Despite not being a huge hit as it is in Mexico, Top Cat still has plenty of fans over here in the US as well. When I first heard about this film, I was quite excited to see one of my favorite childhood characters brought back into the mainstream. I was a little worried that I wouldn't get a chance to watch it, but to my surprise, an English dub actually exists.
After watching the film for myself though... I have to say, I am severely, severely disappointed. Almost everything about this film ranges from mediocre, to really bad, to just flat-out poor.
The idea around using 2D character in a CGi-generated environment is nothing new to animation, as it was something that was starting in the 80's by the likes of Disney and the sort. Unfortunately, unlike Disney and Don Bluth films, where the combination of CGi and Traditional animation was either near perfect or pretty darn close, it sticks out like a sore thumb in this film. The style of the 2D characters don't match up one bit with the CGi backgrounds, resulting in some pretty awkward scenes. Not to mention, the 2D animation has plenty of errors, making me believe that while they did put in some effort, it just simply wasn't enough. Top that off with some clunky CGi effects, 2D characters in the wrong placements, a new art style that looks like something that fell right out of kindergarten, among other things, and you've got what can only be considered a very mediocre-looking film.
The humor in the film doesn't fare well either. Maybe this is just me, but when I think of Top Cat, the first things that come to mind isn't a guy getting hit in the nuts, the cats mentioning the word "Pee" a couple of times, ridiculous futuristic technology in what appears to be a modern-day world, etc. Many jokes are also just repeats of what you'd find in the 60's cartoon, showing an obvious lack of effort from the guys who made this film. There's also plenty of random jokes that, of course, go nowhere and provide absolutely nothing for the film (like the solar eclipse joke). Whoever wrote and/or directed this, completely and obviously missed the point of the 60's cartoon series, and why said series was so well beloved in the first place.
The story is also a huge mess. This film is just riddled with plot holes, plots that go nowhere, characters that are introduced, only to be forgotten minutes after appearing in the movie, and the list goes on. All the characters feel like insults to their 60's counterparts, and the main antagonist is just horrible. There's literally not one good or memorable character in this film, which makes me wonder, again, if they were even trying.
Overall, it's a really bad film. While I appreciate the effort to reintroduce an old character to a new generation, not enough effort and love was put into it to make it a LASTING impression. Too much of this film just screams the word "Lazy", that it must make even Joseph Hanna and William Barbera roll in their graves. Here's the lesson we must learn from this; Just because something's low budget, as the Hanna-Barbera cartoons were back then, does't mean it's bad. The thing about the old Hanna- Barbera cartoons is that even though they weren't as well written or sophisticated as the Looney Tunes or Disney cartoons were, they still had their own charm... and that's what people remember and cherish about those old cartoons. This movie removes that charm from Top Cat, tries to turn it into something the old cartoons weren't, and just turns the whole thing into something else... and that "Something else", quite frankly, just isn't Top Cat. Almost nothing about this films feels related to Top Cat, and if it weren't for a somewhat similar character design, it wouldn't even be Top Cat. This is just another poor attempt to "Modernize" a character for a new generation, skewering and ruining his good name in the process.
This film will undoubtedly find its fans, as anything and everything always does, but I advice those who are curious to watch this film, heed my warning; If you love and cherish the cartoon of old, and you hate when they throw in jokes that would normally only appeal to five-year old children, this is not the film for you... and I advice you stay far away from it.
2/10
After watching the film for myself though... I have to say, I am severely, severely disappointed. Almost everything about this film ranges from mediocre, to really bad, to just flat-out poor.
The idea around using 2D character in a CGi-generated environment is nothing new to animation, as it was something that was starting in the 80's by the likes of Disney and the sort. Unfortunately, unlike Disney and Don Bluth films, where the combination of CGi and Traditional animation was either near perfect or pretty darn close, it sticks out like a sore thumb in this film. The style of the 2D characters don't match up one bit with the CGi backgrounds, resulting in some pretty awkward scenes. Not to mention, the 2D animation has plenty of errors, making me believe that while they did put in some effort, it just simply wasn't enough. Top that off with some clunky CGi effects, 2D characters in the wrong placements, a new art style that looks like something that fell right out of kindergarten, among other things, and you've got what can only be considered a very mediocre-looking film.
The humor in the film doesn't fare well either. Maybe this is just me, but when I think of Top Cat, the first things that come to mind isn't a guy getting hit in the nuts, the cats mentioning the word "Pee" a couple of times, ridiculous futuristic technology in what appears to be a modern-day world, etc. Many jokes are also just repeats of what you'd find in the 60's cartoon, showing an obvious lack of effort from the guys who made this film. There's also plenty of random jokes that, of course, go nowhere and provide absolutely nothing for the film (like the solar eclipse joke). Whoever wrote and/or directed this, completely and obviously missed the point of the 60's cartoon series, and why said series was so well beloved in the first place.
The story is also a huge mess. This film is just riddled with plot holes, plots that go nowhere, characters that are introduced, only to be forgotten minutes after appearing in the movie, and the list goes on. All the characters feel like insults to their 60's counterparts, and the main antagonist is just horrible. There's literally not one good or memorable character in this film, which makes me wonder, again, if they were even trying.
Overall, it's a really bad film. While I appreciate the effort to reintroduce an old character to a new generation, not enough effort and love was put into it to make it a LASTING impression. Too much of this film just screams the word "Lazy", that it must make even Joseph Hanna and William Barbera roll in their graves. Here's the lesson we must learn from this; Just because something's low budget, as the Hanna-Barbera cartoons were back then, does't mean it's bad. The thing about the old Hanna- Barbera cartoons is that even though they weren't as well written or sophisticated as the Looney Tunes or Disney cartoons were, they still had their own charm... and that's what people remember and cherish about those old cartoons. This movie removes that charm from Top Cat, tries to turn it into something the old cartoons weren't, and just turns the whole thing into something else... and that "Something else", quite frankly, just isn't Top Cat. Almost nothing about this films feels related to Top Cat, and if it weren't for a somewhat similar character design, it wouldn't even be Top Cat. This is just another poor attempt to "Modernize" a character for a new generation, skewering and ruining his good name in the process.
This film will undoubtedly find its fans, as anything and everything always does, but I advice those who are curious to watch this film, heed my warning; If you love and cherish the cartoon of old, and you hate when they throw in jokes that would normally only appeal to five-year old children, this is not the film for you... and I advice you stay far away from it.
2/10