FELIDEA (1994)
Label: Deaf Crocodile
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 81 Minutes 51 Seconds
Audio: German DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Michael Schaack
Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Mario Adorf, Helge Schneider, Wolfgang Hess, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Alexandra Mink, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Frank Röth, Gerhard Garbers, Ulrich Wildgruber, Manfred Steffen, Mona Seefried, Michaela Amler, Christian Schneller, Tobias Lelle
Felidea (1994) is a 1994 German adult-animated film wherein an inquisitive tuxedo cat named Francis (Ulrich Tukur) who moves into a new dilapidated flat with his owner Gustav (Manfred Steffen), a mystery writer/archaeologist. While exploring his new environs he meets a grumpy, one-eyed Maine Coon cat named Bluebeard (Mario Adorf, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), together they stumble upon the corpse of a cat who has it's throat torn out, and he is told by his newfound friend that this is only the latest cat-murder is a string of deaths that go back decades, setting the inquisitive green-eyed cat on a murder-sleuthing mission.
His investigations reveal a cat-cult lead by Joker (Ulrich Wildgruber), a Scottish Fold who leads a sect devoted to an entity called "Claudandus". The cult meets on the top-floor of his house, and they offer themselves in sacrifice to Claudandus by throwing themselves into an arc of electricity, which is wild. He also discovers that house he now lives in once belonged to Professor Julius Preterius (Gerhard Garbers), a deranged doctor who performed grotesque experiments on cats in the neighborhood in the name of medical science.
Other cat-kind he meets include the demure blind Russian Blue cat Felicity (Mona Seefried), and the brutish, square-jawed Kong (Wolfgang Hess) and his Oriental Shorthair sidekicks Hermann (Tobias Lelle) and Hermann (Frank Röth), and the elderly computer-savvy cat Pascal (Klaus Maria Brandauer), a cancer-stricken Havana Brown owned by Ziebold, a former associate of the scientist Preterius.
Beware, this is no kiddie-friendly children's tale as the story is quite adult in nature - we have multiple murders and graphic cat eviscerations, the aforementioned death cult, feral cat-sex, and even a secret eugenics programs that is meant to evoke Nazi medical experimentation, and loads of frightening and gory nightmares/visions - it's total nightmare fuel, along the lines of downbeat anthropomorphic animated films like Plague Dogs and Watership Down. The animation style is sort of kid friendly, coming across as a darker Don Bluth style (The Secret of Nimh) or something like Pink Floyd - The Wall, very dark, lots of shadow and eerie lighting, chock full of nightmare scenarios and visions that evoke Nazi medical experimentation with gruesome scenes of cat evisceration that push this well into the R-rated territory. I warned you, so don't blame me when your kids start crying or have nightmares!
The cast of cat characters are interesting, we even get a sexed-up femme fatale by way of Nhozemphtekh (Michaela Amler) an Egyptian mau, and a Persian cat named Jesaj (Helge Schneider), a "Guardian of the Dead" who keeps watch over a collection of cat skeletons in a subterranean catacomb. The mystery elements and threat level are terrific, with Francis not only sleuthing the murder mystery but also having to fight for his life, threatened by both the cat-cult and beastly Kong throughout the film. The design of the individual cats is wonderful, each having peculiar injury or striking features that make them easily recognizable, and I love how the humans are dismissively referred to as "can openers", because of course they would be. Francis even makes reference to Disney's in his opening narration, stating ] "Truly this activity was beyond The Aristocats", sure enough, it is quite beyond anything the House of Mouse could muster!
Audio/Video: Felidae (1994) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from newly scanned and restored in 4K from the original camera negative and sound elements by Deaf Crocodile, presented in 2169p UHD with Dolby Vision HDR10 color-grading. This animated feature looks spectacular, colors are look wonderful, the color scheme is moody and a bit gloomy, but occasionally colors pop, there are scenes of fire and nightmarish visions with cat-carnage and demonic looking "can openers" that brighten things ups with arcs of electricity and a fiery finale. The clean-up and restoration looks fantastic, the cell animation maintaining it's filmic quality with intact grain and occasional debris inherent to the source, but this is truly a wonderful 4K presentation.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, the sounds of crackling electricity, stormy weather and discreet atmospherics sound great, and the German dialogue sounds natural throughout. The score by Anne Dudley (The Crying Game) sounds terrific, as does the theme song song by Boy George!
Extras start off with a new Audio Commentary Dr. Will Dodson and Ryan Verrill that examines how the film compares the source novel, the themes of the film, and cast and crew notes, Being unfamiliar with the film I found it quite an interesting listen, and it enriched by second viewing quite a bit. We also get a 63-min 2023 Interview with Director Michael Schaack moderated by Dennis Bartok. This is a dense examination of the film, covering adapting the source novel for animation, the animation process, the dark nature of the story, and even some talk of the restoration process. A second interview comes by way of the 54-min 2024 Interview with Armen Meklonian moderated by Dennis Bartok, who was a production designer and storyboard artist. He talks about how the storyboards and layouts inform the final look of the film, with some specific conversation about the look and design of certain scenes.
A third interview comes by way of the 54-min 2024 Animators Roundtable with Doug Bennett, Paul Bolger, Eamonn Butler, Bernie Denk, and Desmond Downes moderated by Dennis Bartok. The group first introduce themselves and their truly impressive body of work, then get into how they came to work on Felidae, discussing the character designs for each character, and much more, it;s quite a treat.
The 2-disc UHD/BD set arrives in a clear full-height Scanavo keepcase with a 2-sided, non-reversible wrap. Inside there is a scannable QR code that gives you access to transcribed bonus content.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary Dr. Will Dodson and Ryan Verrill
- 2023 Interview with Director Michael Schaack moderated by Dennis Bartok (63:21)
- 2024 Interview with Armen Meklonian moderated by Dennis Bartok (54:26)
- 2024 Animators Roundtable with Doug Bennett, Paul Bolger, Eamonn Butler, Bernie Denk, and Desmond Downes moderated by Dennis Bartok (54:26)
Felidae (1994) is easily my favorite release so far from Deaf Crocodile, and that's saying something given their excellent track record of curating fantastic, hard-to-find cinema from around the world. I sort of feel cheated that for 30 years this film has existed but was not in my life, but that has been remedied by this fantastic dual-format 4K UHD. It's a wonderful restoration and 4K presentation with some deep-diving and probative extras that celebrate this gem of adult animation. This is guaranteed to be one of my favorite film discoveries of the year, if you love dark, adult-themed animation Deaf Crocodile's release of Felidae (1994) is a must-own!
Screenshots from the Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray:
Buy it!
#ad
