“A Cat in Paris” (“Une vie de chat”)  didn’t get the big build up of a Disney animation so you might have missed it if it came through your town. The animation is more traditional two-dimensional and stylized in a less elastic and more abstract manner. You’ll love the rich textures of this hand-drawn animation that was nominated for a Best Animated feature Oscar this year and the actions are smooth (not choppy like cheap, limited cell animations).

There’s humor but it doesn’t push into slapstick absurdity and there’s no great moral at the end. The story is about a cat in Paris. You got that from the title, right? This cat, Dino, belongs to a girl, Zoe,  who has lost her voice, being traumatized by the death of her father. Her father had been a police officer and her mother  Jeanne still works for the force. The police know who murdered him (Victor Costa), but can’t catch him.

Of course, the murderer isn’t the only criminal in Paris. There’s also a cat burglar, Nico, and he just happens to be friends with the real cat. When the cat brings a pricey bracelet back home instead of a dead animal, things get interesting.

If you’re hoping to practice your French, you’re out of luck. The Netflix on-demand doesn’t offer French with subtitles. Instead, you’ll be treated to the delightful voice talents of Steven Blum as Nico, JD Blanc as Victor, Marcia Gay Harden as Jeanne, Zoe’s mother, Angelica Huston as Zoe’s nanny and Philippe Hartmann as Mr. Hulot and Matthew Modine as Lucas.

The film was directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli  and Alain Gagnol, with original dialogue Alain Gagnol who wrote the screenplay.

The movie was originally released on Dec. 15, 2010 in France, but was only released here two year later in the U.S. It’s now available instant streaming on Netflix. I wish Netflix gave us a choice.