A hokey, paint-by-numbers live-action Disney film, produced with all the care and concern of a cheap TV sitcom. You want more info than what's provided by the title alone? Picture a feline in a crashed spaceship with a magic collar. When the collar glows, the cat can speak telepathically and move objects with its mind. Kitty needs a fortune in gold as raw material to return to his home planet and enlists a dopey trio of cut-rate scientists to help him get it. That's about it. At least the lead animal is charismatic. Surprisingly chill, too, given the vast amounts of weird stuff he's expected to endure. His human counterparts don't fare so well, but they don't really have a chance. There's just nothing worth sinking their teeth into.
This is bad with a capital B, nothing more than a plodding parade of stiff physical gags, low-rent special effects, obvious attempts to pad the plot and loud, heavy-handed individual performances. A hammy execution of a lame idea, schlocky and meandering, that must've been produced with a general sense of disdain for the intended audience. Even my kids thought it was stupid and boring.
Nice idea, just not one that's executed well at all.
'The Cat from Outer Space' is mundane. The concept of an alien cat invading is cool, but they choose to do it in a way that is boring - the cat, Jake, speaks via voiceover only, so there are many shots of the cat just staring whilst Ronnie Schell speaks. That just doesn't work, to get attached/become interested in a character you need emotion and/or expression... you get none of that here. I never cared for Jake, and that's coming from someone who loves cats.
Also with the plot they spend most of the time focusing on the cat helping the humans with dull things, like betting and freezing people. Quite inconsistently too, there's a number of times where the cat could solve their problem instantly but they avoid using him for some reason. It's only at the end when they, truly, tackle the overall story arc - which itself is held back by the (understandably, I guess) lame special effects.
Cast-wise it's very flat, none of them are particularly bad but they all give forgettable performances - even Harry Morgan (Stilton), who has done some fine things for Disney in these early decades.
I can think of at least ten worse live-action flicks from this studio up until 1978, but that's not to say this is anything worth watching - it isn't, unfortunately.
Shout by moonkodiBlockedParent2018-08-27T23:11:13Z
Cool little movie. Not my cup of tea but I'd recommend it