‘Cat Burglar’ Reviewed
A fun cartoon you can fail at
Cat Burglar is an interactive cartoon on Netflix from the lively and sardonic mind of Charlie Brooker (Black Mirror). A real love letter to the golden age of cartoons like Tom and Jerry, it is also clearly influenced by the classic ‘Dragons Lair’ games ‘of the ’80s and early ‘90s.
But what is it really, game or cartoon?
Well, it’s both.
But to get deeper into it, I’m going to ask two more questions.
What’s It Like as a Cartoon?
It’s like a classic Hannah Barbara cartoon, although slightly naughtier, in a subtle way, to give those more savvy kids or adult audience something to snigger at. It also has a bit more of an edge, in sophistication, maturity, and grimness.
The animation is great and captures the classic cartoon aesthetic, polished and bright. The animation is understandably more fluid than the classics.
The plot is simple. Rowdy the Cat wants to rob a museum. Peanut the Security Pup is guarding the museum. Hijinks ensue.
It’s really funny, and I laughed out loud a lot. Just about all the gags are visual with over the top slapstick that is not too violent but a bit more of an edge to them than the classics. I don’t think it’s as violent as the Simpson’s ‘Itchy and Scratchy' for one. Although saying that, for example, the poor dog getting his head cut off by a helicopter propeller on one segment may push it a bit, but it’s clearly silly and bloodless.
Although it can be grim, as from another decapitation, this time from a sword, the dog's head bounces on sing-along words then the cartoon cuts to his body being eaten by vultures. Wow, it's more macabre written down. The cartoon aesthetic really makes the whole thing more sugary.
You have all the sort of classic cartoon tropes you would expect. Some of them are taken to the most hilarious extreme. One, involves Rowdy disguising themselves as Cleopatra, tricking Peanut. Cue scenes of several dates, a marriage ceremony ensues, which then Rowdy runs off (if you are successful,) which made me think after the second or third time it rolled on: wait a minute, they never got a divorce? So for all intents and purposes, the cat and dog are still a married couple. How very progressive.
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Who is it suitable for? Well, it’s a certificate 12 in the UK, but I say just about everyone, I think kids see a lot worse and the more subtle stuff will probably go over their heads, but parents of young kids may heed its certificate. I recommend it to adults for many reasons, not just nostalgia, but good ‘ole fun. Not to mention Charlie Brooker’s superior dark wit breaking through.
What’s It Like as a Game?
Keep a tight hold of your controller, ‘cos you are going to need it.
Through the animated segments, you are given questions. You are to select left or right, for the answer. Questions like: Which one is a fruit? Which is associated with James Bond? It’s fifty/fifty, and you can make a guess, but you only get three lives throughout each run of the game.
It’s fairly easy but can trip you up. It’s also fun and very funny. The answers can be silly, and good jokes in themselves. Or even sardonic, like the answer to what is associated with James Bond, being: misogyny.
During the questions, the Cat Burglar is trying to do something that will usually end up going badly for the dog. If you fail, you lose a life and have to do another animation segment in that run. There are also three different questions in each segment. Just getting one of them makes you lose a life.
I counted 6 different parts to each game run, with two different animations to each, depending on if you die or succeed. The questions change as well, having different questions even if you are an animation segment you have been on before.
When I completed the first run, I enjoyed it but thought it was quite short. Then Peanut on the end screen told me, “It’s a different cartoon every time’ and I noticed there were five empty spaces next to the painting Rowdy had stolen. So I replayed.
Reader, I got every painting. It took me just over an hour (including a short break for a meal) to complete all of them, getting all six paintings. I lost one life on average, two on a few and all my lives on the last one. I thought I was done for, but there was an, inexplicably, in-game divine intervention. I did start to get more nervous near the end due to really wanting to win which may have made it more difficult for me.
The game swaps what happens in each segment I think randomly, and I think I saw the majority of what it had to offer.
Is there anything bad about the game? Well maybe you may come to repeated segments a lot, but the animation is so fun it won’t be much of a problem. So yeah, unless you are focused on getting all the paintings replayability may be a factor. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn’t rewarded with more than I got when I collected all the portraits. Also, it’s more of a cartoon than a game, but a good cartoon and the gameplay is fun nevertheless.
So is the game accessible? I say so. The questions are on the right level, maybe a bit too easy, but if you are going for six paintings like me in one relentless run through, you may slip up a bit due to nerves. Good for non-gamers interested in the cartoon, and maybe not the most challenging for the more seasoned gamer, or even quiz show fanatic, but I think it gets the balance right.
Verdict:
A fun homage to classic cartoons is also a decent game aimed for the casual players but is fun enough for seasoned gamers as well, the cartoon can be good for those younger ones but also has enough sardonic, silly and satirical brilliance for those who are older.
8.5 cunning cats out of 10
