Famous Fred is a charming animated short made on a shoestring budget by British amateur animators, directed by Joanna Quinn, who happens to have been born in Birmingham, where I now love. It is the story of a dead cat... or rather, it's a story of the children whose pet he was finding out just what sort of cat he'd been.
While they think the "he never did anything; he just used to lie there", one night the children hear a commotion outside, go to investigate, and find every cat for miles around gathered for a memorial service. It turns out that their cat, Fred, was a superstar by night - he even went on a world tour at one stage. Through a series of flashbacks and musical numbers they relive Fred's illustrious life, told in part by their pet hamster Kenneth, who just happened to have been Fred's rock manager. The story of Fred has several parallels to a certain hip-shaker named Elvis, though it's not a straight parody of Mr Presley's life by any means.
The traditional hand-drawn animation is very nicely done - it may look old and simple by today's standards, but it has an undeniable charm and lots of little details in the background that add to the viewer's enjoyment. When watching this movie always be on the lookout for what's happening in the background, there are some gems in there if you catch them in time. It's something that can be watched countless times and you'll always find something new to treasure it for.
Popular British comedian Lenny Henry provides the voice for Fred and obviously has a whale of a time doing it. He also sounds pretty good when singing too. Tom Courtney voices the slightly camp Kenneth, who is just about finished with show business... but can't resist the lure when he spots Fred's talent. The two children, Sophie and Nick, are voiced by Jessica Lynam and David John Barker, while their parents are voiced by Matthew Marsh and Joanna Quinn herself. Ginger, next door's cat who presides over the service for the dear departed Fred, is voiced by David Robb. All of the voice acting was top notch.
As if directing the movie and being a voice actor wasn't enough, Joanna Quinn also adapted Posy Simmonds' book into the screenplay.
While the whole movie is good, there are some wonderful scenes when Fred as a new kitten has just been brought home. It does require a cat owner to fully appreciate these scenes though - they're just so typical of what a new young cat will actually do in real life. Similarly the childrens' reactions to things are also very believable.
The Elvis homage section was fine with some funny moments, but somehow I didn't feel that they were as good as the scenes that were more identifiable as the things that could happen in real life. Perhaps the connection that had been built up during the realistic scenarios had been broken at that stage, never to return. It seems a funny thing to say about a short animation based on an obvious fantasy I know, but that's how it struck me.
Overall
If would recommend Famous Fred to anyone who likes traditional animation and especially, of course, cat lovers. It's not earth-shattering, will never take the world by storm, and it doesn't feature eye-popping visuals. It won't change your life. But you will, I'm sure, feel happy to have watched it. The problem will be in getting hold of it; as far as I can see it was only ever released on VHS, and you'll probably have to get it second-hand. If you see it though, get it!
It does have a more obvious appeal for youngish children, but I think anyone who likes cats will find a lot to enjoy here.
Awards
Famous Fred was nominated for an Oscar as Best Animated Short, but none of the 9 animators could afford to attend the ceremony. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and Cartoon Forum, Europe award (Cartoon d'Or). It won the Animation award at the San Francisco International Film Festival (Silver Spire).
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