Gay Purr-ee Reviews

What do you get when you combine the talents of Chuck Jones, operating as a writer and producer, and a vocal cast that includes Judy Garland, Robert Goulet (in his film debut), Red Buttons, and Hermione Gingold? Well, you get Gay Purr-ee, a film that’s more visually arresting than it is capable of holding your attention. The disparate parts of Gay Purr-ee are wonderful, so it’s a damn shame that don’t quite fit together.

The limited animation doesn’t help, not when so much of the background and montage work is so adventurous. I guess UPA didn’t have the budget of a Disney or Warner Brothers, but the so-so quality of the animation starts to pop out in scenes that are supposed to suggest tension or action. Physical comedy bits feel like they’re missing in-between sections to smooth over their actions.

At least the character designs are pleasing, especially Gingold’s villainous Mme Rubens-Chatte, a corpulent purple cat with piercing eye lashes and bright eye shadow. Meowrice’s four hench-cats are an interesting visual invention, too. Four inky, jagged black cats with yellow slits for eyes, they move as if a refraction of each other in ridged geometry.

Even when the story or song falters, the act of looking at Gay Purr-ee remains an enjoyable experience. One of the best montages involves Garland’s Mewsette reimagined in a series of paintings by various French impressionists, including Gaugan, Van Gogh, and Seurat. The provincial village where Mewsette and Goulet’s Jaune-Tom reside in the earliest scenes resembles one of Van Gogh’s sweeping vistas with unexpected color combinations and broad strokes. If Gay Purr-ee manages to pull off such a neat trick on a limited budget, then just imagine what director Abe Levitow could’ve accomplished with more time, money and resources. It’s a cute little tchotchke, but there’s obviously something better waiting to spring out.