Don gato y su pandilla

This film did not quite make the grade, as remakes or reboots of much loved originals rarely do, but I have been quite taken aback by the harshness of some of the reviews, which rightly point out the problems but fail to mention what worked. Having seen what's been done to other classic TV shows by Hollywood, I think it's fair to say that what works in this film is only there because the property was farmed out to people keen to make it, rather than interfered with by sticky fingered money men and ass-covering executives.

Unlike many of the other reviewers, who seem to be speaking for entire crowds of people ranging from their entire families, to kids, to all fans everywhere, I will simply speak for myself, a Hanna-Barbera fanboy since Huckleberry Hound.

Yes, there are drawbacks, one avoidable and one not.

The one thing that spoils the film irretrievably is the bad guy, a terrible, horrible character completely out of tune with the spirit of the series, and a major misjudgement. The other problem is that the guys who did the original voices are no longer with us. There's nothing anyone can do about that.

But whatever it's failings, this film is clearly a labour of love by people who love and respect the original series, the style of which belongs to its time, and has by happy chance, proved to be timeless. The endless array of in-jokes were a delight--Laslo Laslo, Arabella, Gus, the Maharajah of Pookajee, the rich lady, Queen for a Day, Griswold, and loads of walk-throughs including A.T. Jazz and his buddy in the pool hall... this was not some careless throwaway deal as some have suggested.

Ever since Star Trek the Motionless Picture in 1979, film-makers have been taking our memories of classic TV shows and trampling all over them, worst offenders being The Avengers (U.K.) and Lost in Space, trashing the concepts and characters, and quite clearly not caring about the originals in any way, shape or form, just cashing in on the good will and name value. It was a pleasure to see a film that, even if they got the Big Picture wrong, respected and acknowledged the source material and the original audience, even to the point of retaining the original music. It's also worth noting that the Don Gato movie had different voice overs. And finally, a New York that has people and cars in it!!

So yes, Top Cat the movie could have done with a couple of rewrites before it went before the cameras, and a bit of tightening up. Let's remember that the Hollywood live action Flintstones went through 38 writers (as opposed to the three guys who wrote all the hundred-plus episodes they were drawing from) and still came up with a lousy bad guy and a dull, over-complicated and uninteresting plot.

I thought this was an interesting failure and a brave try. I can't shake the feeling that if this had been made in L.A. some idiot would have been telling us how dark and gritty they were going to make it, Top Cat would have been a callous rapper dealing drugs, and the film would have opened with the drive-by shooting of Officer Dibble...

Definitely the worse film of the year and struggling to think of one ever. I was a massive TC fan when I was little so was excited at being able to take my 2 boys to go and see the film. Really wish I hadn't bothered. In the interest of fairness I should point out I watched the 2D version so the 3D version may be slightly better if this was done well but based on the rest of the film I doubt it. No story and terrible animation, do yourself and your children a favour and spend your money on something else. If people go and watch this rubbish then the film companies will continue to churn out this dross knowing that parents will still take their kids.

Top Cat is a seriously lame and lackadaisical attempt to revive an animated program from the 1960's that is probably a very miniscule pile of nostalgic dust in the minds of those who watched the show in its original run. The film was released in Mexico under Warner Bros., who handed the distribution rights over to Viva Pictures in the US and Vertigo Films in the UK, who wound up seeking out the talents of Rob Schneider and Danny Trejo for the releases outside of Mexico. Quite a lot of effort for an animated film that doesn't look good enough to sit next to the throwaway direct-to-DVD efforts and Asylum releases crowding a lonely Redbox machine at a grocery store near you.

Not since the legendary animated disaster Foodfight! has there been such a lazy, affront to the wondrous medium of animation. In such a colorful, limitless medium, Top Cat reduces itself to what looks like characters animated using hand-drawn animation placed over real-life backgrounds and ordered to function normally. However, the backgrounds are indeed animated; they just look blocky and bland enough to be considered real, especially seeing as the film looks like the colorful characters exist on a crystal clear camera lens while the backgrounds appear to be captured on a filthy, damaged lens.

