Annecy's teams Dreamworks came to present the first thirty minutes of the continuation of the Potty Cat13 years after the spin-off and twenty years after the first Shrek, to give the turn after such a long absence. Obviously the animation tools have evolved widely in recent decades and the film claims an original impressionist style. After taking a little too much advantage of the broads of life and consuming almost all of those nine lives that we lend to the legendary cats of Perrault's tale, The Potty Cat Can he still afford a last adventure at the risk of his life?
Death suits you so well
The first sequence aired presented us with the cat we know: a fan, arrogant petticoats racer, and who made the show in the middle of a crowd in tears. One « Disney moment » especially well rhythmic until the awakening of a giant and its matting by the Cat following a florileg of acrobaties made in all modesty. A first classical singing excerpt but, by contrast, otherwise more interesting given the following... In full excess of confidence and while he had defeated this colossus straight from Shadow of the colossus, a bell crashes on the hero at the last stanza of his song. A grotesque gag that carries in it all the plot of the film. When the cat wakes up, he is examined by a doctor who announces to him that he no longer has a life in his besace and that the next time will be the last. The Potté Cat is invited to retire at Mama Luna, an old cat, tracked by the SPA or its local equivalent.
« How many times you say you die already? »
« Relax! I'm puss in Booth! I love death » exclaimed the hero in the midst of a narcissistic crisis before he was told the last eight dead. In the midst of denial, the Cat Potté prefers to take refuge at the bistro where the atmosphere will radically change. A pompous wolf sitting at the counter before threatening him directly. We're turning this place out of fear with this particularly incisive bounty hunter. Magistral came to the stage with hissing a dreadful air, like a cover of farwest films during a frantic saloon entrance.
« Can I have your autograph? I've been a fan of you for a long time. Sign here! » while he presses with insistence on the dead word of the chat search notice. This is the figure of the Incarnate Death who would come for his due. A bounty hunter doubled by Wagner Moura, the actor of Pablo Escobar in the series Narcos. A choice of casting paid for with an interpretation that perfectly stuck to this bloody and charismatic wolf. The Cat is almost immediately defeated!
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Her hairs are hairy. Ridiculous, and even wounded, the Cat – once invincible – is forced to flee. This introductory sequence was particularly successful, borrowing sometimes from the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly the aesthetics of Dracula. « For these dark moments of history, we have been inspired by some tales of the Grimm brothers... who are not so magical » entrusts the director to Annecy during an interview. This is felt immediately, both in the writing of the characters and in the graphic approach of this new film.
The teams were also pleased to have been able to integrate the paintings much more easily and artworks original. And it is true that this less realistic but more sensitive style is perfectly suited to the general tone of the last quest. Like the cel-shading In vogue in the video game, the decorations reveal brush strokes and the textures applied to the characters pay tribute to the work of the artists. We also feel the influence of the last Spiderman Across The Spiderverse (read our overview Annecy) on animation which does not hesitate to slow the cadence at times to give more impact to the sequences.
In red and black
While the Wolf manages to touch the cat with its two sickles, the image petrifies the space of a moment when the bottom fills with a scarlet red; a direct reminder in the eyes of the wolf, bubbling and soulless. The contrast here is almost expressionist for the coup with an obvious evocation of Death by the intensity of contrasts of this suspended moment. We also read the influence of comics here, like a single drawing that would occupy the whole board of a comic book by coming to fence a suspense sequence. A technique popular to better surprise the spectator who naively turned the page. Effect guaranteed in comics as in cinema! Dreamworks here draws heavily from the terrifying register. And it works wonderfully!
« We made the story of this character darker because it was necessary to get to know him better. He needed an electroshock. But even if he addresses the issue of death, this film remains a celebration of life and is full of emotions. »
This is the End
Another sequence detonated in relation to the imagery that was thought to be known about Shrek's world. In disarray, ridiculed, the Tearing Cat burys its attraction and renounces its title. Last option, pretending to be a simple matou at Mama Luna which offers a refuge to an entire herd of felines. Initially refractory to the idea of acting like a big twink, the Cat gives in and ends up even borrowing the litter box by dropping a « Here begins the end of dignity ».
The long beard and with a small air of Fat Thor for the fallen hero side, the timeless anthem of the Doors, This is The End, strengthens the fall of the hybris. A larval depression that will be of short duration. Gold buckle and the gang of the three bears are looking for a star that would make it possible to get a wish... the perfect opportunity for the Cat to tie up an original ring and refit her boots for a final quest. A first glimpse of half an hour that passed like a letter to the post. Funny, especially well doubled and surprising in its darker approach, will this second strand retain this daring side throughout the film? Answer on December 7.
[...] all the more so when one emerges from the presentations of Spiderman Across the Spider-verse and the Cat Potté 2, both of them more daring than the last Pixar. Lack of ambition or film [...]
[...] Little Nicolas – What are we waiting for to be happy and dazzling visually The Cat Potty 2 in the excellent cuvée of animation 2022. To (re)view with output in format [...]
[...] that we wait to be happy? Last summer. Then repeated after the amazing Cat Potte 2. And finally, even after Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse... [...]