DbcultAccessing Vault...
5.2/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Cat Nipped remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you’re into the history of animation or just want to see something that looks like it was drawn by people who had too much coffee, sure. Watch it. If you need a coherent story that makes sense from beginning to end, stay away. This is for the animation nerds who want to see how the sausage was made back in the Lantz days.
The whole thing starts with a bunch of cats acting like they own the place. It’s pretty standard barnyard fare until the catnip hits. Then, the animation style shifts into this wild, frantic mess that honestly feels a bit like watching a fever dream. 🐈⬛
You can tell Tex Avery had his hands on this. There’s that specific brand of chaos where limbs are stretching way too far and heads are spinning like tops. It doesn't have the polish of later stuff, but that’s exactly why it feels alive. It’s jittery in a way that modern digital stuff just isn't.
It’s not as focused as The Grocery Boy, which feels like a much tighter production. Cat Nipped is more like a mood board of bad ideas that somehow turned into a movie. I mean, the pacing is just… non-existent? It goes from zero to a thousand and stays there until the credits roll.
There is a moment where the lead cat tries to play a musical instrument, and the frame rate seems to drop just enough to make you blink twice. I don't know if that was intentional or if the film stock just couldn't keep up with the nonsense. Either way, it works.
Is it better than Robin Hood? Not by a long shot. But it’s definitely more honest about being a weird cartoon. It isn't trying to be high art. It's just trying to be loud and busy.
Sometimes you just want to watch something that feels like it was drawn by a bunch of people shouting in a room. This is that movie. 🐱