short film directed by Tex Avery, produced by Fred Quimby, and featuring Droopy and Avery's wolf character. A remake of Droopy's first cartoon Dumb-Hounded, the short revolves around the wolf on the run from Droopy, who is trailing the wolf in order to capture him. The title is a play on words on the film North West Mounted Police (1940).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boulder Media</span> Irish animation studio

Boulder Media Limited is an Irish animation studio founded by filmmaker Robert Cullen in 2000. It is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian media company Princess Pictures, who purchased the company in 2022 from its previous owner, Hasbro.

<i>Black Mirror</i> British anthology television series

Black Mirror is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Its episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series is inspired by The Twilight Zone and uses the themes of technology and media to comment on contemporary social issues. Most episodes are written by Brooker with heavy involvement by the executive producer Annabel Jones.

<i>Black Mirror: Bandersnatch</i> 2018 interactive film by David Slade

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is a 2018 interactive film in the science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by series creator Charlie Brooker and directed by David Slade. The film premiered on Netflix on 28 December 2018, its release date only officially announced the day before. Netflix did not confirm the interactive nature of Bandersnatch until its release, though there was much media speculation.

Tex Avery Screwball Classics is a series of single-disc Blu-ray and DVD sets by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's Warner Archive unit collecting various theatrical cartoons from animation director Tex Avery during his tenure at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio's cartoon division between the years of 1942 and 1955. It is the first comprehensive collection of Avery's MGM shorts to be released on home media in North America since The Compleat Tex Avery series of laserdiscs in the 1990s, with many of the shorts having been previously unreleased on DVD or Blu-ray.

<i>Inside Job</i> (2021 TV series) American adult animated Netflix series

Inside Job is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Shion Takeuchi for Netflix. The series premiered on October 22, 2021. Takeuchi, a former Gravity Falls writer, acts as showrunner and is an executive producer alongside Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch and BoJack Horseman director Mike Hollingsworth.

Events in 1912 in animation.

References

  1. 1 2 Richardson, Jay (22 February 2022). "Charlie Brooker interactive cartoon Cat Burglar coming to Netflix". British Comedy Guide . Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  2. ↑ ‘The Quest,’ ‘Heartstopper,’ ‘Maya and the Three’ among 2022 Children’s & Family Creative Arts Emmy winners - AwardsWatch
  3. ↑ Moss, Molly (22 February 2022). "What is Cat Burglar on Netflix? Release date for Charlie Brooker interactive animation". Radio Times . Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Guttmann, Graeme (23 February 2022). "Charlie Brooker & Mike Hollingsworth Interview: Cat Burglar". Screen Rant . Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Zachary, Brandon (21 February 2022). "Cat Burglar EPs Discuss Bringing Interactivity to Tex Avery-Style Animation". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  6. ↑ Williams, Zoe (21 February 2022). "Charlie Brooker: 'Mr Dystopia? That makes me sound like a wrestler'". The Guardian . Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Keck, Catie (3 March 2022). "Netflix is launching a daily trivia series called Trivia Quest". The Verge . Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  8. ↑ Jeffries, Stuart (22 February 2022). "Cat Burglar review – Charlie Brooker's note-perfect nostalgia trip for cartoon fetishists". The Guardian . Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  9. ↑ O'Neill, Lauren (22 February 2022). "Cat Burglar, Netflix, review: More to Charlie Brooker's interactive cartoon than meets the eye". i . Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. ↑ Framke, Caroline (22 February 2022). "'Cat Burglar,' Netflix's New Interactive Cartoon From 'Black Mirror' and 'BoJack Horseman' Producers, Is a Wacky Good Time: TV Review". Variety . Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Power, Ed (22 February 2022). "A superb pastiche of Looney Tunes with an iffy video game tacked on: is this really the future of TV?". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  12. ↑ White, Abbey (10 December 2022). "Creative Arts Children's & Family Emmy Awards: 'Maya and the Three,' 'Sneakerella' Among Winners". Hollywood Reporter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.