Cinderella the Cat

Slick, creative animation and largely enjoyable music make Cinderella the Cat one of the best Italian animated films of recent years.

The classic fairytale gets an unexpectedly dark and adult update in Cinderella the Cat (Gatta cenerentola), a strikingly animated tale.

The filmmakers seem to have been trying for the kind of animated film noir that has been done so skillfully in Japan, but "Cinderella the Cat" never approaches that level.

Engagingly plotted, this hard-boiled fairytale has a potentially wider audience than Rak's debut, especially on home ground in Italy, as well as in animation-friendly France and Belgium.