Cat Lake City – Animated Short
2019 | 6:41 min | 4K | 1.85:1 | 5.1 Dolby/Stereo | FSK: 0 | 2D Drawn Animation
It’s summer, the sun is shining, and Percy, the cat, is eager to go on vacation. Specifically, he wants to visit “Cat Lake City,” the ultimate holiday paradise for cats. Everything seems perfect, but things are not as wonderful as expected in this feline haven. Percy soon discovers that there are visitors around who are clearly not cats. He must learn to navigate this new situation, and at first, he struggles to adjust to the unexpected changes in his dream vacation.
Making Of
The idea for CAT LAKE CITY emerged while we were working on another film. The image of a fishing cat on a lake suddenly became a kind of fixed idea, captured in the form of a small, rather unassuming scribble on the whiteboard. However, as often happens in the development of concepts, we initially didn’t use the idea. The drawing on the studio whiteboard remained, and we began to think about what we could do with it. Suddenly, a whole cosmos of absurdity hung in the air: A cat on a lake—what on earth is it doing there? And tadaaa: CAT LAKE CITY was born. The best vacation spot for cats in the world.
We quickly found a name for our protagonist, “Percy Cat” (since Percy is also the name of our studio cat), and we envisioned what kind of character he would be and how he would behave in certain situations. What he would specifically experience in CAT LAKE CITY was initially far from clear. We discovered it through improvisational animation, where we essentially threw him into the deep end and let him act; and later in various concept development sessions, during which the ducks emerged as side characters and the entire storyline took shape. During this phase, we considered and discarded many ideas. However, it was part of the concept from the very beginning that the film would have an episodic character.
After an extended animation phase (oh yes, frame-by-frame animation is very labor-intensive), we finally rounded off the film with the sound design in the autumn of 2018. The lively music, the sound effects, and Percy’s voice (which was our final creative decision) brought CAT LAKE CITY to life. Here’s to a cheerful “Happy VaCATions”!
★ Awards★
Seal of Approval “Highly Recommended” | FBW (German federal authority for evaluating & rating film)
First Prize @ VAFI & RAFI – Int´l Children and Youth Animation FF | Croatia
Public audience award @ 17th Plein la Bobine Film Festival | France
Best comedy film & Children jury diploma @ 6th ZERO PLUS Int´l Film Festival | Russia
Special Mention @ Festival of Animation Berlin | Germany
Audience Award @ 12th filmzeitkaufbeuren | Germany
Animated Film diploma @ 22nd Int´l Animated Film Festival “Animaevka” | Belarus
Jury prize child @ RécréAction Festival | France
Best Animated Short Film Nomination Award @ Xiamen Int´l Animation Festival | China
2nd Award @ Akut Amberg | Germany
Best Short Film Award | 7th Ajyal Film Festival |
Golden Anteaters Award | 13th Lublin Film Festival | Poland
Kids Film Award | 14th ZUBROFFKA Int´l Short Film Festival | Poland
Best Children’s Film Award | 16th London Int´l Animation Festival | UK
★ Screenings★
26th ITFS Stuttgart Int´l Festival of Animated Film | Germany
22nd Kristiansand Int´l Children´s Film Festival | Norway
7th Seoul Guro Int´l Kids Film Festival | South Korea
16th IndieLisboa Int´l Film Festival | Portugal
12th Int´l Children’s Film Festival Bangladesh | India
13th Flatpack Film Festival | UK
31st Filmfest Dresden | Germany
21st Hamburg Mo&Friese Children’s ShortFilmFestival | Germany
17th Plein la Bobine Film Festival | France
9th Int´l Animated Film Festival Animocje | Poland
59th Zlín Film Festival | Czech Republic
14th Little Big Shots Int´l FF for Kids | Australia
12th Fest Anca Int´l Animation Festival | Slovakia
10th VAFI & RAFI – Int´l Children and Youth Animation FF | Croatia
27th Anima Mundi Int´l Animation Festival | Brazil
27th Curtas Vila do Conde IFF | Portugal
20th ShorTS Int´l Film Festival | Italy
3rd Festival of Animation Berlin | Germany
15th Lago Film Fest | Italy
4th Zinetxiki Zinemaldia – Int´l Film Festival for Children & Youth | Spain
22nd Guanajuato Int´l Film Festival | Mexiko
8th Tour Film Festival | Italy
32nd Cinekid Festival Amsterdam | Netherlands
12th MOSCA – Cambuquira Short Film Festival | Brazil
45th FILMETS Badalona Film Festival | Spain
Festival International du Film de Nancy | France
7th Insomnia Int´l Animation Festival | Russia
43rd Göteborg Film Festival Kids | Sweden
43rd Open-Air Filmfest Weiterstadt | Germany
9th Int´l Film Festival Cinema & You | Ukraine
34th Brest European Short Film Festival | France
4th IndieJúnior Allianz – International Children’s and Youth Film Festival | Portugal
35th Cartoon Club Int´l Festival of Animation Cinema, Comics & Games | Italy
14th LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation & Media Art Festival | Ukraine
26th OpenEyes Filmfest Marburg | Germany
10th Lahore International Children’s Film Festival / India
Buster Copenhagen | Denmark
DOK Leipzig | Germany
14 th Sapporo International Film Festival | Japan
FAN Chile
60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival | Greece
17th Michel Kinder und Jugend Filmfest Hamburg | Germany
El Meu Primer | Spain
6th New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival | Japan
12th filmzeitkaufbeuren | Germany
11th TOFUZI International Animated Film Festival
10th ANIMAGE International Animation Festival of Pernambuco
36th Chicago Int´l Children’s FF | United States
4th IndieJunior Allianz – International Children’s and Youth FF | Portugal
LIAF London International Animation Festival | UK
13th Lublin Film Festival | Poland
28th St. Louis Int´l Film Festival | USA
Calibélula International Children“s and Youth Film Festival
5th SIFFCY – Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth, New Delhi, India
22nd Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People | Greece
16th Animateka Int´l Animated Film Festival | Slovenija
18th Reggio Film Festival | Italy
Festival RécréAction | France
18th Children’s Film Festival Seattle | United States
15th REDCAT International Children’s Film Festival in Los Angeles
22nd BAMkids Film Festival, New York
18th Sommets du cinéma d’animation Montreal | Canada
11th Providence Children’s Festival | United States
12th Xiamen International Animation Festival | China
11th Lobo Fest – International Film Festival | Brasília
15th ROLAN – International Film Festival for Children & Young People | Armenia
8th International Animation Film Festival – Gdansk | Poland
10th Jana International Film Festival for Children and Youth | Lebanon
6th Allgäuer Filmfeschdival| Germany
11th Bay Area CInternational hildrens´Film Festival | United States
25th Leuven International Short Film Festival | Belgium
17th Anilogue International Animation Festival | Hungary
Black Movie Film Festival’s Geneva | Switzerland
7th Ajyal Film Festival
42th Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival | France
39th Brussels Int´l Animation Film Festival | Belgium
Credits
Idea, Design & Direction: Antje Heyn
Animation: Alexander Isert & Ted Newis
Animation Assistance: Johanna Hochholzer
Voice: Janek van Laak
Music: Peer Kleinschmidt
Foley Art: Peter Sandmann
Sound Editing & Mixing: Sebastian Reuter
Supervising Cat: Percy
© Protoplanet Studio