Felidae (song)

Plot

The song is not directly tied to the film's plot, which follows Francis, a domestic house cat who moves into a dilapidated house with his owner Gustav Löbel. Francis discovers the body of a cat killed by a bite to the neck and befriends a one-eyed Maine Coon named Bluebeard.

He learns that the top floor of his house is the meeting site of a cat sect led by Joker, which worships an entity called Claudandus and performs ritualistic suicide by electric current. Francis escapes the sect and meets a blind cat named Felicity, who provides information. The sole surviving cat, named Claudandus, killed the lab's lead technician Dr. Preterius and became a martyr figure for the modern sect.

Cast

The song's performers are not listed in the cast. The film's voice cast includes Ulrich Tukur as Francis, a tuxedo cat; Mario Adorf as Bluebeard, a disfigured Maine Coon; Klaus Maria Brandauer as Claudandus, formerly known as Pascal, an elderly Havana Brown; Helge Schneider as Jesaja, a Persian cat; Wolfgang Hess as Kong, a deformed Himalayan cat; Gerhard Garbers as Professor Julius Preterius; Ulrich Wildgruber as Joker, a Scottish Fold; Mona Seefried as Felicity, a blind Russian Blue; Manfred Steffen as Gustav Löbel; Uwe Ochsenknecht as Archie; Michaela Amler as Nhozemphtekh, an Egyptian Mau; Christian Schneller as Gregor Mendel; Tobias Lelle and Frank Röth as the Hermanns, a pair of Oriental Shorthairs; and Alexandra Mink as Pepeline.

Production and release

The title track for Felidae was a collaboration between Boy George and John Themis, with George both singing and co-writing the song. The soundtrack itself was issued as a 16-track CD. For its home video release, the film came out on PAL region 2 DVD, featuring Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 surround for the original German audio, while the English dub was presented in Dolby 2.0. Bonus materials, all in German, included a commentary track, a trailer, and a making-of documentary.

Decades after its initial release, Deaf Crocodile brought Felidae to the United States on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 31, 2024, followed by a Canadian release on February 11, 2025. This marked the film's first release in those markets, featuring a new restoration but omitting the English dub. It was also made available on the OVID streaming platform.

Reception and legacy

The film failed at the German box office due to poor marketing, and the English version had limited release prior to the Deaf Crocodile rerelease, possibly due to strong violence and sexual content. The English dub was included as an alternate-language option on German and French DVD releases and has been uploaded to YouTube. Eric Hansen of Variety criticized the film's lack of screen time for the plot and Klaus Maria Brandauer's voice-over as by-the-numbers, but praised the voices of Francis and Bluebeard. Austin Film Society described it as catnip for anyone pondering an R-rated Don Bluth movie.