Bill Nighy runs away with the present, giving a ridiculously entertaining voice efficiency because the villain in a computer-animated film a few cat who will get a number of further possibilities to assist its proprietor.
Co-written and directed by Christopher Jenkins (a Disney alum who counts “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” amongst his credit), “10 Lives” makes for an entertaining and simply digestible outlier at this yr’s Sundance Film Festival. The computer-animated story of a cute however lazy cat — think about Garfield however a lot cuddlier — who retains coming again in several varieties, “10 Lives” is hardly the primary kid-focused toon to premiere in Park City (final yr introduced “The Amazing Maurice,” which quietly went on to turn out to be one of many 2023 version’s greater field workplace earners). Still, it’s in all probability not what most individuals think about once they hear the phrases “Sundance movie.”
First launched in feline type, Beckett (voiced by Mo Gilligan) is adopted by a scientist named Rose (Simone Ashley) when she almost runs him over together with her automotive. Rose is engaged on a postgraduate dissertation specializing in discovering methods to save lots of the world’s bee inhabitants. Her boss, Professor Craven (Bill Nighy), tries to sabotage her challenge for his personal nefarious causes. Feeling jealous of Rose’s assistant/boyfriend Larry (Dylan Llewwellyn), Beckett will get himself in a lot bother, shedding his ninth life within the course of. Lucky for him, a kindly angel (Sophie Okonedo) provides the cat 10 extra possibilities to make it proper, be much less egocentric and win Rose again.
While that high-concept premise certainly sounds schematic (and barely macabre) to adults, younger audiences ought to discover it enjoyable counting down the ten lives. Every time Beckett is reincarnated, he seems as a brand new animal in a distinct state of affairs. Kids can watch him turn out to be a horse, a cockroach and a parrot, and so forth. But it’s not till Beckett morphs right into a canine that the true enjoyable begins. Jenkins and his co-writers, Karen Wengrod and Ken Cinnamon, mine many amusing conditions from the animosity between cats and dogs. No matter which species they like, pet house owners will snicker with recognition at this amusing comparability.
But “10 Lives” is about extra than simply hilarious situations; the film additionally has greater themes on its thoughts. For instance, there’s a message about sustainability and local weather change. Rose’s analysis on bee life conservation mines the concept of all species coming collectively to hold the burden of retaining the earth alive. These concepts may stream unnoticed by younger audiences, but they provide the movie a deeper resonance. “10 Lives” additionally has a subplot that may be proper at home in a third-rate James Bond knockoff: Craven’s efforts to undermine Rose and change the world’s bee inhabitants with animatronic bugs. It’s absurd and doesn’t at all times make sense, however permits the film’s actual star to shine brightly.
Nighy brings down the home on a number of events with an uproariously ridiculous efficiency. His voice slippery like a lizard, the actor makes each intonation clear and significant but additionally filled with mockery, taking part in the character whereas additionally making enjoyable of him. Hearing that stately clipped voice utter the pharse “Dickie numb bum,” will likely be laborious to prime. Other voice performances are on discover.
Perhaps Nighy runs away with the movie as a result of all the opposite components are a lot much less placing. The animation seems to be like a standard throwback to hand-drawn movies, whereas one way or the other additionally nameless with no distinguishing options. The expressions on the animals’ faces — significantly the unique Beckett earlier than his many transformations — are extra expressive than the human faces. The script borrows from so many tropes that it loses the narrative thread. Pop star Zayn Malik, who additionally wrote songs for “10 Lives,” seems as a pair of candy goons who half-heartedly assist Craven. But the characters will not be particularly humorous and really feel so peripheral to the story that they may very well be eradicated with out affecting something. Malik’s songs are catchy, a minimum of, even when most are relegated to the tip credit.
Gilligan and Ashley play properly off one another, giving unfastened and free performances. Ashley’s voice is appropriately full of heat, whereas Gilligan provides an intriguing scratch that makes him plausible as a cat. At Sundance, “10 Lives” could appear to be an oddity, but it surely’s made with sufficient panache (from Nighy specifically) to carry out properly within the wider world.
