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Keldeo the Critic- Season Five

Editorial Eight: Kitty Is Not a Cat

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"It's me! Keldeo the Critic! I review it so you don't have to!" Keldeo said cheerfully, then he toned down his enthusiasm a bit as he continued, "You might have noticed that it took me quite a while to get out my Turnabout Legend review. Sure, it was a pretty big project, what with making it seem like an Ace Attorney case, looking for the clues in the story, coming up with arguments and counter arguments, creating the Breakdown cutscenes and all that. However, a critic-ian of my skill should have easily been able to do all that at least a little bit faster than the Slugma's pace I was going."

Keldeo sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I gotta admit it. The reason it took me so long was because I got. . . distracted. Or maybe a better word would be. . . captivated. I mean, the time I usually spend on this series was just totally consumed, but I willingly gave up that time, and I enjoyed giving that time up. Like, it was worth it to kinda shirk doing review stuff so I could put my focus on the thing that I had found. I watched all of its episodes, repeatedly. I even helped to build up its page on TVTropes! (TinyURL: ycsybl82)"

"So, what have I been so obsessed with? It's a new show by the Australian company BES Animation called Kitty Is Not a Cat."

Keldeo leaned forward dramatically and shouted, "HELP ME, I'M ADDICTED!"


Kitty is not a cat is a series about a young girl who is out to prove you can be anything you want... even a cat!

The series centres on a group of stray cats living together in a dilapidated old mansion left to them by an eccentric baroness. With the cats in charge, the manor is a constant almighty party! Life couldn't be better for these cats, who it seems have truly landed on their feet.

However, the party comes to an abrupt halt with a knock at the door. There on the doorstep they find 'Kitty' – a little girl in an orange cat suit who followed one of them home. Yikes! Where did she come from? Who are her owners? It's anyone's guess - the cats' questions remain unanswered as Kitty only purrs, meows and if provoked, hisses. The cats try in vain to find out how they can rehome Kitty – posters, ads in the paper, but to no avail. The cats soon find that looking after a little girl who wants to be a cat, seriously cramps their style. That said, even the stubborn cats have to admit that she really is extremely cute…

In the style of Monsters Inc., Three Men & a Baby and with a little Top Cat thrown in, so begins a concerted effort by the cat crew to teach Kitty how to behave like a human and to slowly introduce her back into the wild, but with each passing day Kitty becomes more a part of the family. This group of carefree individuals suddenly find themselves embracing the parenting role with hilarious results but it seems they wouldn't have it any other way.


Keldeo got back into his normal stance and gave a chuckle. "Okay, that right there is impressive. It's not often a piece of media openly admits to ripping off of something else! Then again, I suppose it'd be no use hiding it. Like Boo from Monsters Inc., we've got a human child wearing a costume to blend in with other creatures. I've never heard of Three Men & a Baby, but I assume it involves the 'where did this kid come from?' of course, it has anthropomorphic cats with attitude like in Hanna-Barbera's Top Cat."

Keldeo grinned and said, "And the funny part of it is that the similarities with other media doesn't end there! In fact, my friends are gonna list as many of them as they can right now!"

Victini, Munna, and Floyd came in and lined up in front of Keldeo. All of them stood up, or floated, straight and looked straight ahead.

"You've got 50 seconds!" Keldeo announced, "GO!"

A bell rang, and the sound of a ticking clock could be heard as the three of them rattled off references in a quick, official tone of voice..

Victini said, "The 'where did this kid come from?' also hearkens to Ice Age and The Hangover."

Munna said, "The show features a multi-colored cast of characters where a moral is spelled out at the end of every episode like in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."

Floyd said, "The show has a large cast of characters, many with singular defining personality traits, like The Smurfs."

Victini said, "The animation style, type of humor, and overall setting is very similar to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends."

Munna said, "The way the cats in the mansion try to understand and interact with the outside world is reminiscent of The Munsters."

Floyd said, "The idea of someone who is not a cat dressing up as a cat is also seen in Counterfeit Cat and Kid vs. Kat."

Victini said, "King Tubby's fantasies when he's explaining human behavior or culture are similar to Meowth's Giovanni fantasies in Pokemon, or Kuzco's doodle segments or Yzma's evil plan fantasies from The Emperor's New School."

