Smitten with Mittens...

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2009)

Just one of the unfortunate consequences of so many home foreclosures over the past couple of years in this country has been the abandonment of household pets. It's not a happy story, nor one that gets a whole lot of coverage. (It happens to have happened to my sister.) For a Disney film to even touch upon this subject is surprising (LADY AND THE TRAMP notwithstanding)- and commendable. My favorite of The Three Mouseketeers is, of course, the streetwise Mittens: her sad little tale of woe, blurted suddenly in a moment of emotional vulnerability, is enough to make this one of the more memorable animated features of the past several decades, and it gives the movie its considerable Emotional Impact. I honestly don't remember the last time I choked up watching a cartoon cat spill its emotional guts. A tip of the hat to all involved: you blew ME away, anyway.