10 Lives
10 Lives
“10 Lives” is the new animated film featuring the voice of Mo Gilligan. Directed by Christopher Jenkins, who worked at Disney and has a few films under his belt, ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Aladdin’ are his credits. ‘10 Lives’ is an exception at the Sundance Film Festival and this should come as no surprise given Jenkins’ works so far. It is a film about a cat, (who, to be frank, is lazier than Garfield but so much cuter). A cat in multiple reincarnations comes back alive. I would say’the cats are back to take over’. And, no, it is not the first animated film that is targeting children released in Park City, nor is it going to be the last one: the previous year’s festival also had such worthwhile items as “The Amazing Maurice,” which over time became one of the highest grossing picture of the festival in 2023. Yet still— not what the majority think when these words are said – Sundance movie.
The first time we meet Beckett is when he is a cat. He is adopted by scientist Rose in circumstances that get the audience on the edge of their chairs. Abandoning her research concentration studying the strategies of preventing bee extinction, she causes trouble. The overseer, Professor Craven (Bill Nighy), tries to let her fail without obligation: Ross’s assistant and boyfriend, Larry, becomes the protagonist’s love interest, which is not exactly how it went down for Larry. So during these unfulfilled attempts of Beckett, he stirs up a sea of trouble for himself and gets himself nine lives taken away.
He is fortunate that a good angel (Sophie Okonedo) provides the cat with 10 lives in which to become less selfish in order to win Rose back.
Although the underlying idea may appear comparatively more schematic and even somewhat macabre to adults, younger viewers should enjoy the aspect of the story where there is a countdown of 10 lives. Each of the times he is reincarnated, Beckett comes back as a different animal in a different circumstance. He can turn into a horse, a cockroach, a parrot etc. But it now becomes enjoyable when Beckett turns into a dog. Jenkins and his fellow scriptwriters Karen Wengrod and Ken Cinnamon extract a number of funny moments from the dilemma of the rivalry of cats and dogs. Whichever of the two species they favor, pet owners are sure to find humour and chuckle at this delightful contrast.
However, “10 Lives” is larger than laugh-out-loud moments; it tackles broader issues too. For instance, there is the issue of climate change and sustainability. Rose’s studying of bees and their survivability hints at the idea that humankind and all species have to share the responsibility of maintaining life on Earth. These may be the sorts of issues that are ignored by the younger generation, but they do add some depth to the movie. Also, “10 Lives” has a secondary plot that would not be out of place in a second rate James Bond film: Craig’s attempts to sabotage Rose and replace all bees with robotic ones. It is stupid and not always logical, but it does enable the movie to showcase its more impressive aspects.
A number of times Nighy’ll almost steal the show with his delivery of some comically over-the-top scenes. So that voice, which is slippery like a lizard, always ploys every inflection to be important and sarcastic while allowing the performer to inhabit, then ridicule the role he plays. There will not be a better image than that of a scholar who has most likely never spoken a rude word saying, “Dickie numb bum.” Other voice performances feel the pressure.
Maybe the film is carried by Nighy because all of her other elements are rather less impressive. The animation seems to be a standard and boring homage to the hand-drawn era but is however quite bland and unique. The most particularly so in the case of the very first Beckett to undergo the collaborative sequences of his change, the facial features of the synthetically constructed animals are even more fleshed out than those of the humans. The screenplay incorporates such a large number of clichés that the storyline is in tatters. Zayn Malik a pop star who also contributed self composed songs for ”10 Lives” introduces IR and KX as two good natured thugs who contribute very little in helping Craven. But they are not very humorous either and are so far removed from the plot that their absence would change nothing. At least some of Malik’s songs are pretty appealing even though the majority are tucked away in the credits.
Gilligan and Ashley display good chemistry which leads them into giving rather spontaneous performances. Ashley’s vocal rendition is impeccably warm and rounded and Gilligan’s performance hints with a scratch that almost fits in the genre of a cat. As for “10 Lives”, it will look out of place at Sundance, but the movie has enough style (thanks to Nighy mostly) to do well in the broader market.
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- Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
- Country: United Kingdom, Canada, France, China, United States
- Director: Christopher Jenkins
- Cast: Mo Gilligan, Simone Ashley, Sophie Okonedo