Munna said, "There's a female British narrator like the second narrator from The Stanley Parable."

Floyd said, "Kitty is a cute mute, kinda like George the monkey from Curious George. There's even a narrator to reveal the titular's character inner thoughts in both shows."

Victini said, "The show centers on a character who's trying to fit in with a whole other species, like Bunsen is a Beast."

The bell rang again, stopping the ticking clock, and Keldeo called out, "Time! Okay then, you guys are done. Go now. Come on, let me gush over this awesome show in peace!"

The trio actually rolled their eyes in synchrony, and then turned and left, leaving an eagerly smiling Keldeo behind.

"Alright, so, I want to be able to go all out on how awesome this show is, so I'm gonna address the one little thing that bugged me at first to get it out of the way," Keldeo explained, "It's the fact that Kitty doesn't talk. Now, at first you might think that it's because Kitty can't speak cat language, so her attempts to speak cat just sound like random meows to the other cats, and we're looking into this show's world through their perspective, so we can't understand Kitty either. However, we then have plenty of scenes where the cats communicate with other humans just fine, so cats can clearly speak English in this world, so that raises the question of why exactly this girl is a mute. Who is she? The daughter of Chell and Gordon Freeman?"

Keldeo suddenly started chuckling in an almost goofy manner, and he said, "Oh, forget it! Those things mean nothing! This entire show is an Admirable Animation worthy of the MysteriousMrEnter! And even better, you'll soon be able to see every single episode for free on the Kitty Is Not A Cat YouTube channel (TinyURL: yama4b7j). As of now, only 11 episodes have been uploaded . . . out of order, for some strange reason. . . but it shouldn't be too long before the rest of them are uploaded. Oh man, this is so AWESOME!"

Keldeo composed himself and said, "Okay, so how could a cartoon about a little girl in a cat suit possibly be so amazing? Well, you see, while this show is funny and cute, it is also witty, smart, good for children, and even manages to be, I kid you not, a source of social satire. How can this be?"

Keldeo chuckled again and wagged his right forehoof, "Ah, ah, ah! We can't rush through this masterpiece of a cartoon show. Let's break it down."

Keldeo put his hoof back down, "First off, the creators of this show made sure that Kitty is a character, not a plot device. You might expect Kitty to be this mischievous troublemaker that the cats have to constantly deal with, with her being in danger or causing a problem every episode."

Keldeo grinned and said, "But NOPE! That's not it at all, thank goodness! Even though Kitty can't talk and . . . thinks she's a cat. . . she is clever, intelligent, and very capable. More often than not, she's the one who solves the problem or has to help out the cats. She even has several awesome moments, believe it or not; and as a rule, she's way smarter than the cats. Kitty can be almost MacGyver-like at times!"

"But of course, a main character is nothing without a supporting cast. There are 15 cats living in the mansion, and while not all of them are deep or complex, they still all contribute to the show like pieces of an awesome jigsaw puzzle. We've got Ming the jerk with a heart of gold, Mr. Clean the ironically named pigpen, Spook the lovable coward, Luna the mellow fellow, Last Chance the klutz, Pierre the French chef, Happy the Mr. Magoo, Gibson the beatnik, Thorn the tough action girl, and Cheeta the fast-talking smart aleck."

Keldeo smiled eagerly and said, "But let's focus on the more prominent characters. First there's Timmy-Tom; the youngest of the cats who fills the role of Kitty's best friend/little brother, and often gets into mischief alongside her."


Timmy-Tom: "You're right. I am Kitty's best friend. And best friends don't let best friends become not-very-nice humans!"


"Then there's Petal; the Team Mom who is the most protective of Kitty and is the one to cheerfully dish out love and care, or seriously dish out some discipline."


Petal: "Imitation is the highest form of flattery, and being catty is the last form of cathavior. I expect better of bothof you! Just fix this!"


"Then we have Miley; the glasses-wearing nerd of the household who can always be found reading a book, rolling her eyes, making snide remarks, and breaking the fourth wall with her deadpan snarker attitude."


Miley: (To Audience)"Wow. I understand why Kitty would make her friends out of paper."


