Shero
makes Grumpy Cat look like a pretentious poser. He is an animated feline in the
tradition of Fritz the Cat and Bill the Cat. The Turkish tabby is a
foul-mouthed lecher, but the most subversive thing about him might be his
resemblance to Garfield. Shero will duly provide plenty of swearing and cartoon
violence in Mehmet Kurtulus & Ayse Ünal’s Bad Cat (trailer
here),
which screened during the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival.
Frankly,
it really is all Shero’s fault. He tried to put the moves on a hot little
Siamese while her cartoonist owner was out, but inadvertently killed both the
cat and the returning human. However, the cartoonist just won’t stay dead. Each
time he is resuscitated, the increasingly zombie-like human returns more
determined to have his revenge on Shero.
Of
course, the orange tabby hardly gives the incident a second thought. His
attention has shifted to Misscat, the seductive new Turkish Angora in the
neighborhood. When not berating Riza the rat and Rifki the seagull for not
purloining any booze, Shero is also busy getting his ostensible owner evicted
from their shabby flat and avoiding Taco, the son he never knew he had. Various
such episodes are essentially strung together into a loose, mangy plot.
Bad Cat could have been
amazing, but instead it is just amusing. As it is, it would probably be a “soft”
R-rated film if picked up for American distribution, but that hardly registers
in a post-South Park world. The film
feels like it is stopping short of the gleeful subversion it calls out for—and it
over-promises and under-delivers when it comes to the naughty bits.
On
the other hand, Kurtulus & Ünal maintain the energy and attitude with
admirable consistency. In fact, some of the action sequences are rendered with
cinematic boldness. Frankly, the 3D computer animation is way better than
viewers will expect. They could have easily gotten away with far less. The
characters are expressive and the backgrounds are reasonably well detailed. The
film just never fully gets its claws into the workaday narrative.
Still, it is minor miracle an animated film as edgy
as this could be released in Turkey. You have to wonder how much the newly
emboldened Erdogan will allow going forward. After all, Shero’s values are
definitely not consistent with Islamist principles, starting with the defiant
binge-drinking. That’s right, lets blame the cat for the coup attempt.
Regardless, it is entertaining but never remotely scandalous. Recommended for
animation fans who enjoy moderately off-color humor, Bad Cat helped get the party started at this year’s Fantasia in
Montreal.