Review: Miss Moxy is a meow-velous adventure

I am, and have always been, a dog person. But a few minutes into Miss Moxy, a supremely entertaining Dutch and Belgian coproduction that has been rolling out theatrically in Europe, I found myself struck with a (to me) horrifying thought: "Is this movie going to make me into a cat person?" That that thought could even occur to me is a testament to how charming and wonderful an adventure Miss Moxy is.

Directors Wip Vernooj and Vincent Bal, along with writer Maureen Versprille, have crafted a really fun tale here. I was actually a little surprised that it isn't based on a children's book, because it has such well-crafted bones, a sturdy story, and fun characters. And a lot of the times, movies that are aimed at this demographic hav literary roots. But this is an original work, one that recalls classic animal stories like Homeward Bound, while making its own mark on the genre.

The titular feline is a beloved pet who spends her days roaming her neighborhood with a troupe of other cats, known as the Pink Ladies. They run the town, prowl the rooftops, tease the neighborhood dogs. And at night, Moxy returns to her devoted owner Josie, a little girl who loves Moxy more than anything in the world. So much so, that when the family is due to go on a cat-less holiday, Josie can't bear the thought, and sneaks Moxy into her bag.

Thus, Moxy ends up at a picturesque farm run by the brawny Rita, who is desperate for fame in the form of winning a televised animal talent show with her jowly bulldog Brute. When Rita sees Josie and Moxy playing piano together, evil machinations start churning. Having two talented animals (Brute is a tightrope walker himself) would guarantee Rita a win. A cat-napping plot ensues, and when a family accident cuts the vacation short, Josie and her family must return home sans Moxy. So, the adventure begins.

Moxy has to team up with Brute and a wise old bird named Ayo to find her way home, across beautiful countryside and multiple cities, so she can reunite with her owner. And along the way, her beliefs about the way of the world, and various stereotypes about other animals (specifically dogs) are challenged. So, Miss Moxy leans into evergreen themes about not judging a book by its cover, and what it means to be a good friend. They're the sort of well-worn lessons that always work well in movies that are, ultimately, aimed at kids, and can help cue up young viewers to be good citizens of the world. 

And these themes are brought to wonderful life via the various character dynamics, especially the frenemy friction between Moxy and Brute. Moxy is clever, a bit conniving, but ultimately kind. Brute is a bit simpler in the head, well-trained to the point of being a little brainwashed, not as well-versed in the ways of the world. So Moxy finds herself able to manipulate her canine companion pretty easily, leading to some funny set-ups and scenarios. But whereas Moxy is often thinking only of herself, Brute has a kind of wounded kindness that guides him through the world. They each have quite a bit to learn from each other.

(It's worth mentioning here that I watched the English dub of the film, which was uniformly great across the board. From Ayo's thick-accented delivery of fortune cookie-esque quips of wisdom to Brute's gruff huff-and-pufifng, the English cast does great work.)

Much of the fun here comes from the colorful cast of characters our heroic trio encounters throughout their journey. These scenes are often accompanied by musical numbers, which are catchy and illuminative. Aside from being just plain fun (as a musical number usually ought to be), they add texture and nuance to the world, such as the song sung by a misanthropic rat about the virtues of being alone, which makes Moxy think maybe she should ditch Ayo and Brute for good. As a sucker for musicals, I very much appreciated these scenes (and, again, the English translations of the songs are great).

Such a cute story deserves cute animation, and Miss Moxy delivers there, as well. The characters are adorable, and I think there's a bit of frame rate tinkering at play here, because there's a slight stop-motion-y feel to how the characters move. Though I'm an animation lover, I'm not well-versed on the technical side of things, but regardless, this is a lovely-looking movie.

As I said, Miss Moxy has been popping up in theaters overseas throughout the first quarter of the year, including in the UK and the Netherlands. As far as I know, it doesn't yet have US distribution in place, but it feels like it could be a perfect fit for Viva Kids, or maybe Blue Fox. I imagine a deal will be figured out, because this is such a fun and sweet movie that kids will love, and one that will also play well with audiences of all ages. It's certainly one of the most pleasant surprises of the year for me so far.