Keldeo got really excited for a moment and said, "And believe me, there is way more to her than meets the eye! Miley is seriously hardcore! She's almost like Raven from the ORIGINAL Teen Titans. She has this shocking obsession with fire, as well as a passion for electronic music. And yet she still manages to be kind and understanding when she needs to."

"Anyway, then there's The Nezz; the wise, piano-playing cat who acts as the voice of reason for the group. He's often ignored, unfortunately, allowing the episode's conflict to snowball to its climax, much to his face-palming dismay. He's also the one who delivers the moral at the end of the episode."


The Nezz: "Strange feelings when someone else comes along and gets some of the attention we're used to getting. But, doesn't mean others feel any different about you."


"And then there's King Tubby. . ."

Keldeo chuckled as he put his right forehoof to his forehead. "Oh my gosh, I never knew it was possible to both like and dislike a character so much at the same time!"

Keldeo put his hoof down and said, "Okay, you know how I said earlier that this show had social satire in it? Well, King Tubby is the source of this show's social satire. You see, once an episode, the conflict of the story will often require the cats to try to make sense of some area of human behavior or culture or whatever; because the whole point of the show is that the cats are trying to get Kitty to more or less stop acting like a cat. So, in comes King Tubby who happens to be a know-it-all that is in reality the most ignorant character I've ever seen. Seriously, he's the only character besides the Mr. Magoo cat that can't read or write. This causes him to be both incredibly insufferable and hilariously funny at the same time!"

"Anyway, based on observations he's made by either watching the next-door neighbors or watching TV, Tubby will go on this whole ridiculous explanation that is pretty much entirely based off of misunderstandings. In spite of how ridiculous his reasoning is, the fact that he is an outside observer of human behavior causes him to make statements that are accidentally insightful in-universe, and purposely satirical out-of-universe. Here are a couple of the observations he's made throughout the course of the series."


"When it comes to eating, humans appear to be more interested in the packaging than they are in the contents."

"When they can't short this out amongst themselves, they take the matter to court! And pay a lot of money for people to short it out for them."

"Humans appear to spend their lives constantly measuring what they have done for others against what others have done for them."

"If things fall short of their expectematations, they feel they are owed a debt, which they insist must be repaid!"


"See how clever the writing is!" Keldeo said eagerly as he was nearly hoping with joy.

Keldeo settled down a bit and continued, "Well, like I said, all of these characters are able to contribute to very entertaining plots. And since there are so many characters, it keeps things interesting. In addition to Kitty and the cats, there are a few reoccurring characters. There's a pair of mice in the mansion that have a few funny lines. Then there's the rotten next-door neighbors, the Stinkletons, no I am not making this up that really is their last name, who are pretty much just the Dursleys from Harry Potter, just without Harry. The kid is a fat, stupid, spoiled brat; the mother is vain, arrogant, and demanding; and the father is greedy, weaselly, miserable, and grouchy. I wouldn't exactly call them the main villains, although at times they do cause the main conflict of the episode. Most of the time they're just a comic foil for Kitty and the cats to make fun of."

"For instance, in one episode, Kitty refuses to give up trying to play the bass, while Harold Stinkleton keeps trying to carry a sofa up some stairs. The Nezz has this to say about the situation:"


The Nezz: "It's so easy to mistake determination for stubbornness. Or, what's that other 'S' word? Stupidity."


Keldeo let out a sigh and observed aloud, "You know. . . I'm not sure if I'm really getting through to you all. I mean, here I am, getting all worked up over an animated children's cartoon about a little girl who thinks she's a cat. It's not like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or Zootopia, so how could you all possibly understand why I got so obsessed with a cartoon like this, especially when Season 8 of My Little Pony and thePokemon Sun and Moon anime are out right now?"

Keldeo closed his eyes solemnly, bowed his head a bit, and then gave a nod before holding his head up high and opening his eyes.

"So," Keldeo said simply, "I think the best thing for me to do is to list the 10 best episodes of Kitty is Not a Cat for you to check out yourself. Now, this list isn't really my top 10 favorite episodes. They're more like the top 10 episodes with the best plots, comedy, and character interactions; so I'm pretty sure you'll agree with this list, more or less."

