Cert U
90 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very mild bad language, mild slapstick violence
It's a big risk for movie studios to tinker with characters who are beloved by parents or, in this case, grandparents or even great grandparents.
Top Cat was originally a TV hit between 1961 and 1962. Surprisingly, only 30 episodes were made by ABC.
This means that it must have already been on re-runs when my pals and I became fans in the late 60s.
Fifty years later, a Mexican team has put together a computer animation which is an imagination of how Top Cat (voiced in English by Jason Harris) first met his gang.
And sadly, it doesn't really work.
Top Cat's gentle humour was his hallmark during the 1960s but Andres Couturier's film is more aggressive and threatening than I remember the TV series.
For example, one of its central characters is a giant crocodile called Mr Big who runs a part of Top Cat's city with menaces.
His henchmen chase TC and Benny The Ball out of town after they believe they have snatched some diamonds.
But before they face up to Mr Big they meet up with the rest of the gang - Choo-Choo, Brain, Spook and Fancy-Fancy.
Apparently, the producers of Top Cat Begins had the intention of making the film more edgy and contemporary than the TV series.
But the problem is they have tried to mend a concept which was not broken and, in the process, will have turned off TC's fans.
The consequence is that they will not be keen to show their children this pale imitation of their beloved Top Cat.
Reasons to watch: easygoing slapstick
Reasons to avoid: doesn't have the same spark as the TV show
Laughs: none for me
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4.5/10
Star tweet
Suzy Bennett #TopCatBegins- flashback to his parents brutally murdered in front of him for their Whiskas which led to his living in a trash can.....?
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