Straight from Istanbul.

Here at How About Notflix I have a few boycotts on reviews; specifically that I have no plans to watch or write about children’s programming, about the Bruce Willis elder abuse films, or about 99% of adult animated comedies. And yes, I have reviewed one or two adult animated comedies in the past, and that’s the extent of my interest. It’s only because they tend to be drawn from the same cloth and there’s only so many times I can point out that Seth Rogan isn’t funny anymore, that Sarah Silverman is probably racist, and how these films are written by morons who think they’re really making a meaningful commentary. Washed up Hollywood losers who haven’t done their own grocery shopping in decades trying to comment on social issues they read about on Twitter.

Bad Cat is a 2023-ish film in that it released on Tubi in the west in 2023. It’s actually a 2016 film originally released in Turkey and then dubbed in several languages over the following few years. The English dub was produced in 2018 but only released in the United Arab Emirates, which is how you know it’s good. That’s going to play a part in my coming review. Let’s get more into that.

The directorial debut and currently only film by How About Notflix fan favorite Mehmet Kurtulus and Ayse Ünal, Bad Cat is a movie about a cat named Shero who finds himself in a bit of a pickle. You see, Shero is played by Don Battee aka Vector from The Matrix movies so nobody knows who he is. Shero kicks off the movie cruising for what else? Booze, food, and pussy. His friend Blackie mentions that there’s a Siamese chick named Princess in town who might be up for some of that good cat sex. Yup, I said it and I’m definitely hoping to forget it.

Anyway, the hookup goes wrong culminating in Princess being brutally killed in her own house, and her owner the cartoonist coming home to find his dead cat. Whipped up into a frenzy, the cartoonist brutally murders Blackie only to be killed himself by Shero. As luck would have it, the man is brought back to life as a half-brainless zombie hellbent on revenge. Shero meanwhile learns that he has an illegitimate son Taco and is now cruising for pussy (get it?) from a cat named MissCat. Can Shero step up as a dad? Will he ever get his booze and pussy? Who the hell is voice acting these characters?

Actually that’s a great question; who the hell is voice acting these characters? The credits don’t mention the English cast and it’s incredibly difficult to find a reliable list of people associated with this film. Blackie has no known voice actor listed anywhere, nor does the cartoonist that acts as the antagonist. Taco is apparently played by Kate Micucci, although I have my doubts. Rifki the seagull is allegedly played by Rob Paulsen, aka Yakko Warner. Wanda Sykes is apparently in this movie as is Conrad Vernon. It’s not that I’d be surprised to see the caliber of actors in this film, but I have no place to verify it.

But anyway, on to the movie. Is it any good? Well, that’s subjective. It’s definitely shocking how brutally violent this movie is, and it works in the film’s favor because you feel like any of the main characters might get killed off at a moment’s notice. When you don’t feel like the heroes have plot armor, you get a little more invested in the story. It’s your typical comedy trope though; the horny loser gets thrust into a situation where he has to man up and take responsibility, in this case Shero becoming the dad he never wanted to be but also protecting his son and new love interest from a crazed lunatic, and also repairing the relationship with his human who is also dealing with being a loser and a bum. There’s also a bank heist plot.

It’s well animated, and the movie has an excuse for bad lip syncing being a dub. I guess it’s also worth remembering that the animation industry in Istanbul isn’t exactly big or well-budgeted. It’s certainly not as bad as those Disney Pixar ripoffs that appear on Tubi, and those are made by a studio in New York. Maybe we’re seeing a burgeoning industry that will one day follow Bollywood, Nollywood, etc. What would you call it? Tollywood? Istanbullywood? Future generations will look back on Bad Cat as the movie that springboarded Istanbul into being a player in worldwide cinema. Or maybe they won’t.

But as far as the movie being good…It’s alright. I don’t think I particularly laughed at all, which of course is very high praise for a comedy. The plot goes by at a sprinting pace and character relationships are resolved so fast and inorganically you have to wonder if it might have been better cutting out the third and fourth time the cartoonist comes back from the dead. Meanwhile the villain being killed repeatedly by Shero only to come back minutes later is a bit that gets old really fast. On the other hand you can tell that the animators put a lot of passion into making this movie, and how could you not? It took ten years to make, allegedly. At least that’s what the internet has told me. It’s no Boyhood.

It’s right down the middle. Check it out on Tubi, or don’t.

Rating: C