Spy Cat (2018) User Reviews

Simple but it's fun.

[XueHuaBingYu · 6/10 · 2 August 2019]

Before I watched this animation, I've read some of the reviews on IMDB. Some of them saying that this animation is kind of fun. After I've watched, I agree with them. This animation is indeed full of fun. Although it's not quite possible that a cat can solve the case, it's really fun to watch.

The plot is really simple, but maybe because the directing is good, it turned out to be somehow good. I love detective stories, so, I kept watching it. And I've discovered that it's interesting and exciting in some way. Even though the animation is not from Disney, it's still OK. But I don't like Marnie's voice artist. The sound is too sharp and tiny. The other voice artists are doing fine. So, if they have chosen the other voice artist for Marnie character, it'd be better.

Conclusion is that although the animation really needs to improve, the animation is really full of fun and good to watch. Hence, I've totally enjoyed every second of it.

It´s all good fun

[petehawking · 6/10 · 23 May 2019]

Why did the cockerel cross the road? To get away from the lady chickens chasing him, because he's more interested in meditating than in them, only for him to nearly get run over by a tractor driven by a petrified guard dog, called Elvis, who's running away from his evil owner, narrowly avoiding an accident with a mail truck carrying a box containing a pampered house cat with a penchant for detective shows, just at the road junction where they meet a zebra that has been left behind by the circus, which means they all band together to catch burglars stealing priceless kitschy artwork from the neighbourhood...

OK that joke didn't pan out as well as it did in my head. But it does give a neat summary about how the bold band of buddies in Spy Cat meet each other. The story centres on Marnie Sunshine, the very spoiled ginger "fur baby" of nurse Rosalyn Sunshine who lives in Drabville, East Bumblesnore. All Marnie does all day is eat (sitting at the table and with a fork) her specially cooked food (with her initial picked out in blueberries, of course) then watch her favourite detective cartoon on TV, Agent Ohura, before playing at being a secret agent and dragging her teddy pals around while looking at stuff through her toy periscope. Marnie and Roz's routine is disrupted one day though when Roz's step-brother Paul (introduced as "uncle Paul" to Marnie) arrives by ambulance in a wheel chair with two broken legs after an accident. He persuades Roz to let him stay with her while he recuperates. Only Paul isn't as injured as he seems. His wheel-chair, with fake leg casts, is actually a flying machine which enable him to sneak onto people's rooftops and zip down the chimney to burgle the place, handing the valuables out of the window to his two accomplices waiting outside. Marnie discovers Paul's secret scrapbook of news clippings and a map but he convinces her that he's really a secret agent trying to catch the bad guys and asks for her help. She has to go and meet a contact in a secret location that she can only get to by travelling in a cardboard box that Paul puts in the mail. Of course there is no "secret contact" - it was Paul's way of getting rid of the nosy cat - and a near accident between the mail courier and dog Elvis' tractor causes Marnie's box to jolt out of the van and onto the road, which is where the fateful meeting takes place. I'll not spoil any more of the twists and turns the story takes, because there are several, but it's all good fun and extremely child friendly, in terms of only having cartoon style violence. I think parents and older kids would enjoy it too, as there a few nods to things that will go over young kids' heads, like a North by North West style aeroplane chase and the Mission Impossible bit, although I found some of the human characters were a bit annoying. I also found the animal characters a little cliched but, again, I have seen more than my fair share of this kind of cartoon so I may just be a little jaded. However, I thought it was a nice touch that the animals didn't talk to the humans in the movie, only amongst themselves. And a special shout out to the sarcastic pigeons above Elvis' yard for incidental humour. The animation is Pixar style 3D modelling, although there's an excellent bit of cel shaded animation mixed in, while Marnie is watching her detective cartoon on TV, and both are very well done. The story is satisfying with a few unexpected twists and turns and kept me engaged, although I admit I am not 5 so it may be a little slow-paced and involved for them, and it maybe falls between two stools a bit by not pitching quite at its target audience because of that. There wasn't much in the way of slapstick humour and there weren't a lot of obvious jokes to laugh at but there was a good undercurrent of humour for me to raise a smile at. Just please don't be misled by the badly chosen poster art - that is not an image from the movie and really doesn't reflect the tone of the film at all; it's not a high-tech, all-action, comedy thriller like The Incredibles. Instead, expect Spy Cat to be a Wallace and Grommit style caper done by the animals from Shrek or Madagascar but without being quite so laugh out loud funny, and you'll enjoy it.

Weird?

[silveraider69 · 4/10 · 17 May 2019]

Seen the trailer and i can say the animation is tv quality at best. The charachter designs are bland and the textures are... not good, though ive seen much worse. This movie pales in comparison to the Fearless Four and i would recommend that over this puke show any day.

