This almost slipped past me. Le Chat du Rabbin aka The Rabbi’s Cat is making it to the big screen in France on June 1, 2011.

For those unfamiliar with The Rabbi’s Cat, it’s a series of graphic novels by Joann Sfar about a rabbi and his talking cat (who got that way after swallowing a parrot) in 1920s Algeria . Sfar adapted and directed this animated film using a cool looking hand drawn style.

Sfar had previously ventured into feature film making with last year’s Gainsbourg – a biographical film about French singer Serge Gainsbourg. It was also based on a comic book that Sfar did but it was shot in live action. Eric Elmosnino starred as Serge Gainsbourg, Lucy Gordon as Jane Birkin and Laetitia Casta played Brigitte Bardot.


Gainsbourg

The trailer for The Rabbi’s Cat looks awesome.

On the other side of French animation – The Prodigies is a CGI animated movie about five teenagers getting assaulted and then planning their revenge against the world. They all have some sort of superpowers from the looks of it. It looks like a cross between The Matrix style action and Warren Ellis’ Freakangels. It’s been added to the Cannes Film Festival line-up and opens in French theatres June 8, 2011.

My money is on The Rabbi’s Cat to be the better of the two.