The Cat Piano
Encyclopedia
The Cat Piano is an award winning animated short film directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson and narrated by Nick Cave
.
Singers and musicians begin to disappear into thin air, "Like sailors lost at sea". As police investigate the missing cats, they find human shoeprints. The main character begins to explain the Cat Piano and its terrible function. We are informed that the Cat Piano is an instrument, much like any ordinary piano or harpsichord. The terrible reality is that instead of using strings and hammers to produce the desired noise, the Cat Piano produces noise by striking a nail into the tails of one or more cats that are caged in the piano. Immediately after discovering this, the main character rushes to warn the female singer, and arrives seconds too late.
His heart broken, the city falls to pieces around him, fights break out, and music becomes forbidden. For a short while, the poet is tortured of thoughts of The Cat Piano, and can't get the sounds of screaming cats out of his head. He motions shooting himself with his hand, and with the word "Snap", we are shown a glimpse of what appears to be a nightmare. In this nightmare, a dark humanoid figure holds up a cage with the afformentioned female singer and pricks her with a needle. The poet wakes up in a cold sweat and decides to take action. He observes the lighthouse from a hill, which now casts a red beam of light, and he can hear the terrible screams of the cats from a distance.
A makeshift army of the city's citizens is shown behind him. He and the army head over to the lighthouse in boats, and upon their arrival begin to scale the lighthouse. They break into the lighthouse, and we are given a glimpse of the mad pianist. The instrument he is playing resembles more of an organ than a piano, but nevertheless it is a terrifying torture machine equipped with hundreds of needles. The poet meets eyes with the singer, who is placed at the very top of the organ. The man playing the organ turns around, and the army of cats attacks him. They bite, scratch, and claw at him until he stumbles out of a window and falls to his death.
They free the imprisoned cats, set fire to the lighthouse, and leave with the prisoners for home. The mood immediately becomes lighthearted again, as the city regains its artistic merit. The poet is sure to point out that he is no more famous or revered as he was before the incident - just an "anonymity". He is just glad to be able to listen to the sounds of music coming from the streets. As he finishes his typing, just before the story ends, the singer he was enamored with is seen in his room. She walks over to him and affectionately strokes his chin, implying a happy ending for the poet.
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
.
Plot
The Cat Piano is narrated by the main character of the animated short, an anthropomorphic cat. It is clear that the narration is a poem, which the poet is typing on a typewriter. In the beginning, we are introduced to his city's love of music and musical prowess. The poet singles out one female singer who he is clearly enamored with, quoting her singing as "A voice that made all the angels of eternity sound ... tone deaf". Shortly afterwards we are introduced to an overbearing structure beyond the sea, appearing to be a lighthouse. Its light quickly goes out, foreshadowing malevolence.Singers and musicians begin to disappear into thin air, "Like sailors lost at sea". As police investigate the missing cats, they find human shoeprints. The main character begins to explain the Cat Piano and its terrible function. We are informed that the Cat Piano is an instrument, much like any ordinary piano or harpsichord. The terrible reality is that instead of using strings and hammers to produce the desired noise, the Cat Piano produces noise by striking a nail into the tails of one or more cats that are caged in the piano. Immediately after discovering this, the main character rushes to warn the female singer, and arrives seconds too late.
His heart broken, the city falls to pieces around him, fights break out, and music becomes forbidden. For a short while, the poet is tortured of thoughts of The Cat Piano, and can't get the sounds of screaming cats out of his head. He motions shooting himself with his hand, and with the word "Snap", we are shown a glimpse of what appears to be a nightmare. In this nightmare, a dark humanoid figure holds up a cage with the afformentioned female singer and pricks her with a needle. The poet wakes up in a cold sweat and decides to take action. He observes the lighthouse from a hill, which now casts a red beam of light, and he can hear the terrible screams of the cats from a distance.
A makeshift army of the city's citizens is shown behind him. He and the army head over to the lighthouse in boats, and upon their arrival begin to scale the lighthouse. They break into the lighthouse, and we are given a glimpse of the mad pianist. The instrument he is playing resembles more of an organ than a piano, but nevertheless it is a terrifying torture machine equipped with hundreds of needles. The poet meets eyes with the singer, who is placed at the very top of the organ. The man playing the organ turns around, and the army of cats attacks him. They bite, scratch, and claw at him until he stumbles out of a window and falls to his death.
They free the imprisoned cats, set fire to the lighthouse, and leave with the prisoners for home. The mood immediately becomes lighthearted again, as the city regains its artistic merit. The poet is sure to point out that he is no more famous or revered as he was before the incident - just an "anonymity". He is just glad to be able to listen to the sounds of music coming from the streets. As he finishes his typing, just before the story ends, the singer he was enamored with is seen in his room. She walks over to him and affectionately strokes his chin, implying a happy ending for the poet.
Crew
| Production Company: | The People's Republic of Animation The People's Republic Of Animation The People's Republic of Animation is an animation studio based in Adelaide, Australia. Since starting out on music videos for Australian bands in 2003, The People’s Republic of Animation has grown into a highly prolific studio creating international award-winning short films, TV commercials and... |
| Investors: | Adelaide Film Festival/South Australian Film Corporation |
| Executive Producers: | Nick Cave Nick Cave Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and... , Sam White & Hugh Nguyen |
| Art Director: | Jason Pamment |
| Animators: | Ari Gibson, Makoto Koji, Alex Grigg, Benjamin Drake & Brodie McCrossin |
| Production Manager: | Renee Boucher |
| Character Design: | Ari Gibson, Eddie White (director) Eddie White (director) Edward Alexander White is an Australian animation writer/director and actor and co-founder of The People's Republic Of Animation. White won an Australian Film Institute Award for Short Animation for The Cat Piano... , Makoto Koji & Alex Grigg |
| Supervising Sound Designer: | Robert Makenzie |
| Sound Designer: | Tom Heuzenroeder |
| Sound Mixer: | Pete Smith |
| Compositing and VFX: | Ben Steele, Raynor Pettger & Leath Mattner |
| Support: | WACOM |
Awards and nominations
- 49th Festival International du Film d'Animation d'AnnecyAnnecy International Animated Film FestivalThe Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
, Official Selection Nomination, 2009 - Australian Film Institute AwardsAustralian Film InstituteThe Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
, Best Short Animation, 2009 - Inside Film AwardsInside Film AwardsThe Inside Film Awards is an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry, a format created by Australian Producer Andrew Dillon...
, Best Animation, 2009 - 58th Melbourne International Film FestivalMelbourne International Film FestivalThe Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
, Best Animation Short Film, 2009 - 56th Sydney Film FestivalSydney Film FestivalThe Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...
, Dendy Award Best Animation Short, 2009 - 4th Adelaide Film FestivalAdelaide Film FestivalThe Adelaide Film Festival is a biennial and non-competitive film festival held over two weeks in late February, in Adelaide, South Australia....
, Audience Award Best Short, 2009 - APRA Screen Music Awards Best Music in a Short Film Nomination, 2009 (Benjamin SpeedBenjamin SpeedBenjamin Peter Speed is an Australian musician who composes scores for film, television and theatre...
) - The film won two prizes at Bø Animasjonshelg in Norway.
External links
- The official website for The Cat Piano, including the whole film
- The People's Republic of Animation website, with the whole film
- Information about The Cat Piano at the Short Film Central database