Creativity does not always result in a well-thought-out work. Originality does not guarantee that your work will stand out. The use of symbols is a popular stylistic approach for expressing an author’s thoughts indirectly. Nekojiru-sou is certainly creative, original and full of symbolism. I must have liked it then, right? Well… not really. Masaaki Yuasa, whose Tatami Galaxy I absolutely love, disappointed me immensely in one key aspect of this work. Unfortunately, it ruins the entire experience of Cat Soup for me.
The most notable aspect of this short movie is that its dialogue is reduced to an absolute minimum. It obviously complements the overall atmosphere, which is undeniably overwhelming. To some extent, symbolism replaces conversations between the characters and helps move the story forward. A first viewing of Cat Soup may bring forth the feeling of confusion in its audience. The ever-present symbolism only intensifies that impression. From there on, people describe it as a “thought provoking” film, which it most definitely is not. The entire experience lasts about thirty minutes, and given its runtime, it becomes clear how few of its ideas are explored in depth. We follow anthropomorphic cat siblings on a journey during which they encounter a series of strange phenomena. It is difficult to say more about this movie without moving into a full interpretation of it. Therein lies my main gripe.
The ideas behind Cat Soup didn’t motivate me enough to analyze its symbolism in depth. If we treat the film as an experiment in presenting as many ideas as possible without developing them in any meaningful way, then the viewers should watch the movie superficially and not analyze what they have seen. Either way, the viewers are unlikely to find anything worth mentioning. Unfortunately, I chose to search for a deeper meaning. What I encountered instead was a plunge into a paddling pool and a sense of complete disappointment.
I wouldn’t call Cat Soup a complete waste of time, as it still serves as an interesting exploration of surrealism. Nothing more, nothing less. However, there are far better surrealist experiences across various forms of media, including anime, that also manage to tell engaging stories. After watching Cat Soup, one is left with a sense of dissatisfaction and a lack of joy from deciphering “riddles” from the author, who himself doesn’t know what he tries to convey.
If you don’t feel a strong connection with the concept of “art for art's sake,” and the artistic vision from 2001 doesn’t impress you much anymore, then you can safely pass on Cat Soup without feeling like you’ve missed anything worthwhile. There were a couple of moments that personally resonated with me in some way, but they weren’t nearly enough for me to defend this film. I don’t believe that the use of symbolism alone makes an author a genius. They also need to actually convey something, not just attempt to. I can only imagine the kind of conversations that took place among the people working on the short film. “So we added a bunch of stuff that might mean something, but we’re not sure what. Can you tell us?” “Meaning? What meaning? I thought we were doing just whatever we wanted.” And that’s Cat Soup for you.