To compliment the fourth-rate animation is a story barely fit for a short film. Sadly, it's stretched out to eighty-two minutes, making its narrative slimness make such a short runtime feel astronomically longer than it really is. The story follows Top Cat (Jason Harris Katz) and his gang of other cats that work to take money and power from those who don't deserve it and give it to those who hurt the other common animals of the neighborhood.

So this wacky gang of socialist felines get entangled in a messy circumstance involving a controlling villain who tries to take down Top Cat and his buddies. That's as deep as I'm willing to read into the story.

The issue here, however, isn't so much the narrative simplicity since it's outshined by the dreary animation. The issue is that the story moves at a glacial pace and the jokes in the film are anything but frequent. They feel as if they're rejected jokes from sitcoms gone past, involving puns, cheap references, and goofy toilet humor with no wit or soul.

Top Cat also appears to have a serious identity problem in the regard that it doesn't seem to know who it's catering to. Is this show geared to the adults who grew up watching the show? If so, this film had far too modest of a release - at least in the US and the UK - to even get their attention. If it's catered to the new generation, the film fails to give them something even in the same realm as a work by Pixar or Dreamworks, rendering this film even further down the later of bottom-barrel fare. It's a film that effectively pleases few and irritates many.

Voiced by: Jason Harris Katz, Rob Schneider, and Danny Trejo. Directed by: Alberto Mar.

I just went to see this movie. People who enjoyed Don Gato as a kid really going to enjoy it. It is simply the best adaptation of a series of Hanna Barbera to the movies. By far exceeds movie adaptations of the Smurfs, Scooby Doo and the Flintstones.

You'll enjoy all the characters, the voices, with special participation of Jorge Arvizu "El Tata" as Benny the Ball and Choo Choo (better know in Mexico as Benito Bodoque and Cucho). The nostalgia of the old good days are in all the movie, but there's modern things too.

Maybe the principal problem in the movie is the villain, who can be very repulsive in some occasions, but maybe that's his job.

You definitely will not regret to take your children, they not only laugh with the film, but with your own enjoyment because, for a moment, you will be just like them.

Worthwhile.

Top Cat is back and rules!

While scheming to get rich to feed his gang, Top Cat gets framed for stealing money from orphans and must try clear his name.

I wasn't expecting much when I sat down to watch this. I'm not that aware of the original 60s animated show and this movie was incredibly cheap to buy online - that it's never a positive sign. I also reviews of it and people hate this mocie... At first I could understand why, it's dead simple and very low enegry. Childish even. But then it warmed it on me... yes the jokes aren't that great but they aren't overally stupid either just simple and innocent. The animation I really enjoyed! 2D characters in 3D animated environments. I know some people hated this as it doesn't look like the 60s original, and i agree it's hardly the most impressive I've seen but the simplicity of it worked well here particularly on the 3D Bluray I watched - consistant depth for the whole runtime. The premise of the film is very simple and easy to understand as it is a kids film but some of the concepts are quite adult and deal with real world concerns such as using 24/7 video camera monitoring of citizens to fine them. The whole movie is split into two parts really, part one is about Top Cat scheming get rich quick schemes and introducing characters whole part two, is about Top Cat being framed and going to "dog" jail as "cat" jail is full. That premise of a cat in dog jail was quite funny to me and probably my favourite scenes in the film. In saying that, it's hardly an exciting film, it doesn't move overaly fast, there isn't many action scenes and the voice acting is uninspired (although not the worst I've heard.). It really does feel like an extended episode of a child's Saturday morning TV show. I can't recommend it because of those reasons yet I also don't hate it. UPDATE June 2023: I did go back and watch a portion of it in 1.5x speed, and it felt so much easier to watch! The dialouge was still clear and sounded better actually when I went back to watch the film in normal speed it sounded and looked liked everything was being played at 0.5 speed. Very odd...

Final Verdict: i enjoyed the simple animation, the consistent 3D and even some of the jokes which are admittedly pretty tame but i chuckled at a few. Annoyingly it's also slow moving and not overly exciting. It's not that it's horrible, like most other reviews would make out, it's just very... simple. I enjoyed it for what it was but it's hardly something I'd watch again either. I recommend watching in 1.5x speed (trust me).