Miss Minoes

After a cat turns human when she ingests a strange substance, a shy newsman gains the ideal informant in this winning Dutch film. Journalist Tibbe's (Theo Massen) job is on the line (because he has trouble getting people to talk) when he spots Miss Minoes (Carice van Houten) crouched in a tree, hiding from a dog. Tibbe discovers that Minoes can communicate with cats, although he finds it inconceivable that she used to be one. Her first tip leads him to a stash of buried coins, which impresses his editor. After a few more, Tibbe hires the fish fanatic Minoes—who calls her feline pals the "Cat Press Service"—to be his assistant. Minoes also befriends a landlady's daughter, Bibi (Sarah Bannier), who hangs out with her on the roof. Things move along swimmingly until Minoes gives Tibbe a tip about Ellemeet, a politician who chairs the pet lovers association: among other misdeeds, Minoes catches him throwing stray kittens into a dumpster (she saves them just in time). Unfortunately, this story gets Tibbe in trouble with his boss, but Minoes and Bibi find a way to expose Ellemeet and restore Tibbe's reputation. Filmmaker Vincent Bal uses real cats who speak by means of digital trickery here, while English dubbing replaces the original Dutch dialogue. In virtually every respect, Miss Minoes leaves most American family films in the dust. Highly recommended. (K. Fennessy)