Director: Gints Zibalodis

Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis’ gorgeously rendered, dialogue-free animation is part riveting adventure a la Disney’s ‘The Incredible Journey’ and part ecological fable. It opens with black cat, Cat, stealing a fish from a pack of dogs who give chase. While coveting their catch, Cat is confronted with the horrifying sight of a throng of wild animals rampaging through the forest, fleeing, it is revealed, a huge flood. The whole forest is submerged and Cat struggles desperately to stay afloat. The dogs have found their way to a rowboat and magnanimously signal the cat to join them. All options exhausted, Cat joins them, and they begin their odyssey through a waterlogged forest. En route they are joined by a tetchy crane, a mischievous and covetous lemur, and a slow but sturdy Capybara. The picture elegantly avoids didacticism, rather stressing the need for cooperation in the face of ecological collapse. The memorable collection of animals is only semi-anthropomorphised and exhibit recognizably animal characteristics: the furtive and tenacious nature of protagonist Cat will be familiar to any feline owner. Visually, the picture is stunning, the director making the most of the medium with gorgeous flooded out vistas dappled by sunshine, and dizzying 360 degree swoops, particularly thrilling in the flooding and airborne sequences.

David Willoughby

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