If Tik Tok made a movie

[jdupre-42279 · 1/10 · 13 September 2020]

Walmart Zootopia or a Dollar Store Barnyard How boring is this movie? I stopped watching 20 minutes in and I started to play chess!!

low budget but charming

[piamantey · 7/10 · 29 May 2019]

I saw the movie the first time at the International Animation Film Festival in Annecy 2018. This fun trip had me and the audience laughing and giggling throughout (apart from some sad moments in the middle). Last week I took my sons to see it with them together. They also enjoyed it and we give this one a thumbs-up. It's not the acme of computer animation (it's a german low-budget-film) but immensly charming and entertaining and the texture looks amazing in the close ups. Definitely worth watching for everybody who likes "Paddington" or "Wallace&Gromit".

Great idea, bad animation and voices

[sarahgames-40402 · 1/10 · 25 October 2022]

I love cats, I love spy stuff, and the idea is pretty cool. I think though, there are two things that made this movie terrible. 1. The animation. The way they animated the cat and the other animals is just so weird. Although this is a foreign film, I expected better. 2. Voice acting. The voice of the main character, the cat, is Addison Rae. Her voice acting is TERRIBLE. Absolute piece of trash choice of the castors. I cant believe they listened to the voice acting and thought "hey, wow, this is great!" Because it's not. Everyone else did okay, but sorry Addison, every time I heard the cat talk I just cringed.

An original animated with strong characters

[eliinite · 7/10 · 15 May 2019]

That's an unusual animated movie which clearly seems to be for kids as is full with funny animals, supernaive cat, entertaining story. However, the almost rude language and some Despicable Me style irony makes it perfect adult movie as well. It's nice because the characters are very strong, with their own particularities and viewpoint. Sometimes you may annoy because of the strange eye-closing way of the cat but in overall, a good entertainment for kids and adults.

Not a fan

[nolanscherm · 1/10 · 22 February 2021]

We watched it with the kids and it was ok. Couple things I saw that I thought were weird or inappropriate. One the cops came in to arrest the animals and said "Put your hands up! Ya Bast ards " Another thing I saw and thought 💭 that was weird and why put it in a kid movie? There is a scene with a woman and she's on a computer. Then she leaves to go to the door an on the computer screen you see a Bull mating with a cow. The story was ok a bit boring to be honest.

Cute cute cute cat!

[deexsocalygal · 7/10 · 27 June 2021]

OMG, this kitty is ADORABLE. I love Marnie. This is a sweet story about Marnie, a cat who is pampered by her owner BUT she isn't one of those Cinderella type cats. She is sweet & even eats at the table with perfect table manners. Marnie is an inside cat who's not allowed to go outside. To keep heself occupied she watches detective shows on TV. She has detective toys like a camara & a fold out telescope she uses to watch what's going on. One day her owner has a relative in a wheelchair come to stay until he gets better. He's a bad guy who is faking he can't walk & burglarizes houses in the neighborhood when she's at work. Marnie the great detective cat catches him out of his wheelchair dancing around to music & takes a picture for proof. He tricks Marnie into a box, seals it up & mails poor Marnie to the North Pole! The adventure goes on from there.

I think the story could've been better but I liked this movie. I would like to see another Spy Cat movie just because Marnie is soooo cute! I appreciate that the story isn't a loud hundred miles an hour deal & that Marnie is slow, but steady, & soft spoken.

Truly terrible euro trash

[adamjackson1974 · 2/10 · 11 January 2020]

The animation wasn't too bad to be fair but thats where the compliments end.

It was like an amateur german animation company watched a few episodes of garfield and friends and decided that was good enough premise for a new film. Even the cat is orange.

The voices are cringeworthy, the story abysmal so please save 90 mins of your life and avoid this dross like Boris Johnson answering a question.

cute and funny

[tonimanganelli · 8/10 · 22 May 2019]

This european animated movie has fun humor and an overall great heartfelt message. I loved the character design of the four animals and their humorous presentation. Each of them has its own original personality Their funny relationship made the film. Marnie, the house cat is really cute and cuddly. She knows life only through television and she has to lead the group of different characters on an adventure that will test all of them. The dialogue sometimes sound a little like it's been translated from a foreign language - which probably has, considering this is a german-belgian co-production. All in all it is a nicely told, funny and family friendly film. For adults it might be sometimes a bit silly, but kids will love especially these parts and there are some adult jokes too, that really work.

Terrible female voice lead - American English ed.

