This makes me very cheerful. Nagagutsu-o Haita Neko is from the glory days of Toei, and another stop on the Miyazaki trail. Considering that in 1969, he was also working on the pretty awful but good-hearted Sora Tobu Yuureisen, Miyazaki’s work as a key animator clearly shaped him in different directions, but if he got one key scene to play with there, here he was given free reign (shared with future collaborator Outsuka Yasuo), and developed the pacing and comic timing of slapstick chase scenes that would last him a career.The film itself was successful enough that Toei made Pero the Cat their mascot (Pero…Perrault…get it?), and you often hear it referred to as a classic, in Ghibli fan-circles, at least. It sticks fairly closely to the original storyline from the Perrault classic: a poor peasant boy and Puss In Boots (who had boots before meeting young Pierre, here) set out together to make their fortune, trick high society into accepting them and end up besting an ogre, or in this case the Maou (demon king) Lucifer. The trick that ends the old story doesn’t work here, so an extended chase scene ensues, contrasting the epic and the comic to great effect: it’s the last twenty minutes that the film is remembered for, and there that we see the masterful slapstick animation that recurs in such later works as Cagliostro and Laputa.
The art is a little simplistic, much more reminiscent of Disney and other Western houses than the earlier Horus’, perhaps seeking a broader appeal, and oddly enough, there are a few times where the lead characters look strangely like they’re from Family Guy. This is very much a 60s animation, which shows in the palate and the transfer, as well as some odd psychedelic effects, but the animation is smoother and the backgrounds are lovely, and sometimes the colour choice shines through marvellously. Toei Douga had finally found its feet and was producing some classics.
With a conventional plot, the lead characters are a bit thin, but I really liked Pierre, with his girly hair, slightly stoned expression and propensity to blush. It was interesting that even though yes, he develops athleticism and swordsmanship out of nowhere, we also see him failing, for example when trying to jump from ledge to ledge. Remarkable that his voice actress, 19 at the time, would 30 years later be voicing Tai from Digimon. He’s not in the sequels, and that diminishes my interest in them more than new staff does.
The other characters are charming. Pero is actually likeable, for a wiseguy, more like a Kurosawa clown than one from Disney. The dopey smallest cat and the mice are hilarious, but not in an understated way, which is a pleasant surprise: they seem unintentionally funny, which is much more entertaining than someone who thinks they’re hilarious. I’m not sure about Lucifer: I like that he has a comedic side as well as a menacing one, but his design is just a little too simple and unsightly.
Throughout, I was wondering if Disney had been influenced by this in making Aladdin, since there are a lot of resemblances to the parts that don’t come from the folk story – poor kid looking at a princess with unsuitable suitors, masquerading as a noble with the help of a sidekick in order to woo her before admitting it all in a paroxysm of guilt, and a sympathetic bumbling monarch getting swayed by riches – there’s a fair bit that’s reminiscent, and we all remember The Lion King’s relation to Kimba…
Warm, funny and absorbing, there’s not much that’s startlingly new here, and it’s very much a conventional kiddies’ cartoon, but it’s probably as good as kiddies’ cartoons can get.
(originally written 14.8.08)
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