180. Spy Cat; movie review

SPY CAT
Cert U
91 mins

BBFC advice: Contains very mild comic violence, rude humour, language

A feline who wants to be a detective, joining forces with a dog, rooster and a donkey? What's not to like?
The truth is that Spy Cat is harmless enough but I doubt I will remember it past next week.
The title character is a spoiled fat house cat called Marnie who dreams of investigating crimes just like the ones she sees on TV.
Her life is relatively humdrum until her owner's estranged brother turns up with his legs in plaster and asks to stay.
Unsurprisingly, it transpires that he is a conman and is actually orchestrating thefts from the town.
It takes a while for Marnie to twig what he is up to and when she does, she teams up with a loudmouth cowardly dog, a donkey dressed as a zebra and a neurotic rooster.

Apparently, Spy Cat is very loosely based on the Bremen Town Musicians fable. I have never heard of that but it seemed to me to be a tale of friendship in adversity.
Indeed, three of the animals have been abused and even Marnie has been overly-humanised by her obsessive owner.
Therefore, they are all seeking to make their own way, proving that a good heart will win the day.
Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein's film certainly deserves praise for its moral messages but I suspect that the younger audiences at whom it is aimed will need more.
And I am afraid it doesn't deliver much when it comes to gags or even quality animation.
I would imagine parents waiting until it comes out on demand and reserve it for a rainy day in the summer holiday when other avenues have been exhausted.

Reasons to watch: Animation with moral messages
Reasons to avoid: Lacks laughs

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 5/10

Did you know? In the 1960s, the CIA tried to turn a cat into a spy. A tiny radio transmitter was implanted at the bottom of the cat's head with a microphone hidden in its ear. Sadly, the cat never got to complete its first mission as it was hit by a taxi on its first day out.

The final word. Wolfgang Lauenstein: "We made Spy Cat and Luis And The Aliens at the same time. It would have already been stressful enough to do one movie but in the daily routine I looked after Luis and my brother Christoph took on Spy Cat. So, we could always look at each other's work from a distance and give very valuable hints."

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