Number 10 . . .


Kitty Needs a Bath

When Kitty develops a nasty cough, the cats assume she is sick. But when Kitty coughs out furballs, the cats realize that they haven't taught her how to clean herself like a human. Will the cats be able to face their fear of water and get Kitty to take a bath?


"This episode is clever in that it sets up the story to be about one thing, Kitty being sick, only to suddenly change topics to something else, Kitty needing a bath. But other than that, this one isn't all that complex or heartwarming. It's basically just pure comedy and cute moments. Their reactions to entering the mansion's bathroom for the first time are each funny in their own unique way. We also get a fun chase scene later on that shows off Kitty's resourcefulness and seemingly endless vigor."

Number 9. . .


The Playhouse

When a strange set of boxes arrive at the house, the cats pretty quickly realise Kitty has ordered herself a playhouse. The only issue is they don't really know what a playhouse is. Once it's constructed Kitty plays blissfully inside, while the cats watch on in confusion. After much discussion the conclusion brought to them (naturally by King Tubby) is that Kitty has moved out! The cats go through a whirlwind of emotions, but collectively they're all devastated she's gone. It isn't until Kitty clues on to what is happening that this entire misunderstanding can be cleared up, literally.


"This episode manages to be both comedic and emotional at the same time. It's also filled to brim with dramatic irony, as we all know something the cats don't know. However, it doesn't take away from the sense of love, care, and utter attachment the cats give off. The episode also hammers in how intelligent Kitty is. Seriously, not even I could understand those blueprints! How did she build it so fast!?"

Number 8. . .


All About the Bass

Kitty has always loved music, but she's never tried to learn an instrument herself. So when the cats discover she's been teaching herself the bass guitar, they are over the moon. Unfortunately for the cats, Kitty is only interested in playing one note, over and over and over. When the cats decide to try and broaden her musical horizons, they wind up disheartening her. Upset, Kitty gives up on finding her sound, until an unlikely ally teaches her that music can be whatever she wants it to be.


"AWESOME MUSIC! The intro song doesn't call these cats 'musical cats' for nothing. Many episodes of this show have great pieces of music in them, and this is one of those episodes. Of course, said music is saved for the end, but the way there is filled with various visual and audio gags that will have you smiling. Plus, the ending is really heartwarming when you consider who the unlikely ally is."

Number 7. . .


Deportment

King Tubby's mother returns to teach Kitty the proper manners of a little girl in high society. However, the cats feel as though they're being kept away from Kitty. Also, Kitty would much rather be herself than memorize and follow all of these new rules.


"This is actually the second appearance of King Tubby's mother, but her first episode isn't all that good. Mostly because she and Kitty hardly interact at all in that one. This episode fixes that problem, and is a very clever take on the My Fair Lady plotline. And while the 'be yourself' moral isn't anything new, I'd say the episode delivers it in a very creative way."

Number 6. . .


The Arrival

It's New Year's Eve, and the cats are looking back on the year that has been. They reminisce about all the fun they've had, looking back particularly on the arrival of the most important member of their household, Kitty. When Kitty arrived, it was a shock to all of them, and the household was split as to who wanted her to go and who wanted her to stay. We all know who won out in the end - but it was a bumpy little journey to get there.


"This is the pilot episode, the episode that explains this world and its story. However, the writers do something clever by bringing us into this world long after the events of Kitty's arrival happened, and then presenting it to us as a flashback. I suppose it makes sense, I mean, we all know that the cats took Kitty in, so there's no real point in trying to build up false tension. Anyway, the flashback itself does a good job in presenting the cats as empathetic characters who see an orphaned little girl as no different than the homeless strays they once were. We even get to see what the late eccentric baroness looked like, so that's cool. Not only that, you can't help but feel glad that Kitty found loving family after who knows what happened with her birth parents. Ugh. . . so much Fridge Horror. . ."

Number 5. . .


Sour Kitty

It's Halloween, and Kitty has collected a large amount of candy. Much to the cats' dismay, Kitty can't stop eating it and refuses to eat anything else. While everyone else is at a loss for what to do, Mr. Clean believes that he may have the solution.


