An inquisitive narrator is on a worldwide search for something called "The Perfect Cat." A special cat directly linked to the first domesticated cat in history, "The Perfect Cat" is a living embodiment of mankind's vast relationship with feline-kind. Rather than possessing nine lives, as all cats do, "The Perfect Cat" possesses an unlimited number of lives and retains the memory of each life. This special cat is positioned to become one of the world's greatest sources of history, stretching back THOUSANDS of years. The narrator's search leads them to a random cat named Flora on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. To be certain that Flora is the "The Perfect Cat," the narrator subjects her to a stressful examination called "The Perfection Inspection." The stress of the examination pushes Flora beyond her limits, and causes her to clumsily misplace one of her legs! Flora must now embark on a philosophical journey to find it. Will the Narrator ever find Flora again? Will Flora ever reunite with her missing self? Is Flora "The Perfect Cat"?!!! Find out in a couple months by giving me money!

Cat videos. Everyone loves them! Even non-cat-owners will spend hours scrolling through social media watching videos of cats from all over the world. There's also a little something called "CatVideoFest" that demonstrates this obsession. An annual screening hosted in select cities where cat lovers purchase tickets to see a giant compilation of cat videos on the big screen. It costs very little to produce and yet brings in millions of dollars in profits! The best part is that a percentage of its proceeds go to local cat shelters, so it's a win-win for everyone, especially cats! As a filmmaker and cat owner myself, I was taken aback by how so many people found simple cat videos so cinematic they wanted to communally experience that love at a movie theater. I attended a screening to see what the hype was all about.

To no one's surprise, the screening was delightful! However, I felt the storytelling potential of its premise was significantly untapped. There was no thematic connection between each video. I know it's silly to expect, given it's more "festival" than documentary, but aren't documentaries kind of the same thing? A bunch of videos strung together to tell a larger story? So, what if you did that with cat videos?

Glad you asked, friend! This genesis of this story didn't start off with me wanting to make a political statement or challenge the art of visual storytelling with cat videos, but it simply started as a fun creative exercise for me to enjoy alone. After attending "CatVideoFest" and being a huge fan of Looney Tunes, I decided to experiment with cat videos of my own three-legged cat, Flora, and make something that would feel like a classic Looney Tunes short. I thought the experiment would - at most - take a couple of weeks to complete. But the more I played around with it, I realized I needed a script to organize my ideas which made things take longer than a couple of weeks. The more time I invested in this weird private experiment, the more I found myself in it. Parts of myself I didn't quite know were there... Parts that were in pain, parts that had so much love, and parts that were so foreign to me. To put it simply, through this personal creative experience, I discovered a goldmine of unspoken feelings and an outlet to express them. From there, this project experienced metamorphosis and became a completely different being. A being that eventually became the project you're reading about now.

With my idea fully developed, the concept of constructing such a story with very limited resources became an exciting and fun challenge as an independent filmmaker. I don't have to build sets, cast actors, purchase expensive film equipment, or shoot new footage. The only thing I need is a script (which is finished of course), my crew, my cat, and obviously some money.

The film draws some inspiration from How to with John Wilson. I've always marveled at how John Wilson just goes out and shoots a bunch of mundane, B-roll footage of life in New York, interviews a couple of everyday New Yorkers, and then recontextualizes that footage with a voice-over narration to tell a hilarious, beautiful story that speaks to the human condition. That's the kind of approach I'm going with here....BUT I want to push my idea a little further.

Art by Miranda Parkin

As I mentioned before, I've always been a diehard fan of classic Looney Tunes shorts. The simple plot construction, colorful characters, beautiful hand-drawn animation, all under 10 minutes. It's been a lifelong dream to make my own Looney Tunes short. To fulfill that dream, I wrote this story to feel like one. To really look and breathe like a Looney Tunes short, it needs hand-drawn animation. But the animation isn't purely for the sake of aesthetics. Animation in this short will represent different realities of the story such as the past, the future, and the fantastic. What I hope to produce with this body of ideas is a cohesive, cosmic, and, above all, larger than life story!

With that said, the style and design of the animation will not be derivative or try to imitate other works. I'm very proud and lucky to have Miranda Parkin on board as the animator who will help bring our vision to life! Below you can find some character designs Miranda whipped up for the project, to give you an idea of what's in store.

I've always been a fan of art that looks like it can be drawn on a napkin. Art that is imperfect, messy, and a little cheap. There's something comforting about it. I can't put my finger on what, exactly, but I bet many people would agree. I think it's because you can tell a person made it. Not a computer, artificial intelligence, or someone with unlimited resources, but a regular human being that could be your friend or relative. Essentially, it's art you can trust and feel close to. That's why cat videos fascinate me. You can feel the unconditional love in them and can get a sense of who the person is behind the camera, without even knowing what they look like. Cat videos are an art just as much as any other. The main priority of this project is to be deeply personal, universal, and homemade. I want the visuals to reflect that. None of the home videos will be staged because the moment I do that, the audience can tell right away, and it ruins the trust I want to build with them.

Visual Style: Animation

I want the animation to look like something someone could do at home with very little training. Something that will compliment and blend with the home videos being used in the project. The visuals below can give you an idea of what our team is going for.

The World of Tomorrow. Directed by Don Hertzfeldt

Yearbook. Directed by Bernado Britto

Manivald. Directed by Chinits Lundgren

Flora, the star of this movie, means a lot to me. I was never much of a cat person until I met Flora. Despite Flora being mean, antisocial, uncooperative, and occasionally violent, she's found a very special place in my heart. She was born as a stray and rescued at about a year old with a severely injured leg, which required amputation. Not many people take chances on disabled stray cats because they're perceived as difficult to take care of. They don't always get a fair chance at having a loving home. They may be a little more difficult, but the amount of life and love you find in them is so nourishing and beautiful that it makes all the trouble so so worth it - if not more.

To help little unlucky cats like Flora, I need to absolutely knock it out of the park by making one of the best independent short films I can about cats, and using it to help raise money for cat shelters!

However... To make the best cat short film ever and raise donations, I'll need some money for:

1. Crew: I need to pay my super talented friends fairly for their time and labor. Especially for the animation crew because that takes up A LOT of time and labor. It's a small crew so it will not eat up most of the budget.
2. Theater Rental: To get people to watch the film at a cinema, I need money to help me rent one.
3. Theater's Bar Rental: I want to make the screening a bigger event by renting out the theater's bar and hosting a fundraising after-party. That way, the love and fun doesn't have to end right when the credits roll, and we can maximize donation opportunities.

And here's the best part! Instead of just a percentage of the proceeds going to local cat shelters. ALL profits will go to local cat shelters!

I am not interested in making a dime off this. The opportunity to make this film will be the best compensation I could ask for. Thankfully, I have so much film equipment I can "borrow" from my job that I don't have to spend much of my personal funds producing this project.

Listen, if you would rather give your money directly to cat shelters. I don't blame you. Nothing wrong with being a hater with a heart. BUT you could totally do that AND support my film by following my cat's instagram page (@flora_14_toes) which I will be hijacking to promote this film! If you're feeling extra generous, please tell your friends to follow the page and spread the word. At the moment, I am working with local cat shelters to help facilitate some publicity and sponsorship for the film, so we've already got the ball rolling in other areas.