[restormageddonhs · 7/10 · 6 November 2021]

Ok, to be fair, my 4yo was absorbed and it's safe content so you really don't have to watch with them for that reason. I did watch though, because family bonding. The story line is basic but Ok, some wit and jokes to be appreciated by adults, the animation is pretty good, most of the voice actors are movie quality. But not the main titular "cat" character. I think for the American sub the recruited some "up and coming" "social media star". Whew. Big mistake. Really gives you an appreciation for the skill of actual voice actors. The cat voice just really takes you out of the story every time it speaks. Probably I shouldn't get so worked up about a kids movie, It's just that I try to pick movies the whole family can enjoy so the adults don't regard family time as a chore and me and my spouse and I were just cringing thru this whole thing, every time the cat had dialouge. I feel sorry for everyone else involved in this film, they did a competent or even quality job; it's really rare that you can pin the crappiness of a film on one person but the cat voice actress of the American dub of this totally destroyed this film.

Painfully Bad Script & English dubbing

[curranmusic · 2/10 · 21 February 2021]

There are some terrific visual elements despite the static, low energy of the animation. Thing is, even without invoking the superior work of Pixar, this cartoon doesn't even rise to the level of mental effort found in Shaun the Sheep. Try to steer your kids away from this snoozer. 1/10 stars for the dismal voice acting of TikTok star Addison Rae. Fame sadly does not equal talent.

Bargain basement afternoon distraction

[shanelidsay · 3/10 · 9 June 2021]

Slow story, dialogue was a bit wooden, but the animation was ok in places.

Killed a bit of time on a wet Sunday afternoon, otherwise i would not rush to catch this. Which is a shame, as it would not have taken much to make it a lot better.

Notes for the animators.... Whats with the tiny pupils, makes the characters look like beedy-eyed drug addicts. Also, stop with the nasally voices. Try and make the characters resemble the voice actors a little more, and won't look so disjointed.

Also 'Spy Cat, is a misleading title 😂😂😂

It's a good movie for kids; Adult? Not recommended.

[ItsCN · 6/10 · 11 August 2020]

It's a good for kids because you see kids don't use their brains to watch movies, they just want quality cartoon and colours, but we adults use them to observe every single thing. In this movie there are too many illogical blunders I mean first of all a dog driving a bike, car, mini truck and an aeroplane..I mean like wtf? I'm 20 and I don't know how to drive a car perfectly but there comes the dog who flies a plane, seriously dude?. And in the climax the villain is flying in a chair and his sister grabs into its tires.. if you apply physics the chair should've been bent atleast minimum 45° but here it's just flying as if nothing is actually happening. And the important thing was those who had the paintings.. I mean dude someone made you sit for hours and painted you and you couldn't afford a single minute to go onto internet and Google who was the person? I mean it's not like you don't know his name, he signed the painting for you.. use some brains buddy.

Euro animation

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 9 January 2020]

Aka Marnie's World. Marnie is a house cat in Drabville. Her owner Rosalinde is surprised when her estranged brother shows up. He has two broken legs and is looking for nursing help from his sister. Only he's perfectly healthy and secretly leads a break-in crew responsibly for a series of home burglaries. Marnie discovers his lies and he promptly stuffs the cat into a box. She manages to escape and connect with other escaped animals.

The animation is average at best. The voice work is the least impressive. The story is passable. It may work better if Marnie is the one who releases and rescues all the other animals. Overall, this is a rather below average cartoon. Nothing is especially special.

This movie needs to be recognized as visual art.

[zac_g12 · 9/10 · 4 July 2019]

I enjoyed the graphics. The landscape stood out the best. The story was very enjoyable cut with humor along the way. I liked the idea of a group of heroes coming up like the wizard of oz. This has been one of the very best to date.

An unusually smart kids movie

[zelenizmaj · 9/10 · 30 January 2020]

I have rarely seen such a smart kids movie. It is executed rather brilliantly, as it is both funny, cute and will make you think hard about stuff. My kid loved this a lot, and we spoke afterwards about implications of different situations.

Recommended.

lovely art

[kruball · 9/10 · 17 August 2019]

This is the movie that is very cute but at the same time it is very interesting too! The lovely character can make the movie feel strong. In short it is a fantastic movie.

Brilliant

[el_ruxpino · 9/10 · 16 October 2019]

Based on the photo the musicians of Bremen this is a great modern adaption of that story great animation from an independent studio and a must watch

Honestly 10x better than expected

[juliusceasar-91485 · 8/10 · 30 July 2023]

Movie was enjoyed by all of us as a family we were all very intrigued. The concept was actually genius if this was a real life movie it would be a huge blockbuster! Story was fun and the little twists were cool and movie had me laughing. Smoking some weed before u watch it will make u enjoy it even more. Not being high af it was an 8 after smoking it was a 10! I will absolutely watch more movies written and directed by these folks. My kid loved and keeps asking me for a part 2. People who rated this movie low completely miss understand the concept visually and fun story. Just definitely a cool concept I recommend you watch it with no expectations and walk away happy!