Fairy Tale Spotlight: Cat (Bu Hua)

In 2002, a short film was released to the internet called "Cat" by a rather new-to-the-scene Chinese animator known as Bu Hua. She has gone on to make a number of interesting animations, but I was around when she first released this very striking film.

It was made entirely in flash. I'm not sure where I first found it. It may have been Newgrounds. Either way, it has always been one of my absolute favorite original fairy tales. It has inspired a number of my works, but I never quite captured how this animation made me feel.

If you are worried this film is going to be spoiled for you, here is a link to watch the full 5 minute film on Youtube: CLICK HERE! Or you can just read it first and watch it afterwards. Whatever works best for you.

The story is about two tramps, a mother and a son, who are simply traveling together. They love one another deeply and this love seems to be the bond that keeps them going along the road of life. While playing with a ball, a gang attacks the child, and the mother is forced to intervene and save him. Unfortunately, the gang is vexed by this intervention and soon kills her while she is embracing her son.

The film has an extremely nasty depiction of hell--called Ghostdom. It is a horrible bloody place where souls are tortured and burned by these strange centaur-like creatures. It's not particularly hopeful because even supposedly good people end up going there. This was also the fate for the poor mother. Nevertheless, the child bravely chases his mother's ghost all the way to Ghostdom.

As strange as this scenario is, it's a concept I've seen before in fiction. The main trial the boy has to pass in order to get to Ghostdom was to pass through a raging ocean. There was a similar scene in John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress." It most certainly represents an impossible challenge that ultimately will lead to death. But death is not supposed to be so much an ending as it is a transference into another state of being. In the case of "Cat," it is the child's access to Ghostdom.

The caretakers of Ghostom do not appreciate what the child is trying to do and stops him almost immediately. The child is even given his own prison where he will watch his mother's soul being burned. Somehow the boy gets enough strength to attack the centaur over and over again despite getting a brutal beating in the process. Soon after, he realizes he is not in Ghostdom at all and is able to take his mother's soul back to her body so they can continue on their travels.

I noticed that in two parts of the movie, an eye appears in the background. The first time was when he is assisted in making his way through the tempest ocean. The second time is shortly before he is allowed to go free of Ghostdom with his mother. The eye seems to represent something that was trying to help him. I'm not sure though.

Probably the most heartwarming aspect of the film comes from the sudden strength of the son. In the beginning, he is extremely dependent on his mother. But when she dies, he gains the strength he needs to save her from the clutches of the abyss. He does this all by himself, or at least with the help of some unseen entity--the eye.

Did you recognize the music? The music is taken from the soundtrack of the movie "The Last Emperor." I think the music does really well for the animation, but I still get a little annoyed with how it is put into forced loops. It's really the only problem I have with the film, but I like the musical choice still.

The art and animation is very simple but gets the point across extremely well. It looks like a painting that is simply coming to life but is still bound by its simple style. The part where the cat is trying to hurt the centaur really shows this. I actually like it, if I could be honest.

I had one friend tell me that it looked like the whole adventure in Ghostdom happened within the child's imagination and that his mother was never really brought back. My counter to this is with a short scene near the beginning with the headline: "At the same time, in the world of Ghostdom..." This showed clearly that, in this universe, Ghostdom was real and existing simultaneously to the world of the living. So when he encounters it later, we should already know that it's real. It was not his imagination.

The last thing I want to mention is the fact that the main characters are all cats. It really does not have anything to do with the story other than to give it a certain artistic style. They just as well could be human beings. When I watch this film, I see humans. It is just that simple.

"Cat" by Bu Hua is one of my most favorite short films. I never really brought it up to any of my friends. It is hard to really explain why I enjoy it so much. I tend to get a little emotional about it, but I thought it was finally time to just get out with it. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? If so, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Meow.