As we move into winter, we want to get cozy, make hot chocolate, and enjoy some good movies. Whether you’re snuggling up on the couch by yourself, with a partner, or with your feline companions, you’re sure to enjoy these movies with some epic cat stars.
If you like suspenseful movies about aliens, this is the one for you. There are several movies in the Quiet Place franchise, but this one features a cat as a key character who gets a lot of screen time.
Main character Sam (Samira, played by Lupita Nyong’o) and her cat Frodo are in New York City the day of the alien invasion. Frodo is shown as a brave and compassionate friend to Sam and to others she meets along the way.
One of the things I like about this movie is that they use a real cat (actually, two cats who look the same) rather than CGI. Of course there are special effects in the movie regarding the alien creatures and other scenes like explosions and car crashes, but Frodo is 100% real. While I enjoy animated movies with cats and other animals, I don’t like obviously computer generated real animals. In my opinion it just looks weird and distracts from the storytelling.
Check out this short video all about Schnitzel and Nico, the feline stars playing Frodo.
This movie tugs on the heart strings for sure. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a young man struggling with addiction and homelessness. Set in London, it stars the real Bob cat as himself. He is amazingly calm riding on the shoulders of his person on busy streets, on a bicycle, and even on a traditional red double-decker British bus!
As in many modern movies and shows, the editors unfortunately felt the need to add fake animal sound effects which can be distracting. Cats are not constantly meowing, especially with their mouth closed. This is like the constant neighing and whinnying added to shows with horses, an animal that is mostly silent. Despite this, Bob is wonderful to watch and steals every scene as he helps his person James along on his difficult journey.
Check out this short documentary about the real James and his constant companion Bob.
If you grew up in the 70’s and are suffering from nostalgia like I am, you may remember That Darn Cat. It was released in 1965, but I seem to remember seeing it in the movie theater in the late 70’s. In the days before streaming content, you had a long wait before a favorite picture was re-released in theaters or shown on television with plenty of commercials!
I watched it on Prime Video for the first time since those days and enjoyed it all over again. Described by critics as “whimsical,” it is silly, dated, and a lot of fun. The plot involves a bank robbery and kidnapping of the bank teller. The only one who can save her is Darn Cat, or DC, who holds a clue to her location and to the robbers’ hideout.
If you thought Frodo of The Quiet Place was an impressive feline actor, wait till you see DC. There were zero special effects in the 60’s so all of the cat’s scenes are genuine. He walks and runs all over, opens doors, taunts dogs, and hisses and yowls on command. The scene that made me laugh the most was when Hayley Mills is trying to make him stand up for a photo and he keeps going dead weight and lying down. I don’t know if he was trained to do that or if he just does it on his own.
DC was played by Syn, a big seal point old style apple head Siamese tom cat. According to the story, he was adopted by an animal trainer from a Southern California shelter for $5. He also starred in The Incredible Journey released in 1963, a story of a cat and two dogs traveling 200 miles through the wilderness to return home. In 1966, Syn was awarded a PATSY (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year).
Both That Darn Cat and The Incredible Journey were remade in the 90’s. I haven’t watched these yet so don’t know if the are any good.
All of these movies are available to stream on Amazon. If you don’t have a Prime membership, you can try it free for 30 days with this link.