"Yeah, I'd say that this episode has Don't Hug Me I'm Scared beat when it comes to teaching kids about healthy eating. It really does give a clear picture of why it's better to eat healthy, and quite accurately too. It shows how eating too much sugar causes your body to crave nothing but sugar. It shows how having all that sugar inside of you can cause you to lose control of your actions and mess with your emotions. It also shows how healthy, natural food like fresh fruits and vegetables nourish and cleanse your body of junk like sugar and fat. Plus, we get a social commentary on advertisements thanks to King Tubby!"

Number 4. . .


Seven Cakes for Kitty

When the cats realize that they've never celebrated Kitty's birthday, they decide to make her seven birthday cakes to make up for it. However, the cats end up competing with each other to make the best one they can. But will Kitty even like any of them more than the others?


"This one is good because it's one of the rare episodes that gives all 15 cats an equal share of the spotlight. It also makes fun of those cooking contest game shows on Food Network, complete with an epic logo, The Nezz as the announcer, and Kitty as the judge. It's also entertainining to see the seven pairs of cats interest with each other as they try to put together a cake, and trust me when I say each of these seven cakes are epic fails in the funniest ways possible!"

Number 3. . .


Copy Cat

When Kitty walks in on Miley enjoying her electronic music, Miley decides to share her passion with Kitty so that they can enjoy it together. Unfortunately, Kitty becomes so obsessed with Miley's music and style that she decides to be just like her in every way. When Miley is driven to her wits end by this, she and Luna hatch up a plan to make Kitty stop. Unfortunately, the plan backfires, and Miley's bond with Kitty is put in jeopardy.


"This is my favorite episode, and it made me choose Miley as my favorite character. It's absolutely adorable how Miley becomes a 'cool big sis' to Kitty, while Kitty becomes a 'pesky little sister' to Miley. It also has awesome music featuring electronic rock and Vocoder singing. The writers managed to create great interactions between Kitty and Miley, and the scenes where Kitty is imitating Miley are funny. It's heartwarming, and hilarious, it's just an awesome episode."

Number 2 . . .


School for Cats

Not wanting Kitty to have to leave every day to go to school, King Tubby decides to make the other cats teachers in order to give Kitty four years' worth of education in one day. Can the cats pull such a feat off? Luckily, Kitty just might be a clever enough kid to make it more or less easy for the cats to "teach".


"Here's an episode where a share of the spotlight is given to almost all of the cats. This episode is full of jabs at the education system that kids will laugh at and adults will smile and nod their heads at. It's a funny episode, with a heartwarming ending. We also get a nice reality check from The Nezz at the end, so that's good. And although Miley kinda gets the short end of the stick in this episode, there is one absolutely priceless scene in this episode where you just want to run in and help her in some way, like, just give her a kind word or something. I'm not gonna spoil it, but trust me when I say that you'll know it when you see it."

And the Number 1 episode of Kitty Is Not A Cat is. . .


Kitty Gets Dumped

When Kitty sneaks a look at Ming's diary, she discovers-


"Nope! No spoilers this time!" Keldeo said giddily, "Seriously, If TheMysteriousMrEnter ever takes a look at this show, I am positive that he would review this particular episode as an Admirable Animation. For one thing, the story structure is masterful. The episode starts out with Kitty reading about Ming's plan in his diary, and then it seems to transition into the next day, but- wait, no, I don't want to spoil that bit of clever writing either. It's really hard to explain, you're just gonna have to trust me and see it for yourself. But I'll tell you one thing, this episode contains one of the most heartwarming moments in the entire series. Crowning Moment of Heartwarming right here. In fact, go ahead and watch it on YouTube right now if you want. Trust me, it's beautiful."

Keldeo let out a sigh of contentment and said, "Well, I think I've talked enough about this show. I really don't want to overdue. All I've got to say is that it's a lot of fun and I highly recommend it to anyone. Go to the YouTube channel and watch some episodes, go to the official Kitty Is Not A Cat website to see detailed descriptions for all of the characters, and of course check out the TVTropes page I helped and am still helping to build. Now, I should probably get back to doing what I'm supposed to be doing: reviewing fanfiction so you don't have to!"

Keldeo nodded and walked off.


The End

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