Introduction
In the year 2010, practically one hundred percent of Cat Earth's GDP comes from the megacorporation Catty & Co., which is rapidly spreading across the rest of the galaxy. Here lives Tamala, a beautiful yet foul-mouthed cat, who decides to travel to the planet of her birth, Orion. After an unfortunate crash landing on the planet Q, Tamala meets Michaelangelo, a fellow cat, whom Tamala refers to as "MoiMoi."
As Tamala and Michaelangelo explore the planet's capital, Hate City—which is under martial law to separate the feuding cat and dog populations—they pass by graffiti and museum exhibits about the ancient cult of Minerva that speak of something dark and sinister. After Tamala catches the eye of the extremely violent motorcycle-riding Kentauros, she and Michaelangelo flee, but mysteries about Tamala's identity continue to surface. Why did Tamala originally leave Orion, and what exactly is her connection to Catty & Co.?
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
8 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
KousakaK
Unbridled creativity harkening back to both CGI experiments of the 90's and all the way through Astro Boy and Tetsujin, something Osamu Tezuka would have been proud to see being put to the screen. Yet it still screams 2002, early internet, Newgrounds and is exemplary of indie animations of the time. It looks and feels amateurish but I didn't find that to be a detriment to my enjoyment, it's not meant to be a polished mass marketed animation, it's counterculture anime and almost feels like an answer to the beautiful worlds that Miyazaki and Ghibli were having such major success with around this time, not to discredit Ghibli of course, Lord knows I adore that studio, but it's about showing what's cooking in the underground and what anime can also be. The flaws are what make this for me, it w…
Read at the sourcetheroboxer
This flick's an acid trip of cutesy meets crude, and not in a “oh, isn’t that quirky” kinda way, but more in a “why?” kinda way. It’s a half-assed dystopian universe, and there’s this chain-smoking, punk-ass space cat named Tamala. This cat’s got attitude in spades, a vibe that’s somehow both ‘fuck society’ and ‘let’s nap forever.’ I’ll give ‘em credit for the artsy black-and-white style—it’s got that slick, underground comic vibe, and the creators didn’t hold back on the existential dread.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the plot… if you can call it that, is a total clusterfuck. Tamala’s out here exploring dystopian planets, but it’s less a story and more like a weird collage of “what the hell did I just watch?” moments. There’s some half-baked corporate satire, a sprinkle of weirdly violent sc…
Read at the sourceLycan
To sum up this film in one word, I would say "jarring." From the themes, imagery, characters, music... It's a very unique piece.
First off, the music was AMAZING and easily my favorite part about this movie. I want to say the animation is lack luster, but considering it was only two people working on it, it's passable. I think this story would have done a bit more justice if it was polished a bit more.
It's a shame the other two were never made. As a stand alone, it doesn't quite appease anyone who's hoping for a conclusive ending. You also have to be in a punk mindset because Tamala is rejecting her non-consensual symbolism to just live as she pleases. It give a big screw you to capitalism and two party politics (the cat and dog party), which is always a plus. Tamala wants to own hers…
Read at the sourceSidewinder51
Rate of 3(Poor)
seen via english subtitles
Scif.i has a tendency of involving time warps and such but i never imagined a shows plot could be as equally warped! They take random things and throw it into the plot. Sometimes the cut to scenes of people talking but is unclear if theses are more random people or the same couple that keeps taking because they never focus on the characters. Instead the camera focuses on the legs, shows them in dark light, yadada.
Sound, was a joke. Using the same couple i mentioned the voices which are supposed to be of two individuals to me came from one. Also, from what could be seen of the hidden couple they were dressed as female so why a male voice?
I could go on and on but what would be the point. It won't provide me with answers just more questions.…
Read at the sourcegwern
[Spoiler Warning]
I learned of _Tamala_ from Anime Year by Year's 2002 entry, which describes the work thus:
"Unbeknownst to her, she is genetically engineered to remain eternally young by the conglomerate Catty & Co., formerly the clandestine cult of Minerva, so that she can be used for advertising purposes. Even after she is killed mid-film by a pedophilic dog police officer, she remains 'immortal' with her face plastered over all of Meguro Ward, Tokyo in ads for cigarettes, matchboxes, and other consumables. One of her flings, a cat named Michelangelo (calling himself Professor Nominos later in the film), views the logographic Tamala in the same way Oedipa Maas does the muted post horn in Lot 49 and starts giving lectures on her hidden significance. To anyone who enjoys Pynchon's nove…
Read at the source5camp
Tamala is an anime movie from 2002 animated mostly by 2 guys. It’s split between 2D flash animation and CG animation, shot entirely in black and white and all the characters are anthropomorphised animals. The story follows a cat called Tamala, who leaves Cat Earth and visits a rundown shithole planet so she can do whatever the hell she likes, farting about with her new wimpy hipster boyfriend.
The thing to understand about Tamala is that it’s a very artsy fartsy indie film. It’s a struggle to come up with comparisons in anime because it’s so different, but its directing style reminded me a lot of 2001 Space Odyssey. Reality is distorted. A lot is said without words, really drawing out certain scenes in order to hammer home the point. It’s a frying pan to the face method of metaphor-driven…
Read at the sourceEratiK
First review.
Tamala 2010 is pretty much what I would call an experimental movie, likely auto produced. As such, the movie possesses strong points and weak points, which makes it hard to give it an overall mark.
Looking for qualifiers, I first thought of "cyberpunk", but the visual simplicity makes it barely adequate here (compare to Tetsuo), plus the usual cyberpunk questionning of existence also lacks. Tamala nevertheless has a punk attitude, and is akin to a somewhat dreamlike SF black and white Happy Tree Friends (without the gore).
That said, the mix is quite effective, and would probably have been awesome if not for the lacks in direction/writing, with a cool but thin plot, cool but underdevelopped characters and an overlong moment which could have been splitted or handled diff…
Read at the sourcekimmiechan
"Tamala - Punk Cat in Space" is quite a trip, and for any who enjoy this genre, I highly recommend this anime.
Story
Tamala is about a pretty little female Cat, Tamala, who sets off from Cat-Earth on a journey to get to her home planet where she was born, Orion. Along the way her spaceship is damaged and she lands on a Planet, where she meets a male cat Named Michelangelo(Though Tamala keeps calling him MoiMoi). The movie basically follows what happens while Tamala is on that planet.
At first the story sounds very simple, and the animation style can trick an individual into thinking its an anime for younger audiences. That is far from the case. Despite its initial appearence, Tamala has loads of adult themes in it and there are deeper mysteries behind the plot. The biggest of these m…
Read at the source