CINDERELLA THE CAT is the literal English translation of the Italian version of the Cinderella story from Giambattista Basile‘s “Pantemarone“ from 1634, but this wild blend of fairy tale and giallo, watercolors and CGI graphics, and futurism and retro musical is definitely not meant for children. Vittorio Basile is a rich, genius inventor who built a huge ship where realistic holograms record passanger‘s perceptions that are materialized again and again. Basile wants to make a center of science and memory on the harbor of Naples, but the ship “Megaride“ is the only thing left from his plans because Vittorio is murdered on his wedding day by night club singer Salvatore Lo Giusto. As Salvatore rises to be a drug “king“ who smuggles cocaine in women‘s shoes, Vittorio‘s little daughter is placed under the control of her stepmother Angelica and her six children who call her “Cenerentola.“

The gradation of different animation styles – handdrawn character animations in front of computer generated backgrounds, CGI inserts and the snow or ash rain of Vesuvius – creates a post-apocalyptic and threatening tone. Less successful are the female figures who seem ike boys‘ wet deams all across the board. Mia/Cinderella loses her voice after her father‘s death and remains a characterless cipher who has to be rescued from the all too flat hero. Beyond that, it is a noir anime in which only the villains do the singing in a half melancholic half satirical sound somewhere between italo loung jazz and Naepolitan folklore.

Hannes Stein

Translation: Elinor Lewy