Miss Minoes[3] (Dutch: Minoes) is a 2001 Dutch family film written and directed by Vincent Bal and co-written and produced by Burny Bos, based on the Dutch children's novel Minoes by Annie M.G. Schmidt. The film stars Theo Maassen and Carice van Houten as the titular character.
| Miss Minoes | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Vincent Bal |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Minoes by Annie M. G. Schmidt |
| Produced by | Burny Bos |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Walther van den Ende |
| Edited by | Peter Alderliesten |
| Music by | Peter Vermeersch |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Language | Dutch |
| Box office | $4,772,773[1][2] |
The film was released on 6 December 2001 in the Netherlands by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Family Entertainment label. The film won the Golden Calves for Best Feature Film and Best Actress.[4] Music Box Films released an English dubbed version on 23 December 2011[5] in New York City[6] and Chicago.[7]
Plot
editOne night, a cat named Minoes stumbles upon a can of chemical liquid dropped by a truck, and after drinking it transforms into a human woman. As a human, she maintains her feline traits such as her fear of dogs, meowing on the roof with other cats, catching mice, purring, and eating raw fish. She soon meets a journalist named Tibbe, who works for the newspaper of the fictional town of Killendoorn.
Tibbe is very shy, and therefore he finds it quite hard to write good articles. At first, Tibbe does not believe she is a cat in human form, but Minoes happens to know all kinds of interesting news from the town cats, so it doesn't bother him. In exchange for food and shelter, Tibbe allows Minoes to help him with his journalist job by finding interesting news to write about. With the help of the Cat Press Service and all the news the cats bring in, Tibbe soon becomes the journalist with the best articles.
However, there is one important article that Tibbe does not dare to write: an article on the rich Mr. Ellemeet, the chemical factory owner. All town members consider him a respectable man, and a real animal lover. But all cats know that he is not what he seems. After Minoes finally convinces Tibbe to write and publish the article, the whole town turns its back on him. He loses his job and is almost evicted from his apartment. However, Minoes helps set up a sting in which Ellemeet is filmed shooting at cats and exposed as the cruel villain he is. In the end, although Minoes has a chance to turn back into a cat by eating a bullfinch (which supposedly eats herbs that can cure many conditions such as that of a cat turning into a human), she decides to remain human and stay with Tibbe, having fallen in love with him. The film's credits reveal that the two got married.
Cast
edit- Carice van Houten as Minoes
- Theo Maassen as Tibbe
- Sarah Bannier as Bibi
- Hans Kesting as Harrie de Haringman
- Olga Zuiderhoek as Mrs. Van Dam
- Kees Hulst as Mr. Van Dam
- Jack Wouterse as Mayor Van Weezel
- Pierre Bokma as Mr. Ellemeet
- Hans Teeuwen as Tinus (voice)
- Katja Schuurman as Minoes' Sister (voice)
- Loes Luca as Aunt Moortje (voice)
- Wim T. Schippers as Simon The Schoolcat (voice)
- Paul Haenen as Mrs. Pastoor (voice)
- Frits Lambrechts as Joop (voice)
- Kim van Kooten as Leentje (voice)
- Annet Malherbe as Jakkepoes (voice)
Release
editIt was a box office success, grossing $4,227,362 in the Netherlands, $111,858 in Germany, $34,164 in Austria, and $389,200 in Norway.
Critical response
editThe 2011 English dub received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying that "the movie is probably ideal for those proverbial young girls who adore cats, and young boys, too. I can’t recommend it for adults attending on their own, unless they really, really love cats".[8]
Home media
editThe film was released on DVD and VHS on 4 October 2002 in the Netherlands by Warner Home Video.
References
edit- ^ "Miss Minoes (2011) - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
- ^ "Miss Minoes 2004 Re-release". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "Miss Minoes (2001)". IMDb.
- ^ "Filmoverzicht". Nederlands Film Festival.
- ^ Toumarkine, Doris (22 December 2011). "Film Review: Miss Minoes". Film Journal International. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ Anderson, Melissa (21 December 2011). "Movies: Miss Minoes". The Village Voice. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "Poezenfilm Minoes naar Amerika". Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (21 December 2011). "The girl comes on little cat feet". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 5 November 2024.