The Cat Piano

The Cat Piano

Directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson, Australia, 2009, 8 minutes.

Source: http://vimeo.com/3985019

The Cat Piano is about a city inhabited by singing cats. The main character falls for a beautiful singer who is later kidnapped by a dark figure snatching up singing cats for a twisted musical instrument of torture. He must save her to end the screams that threaten his city.

This short film is an excellent and dark story that has a very stylistic animation. Its simplicity is what really drew me into the story. The subjects are always either bathed in darkness or given very little backdrop. The blackness is perfect in setting that eerie and dark mood. The color palette also contributes to the setting with dark blues and purples and occasionally ominous reds and greens.

The story is also told in the form of a poem, written by the director, to match the character’s voice and style as a beat poet. It’s an interesting way of moving the story along that really captured my attention. The director did a great job of creating visuals that would match the poem yet not distract the viewer from it.