Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space

"Tamala 2010" is a great animated movie with a great soundtrack, period. I could stop there and the review would be complete, but I'll say more. Much more.

To begin with, this is an animated film by a group that calls itself "t.o.L", and I'm assuming that they came up with the design, the animation, the characters, and the music. It's a film with a plot that could be sketched on a napkin. But that's besides the point. This film is a great fusion of design, 2D and 3D animation, and music in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It's as if the children of the creators of Yellow Submarine approached R. Crumb about making "Fritz the Cat" into a film again, Crumb angrily turns them down, so they go to a group of Japanese animators to make a cat-themed movie, and get the spirit of Philip K. Dick as their creative consultant.

The result is an animated masterpiece where one scene flows into another, largely driven by music and exciting artwork and visuals, but hardly ever by plot. If this sounds like Disney's "Fantasia", it's not. Tamala is a "cute female cat" who is going from CatEarth to Orion to find her mother, but is diverted along the way to Planet Q (or Q Planet) and ends up in "Hate City" which is a skid row slum type of place with a war going on between cats and dogs.

Both CatEarth and Planet Q are highly original creations. We spend most of the movie on Planet Q. Overshadowing everything is the mysterious, sinister, and somehow comforting "Catty & Co." which is a capitalistic conglomerate that controls 99% of all production. Catty & Co. is everywhere, like Big Brother, but more indifferent. It is this "Feline Galaxy" that t.o.L has created that is the big selling point of the movie for me. Now that I've been introduced to it, I want to see more of it, like I want to see more of Springfield each week on "The Simpsons".

The attention to detail is amazing. Every scene in this movie has something to offer. There are no wasted backdrops, everywhere you look there are posters and advertisements for Catty & Co., with a brilliant array of designs. So much work went into this movie, so much care was placed in executing each scene, that I had to see it twice, to see all of the details I missed the first time.

And what about the characters? Tamala is a "cute female cat" as the movie calls her, but she's no "Hello Kitty". She's an enigmatic symbol that the animation flows around. The film get quite a lot of emotional mileage out of these simple characters, considering how simply she, Michelangelo (her friend on Planet Q), and the Professor are drawn by the animators.

This review wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention the great soundtrack. This movie could be broken up into just the animation that goes with the songs and it would still be great. It's a fusion of electronica, heavy metal and pop, and in the context of this film it's fantastic.

This is not a film for young kids, it's pretty much R-rated fare. There are some very violent scenes, and occasional use of the "F-word" by Tamala mostly. Though Tamala makes a few sexually suggestive comments, nothing ever happens, and most of the "sexy" talk is from two gay male cat hustlers who talk about other gay male cats they find attractive, but nothing happens visually, it's all talk. "Hate City" is violent, oppressive, dirty, damaged, it's one perpetual skid row, and I wanted more of it, it was a great, original creation! But it's not for young kids, they wouldn't understand it.

I went to www.tamala2010.com but could not get the Japanese language pack to install, so I could not get any information about whether there will be a sequel, and I was able to find little credible information about t.o.L via Google, so I am in the dark about the future of this "project" as their site calls it. All I can hope is that they will create more planets with dysfunctional societies for Tamala and her friends to explore. This film is a true work of art, and a true 10 out of 10.

In the same whimsical frame of mind as the Japanese classic "Funeral Parade of Roses," Tamala 2010 is a surreal journey into the world of cats and product placement. Is that weird enough? My partner wanted to leave the theater the whole time, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this flick. If you can suspend your "Western" need for plot and coherence, sit back and enjoy the fabulous animation (black and white tip o' the hat to Disney's "Steam Boat Willie"), crazy situations and fantastic soundtrack. Any film which takes place on another planet and includes both Hello Kitty drag queens and a mention of the Loch Ness Monster is OK by me. Even if you hate this film, YOU WILL NEVER FORGET IT!

I can see why some reviewers might not care for it, but I think this movie is incredible. It is largely associational, confusing and disjointed, and this is by no means made up for (in fact, perhaps exaggerated) by the long, dull, ex-positional monologue towards the end. But the very fact that the main character nods off repeatedly during said scene is evidence of the film's awareness of its own means and purposes, whatever they may be.

Purely affectively, I can say that the experience of watching this movie, if you can let go of plot expectations, is dreamlike, hallucinogenic, thought-provoking, and, as much because of the devastatingly catchy electro-pop soundtrack as any other element, at times transcendental. A shame it's so difficult to come by; I had to buy it region 2.

While cute and enjoyable, the movie is no walk in the park. The art is fabulous and the plot can be challenging at times. Like most existential movies it will take some time and further viewings to get the most out of it. But the pleasure is all ours as watching this is both moving and entertaining. The best parts are areas where the music melds perfectly with the visuals and the plot. Luckily this happens often. I respect this movie most of all because it isn't lazy. The artists and crew come up with original stuff but they don't hide behind endless wierdness and confusion. This is up there with 2001 in terms of nearly towing the line perfectly between chaos and good old fashioned wierdness. There is a good backbone here, not just a cloud of ideas.

I attended a screening of Tamala 2010 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The directors, t.o.L. (trees of Life), and animator were present for discussion after the film. It was two years ago, so my memory might be shaky, but I can fill in some information about the production of the film.

t.o.L. is an enigmatic multi-media creative duo (a man and a woman). While they work with animation, illustration, and graphic design, their primary focus seems to be music, and they composed and performed all of the music for the film.

All of the animation was done by one (!) man. He labored for nearly four years animating Tamala 2010. From his comments, it sounds like the directors fed him information about story and scenes, bit by bit, which he would use to animate segments. He usually did not know what was coming next while animating a segment. After the initial character design and style was established, he was left with complete control over his work.

Responding to a question from an audience member, the directors admitted that the idea for "Minerva" was based on "Tristero" from Pynchon's novel "The Crying of Lot 49".

The directors also indicated that they are very interesting in marketing merchandise based on Tamala 2010.

While the film is visually and conceptually interesting, it is disjointed, lacking a smooth flow. This is probably a result of the "make it up as you go" approach to direction and animation. The film could have been more satisfying if it had been planned out more carefully from the beginning.

The music provides continuity and holds the film together, which leads me to believe that music is t.o.L.'s primary interest.