Here’s the deal:
So you’ve watched The Room. Pink Flamingos. Freaks. Repo Man. Bad Lieutenant. You think you’re pretty well versed in cult cinema and have seen as strange as it gets. But have you witnessed a violent and sexual film noir detective story featuring animated cats? I didn’t fucking think so.
I present to you, Felidae.
As will come as no surprise, Felidae is the product of a German mind. Originally a novel (which turned into an eight-book series), the story was adapted into an animated film in 1994, the same year as Disney’s The Lion King, and trounced the latter in the coveted cat murder quota.
The plot focuses on Francis, a housecat, who becomes embroiled in a multiple murder plot (against cats). To up the weirdness a bit, Francis finds that all the victims were sexually aroused at the time of death.
As the story develops, scientific experiments, religious cults and eugenics all play a role in making this one of the strangest animated films you’re likely to see. There is also a hot mating scene showing you what went on off-screen during The Aristocats.
Most notable of all though, is a dark and horrifying (albeit beautifully animated) nightmare sequence Francis suffers. Set in an apocalyptic wasteland, it features the mounded corpses of thousands of cats, a demonic priest, and some lovely cat-puppets. Shit gets pretty real.
Felidae is available to watch in full on YouTube and I suggest you give it a go. As odd as it all sounds, the movie actually works quite well, functioning mostly as a straight detective story with the animated/cat elements there to give it a hook.
But seriously, Mondays, right?
