Don Bluth never achieved quite the same acclaim for his animation as Walt Disney, but you could recognize his work no matter where it appeared—because the environments and characters he created had a very distinctive style. Among his most famous titles were the Fievel Goes West and Land Before Time series, as well as Balto and Pebble and the Penguin. Certain films exhibited more creativity than others, yet some gained notoriety from spurring long lines of sequels that seemed endless.
Banjo The Woodpile Cat was one of the few shorter pictures produced by Bluth. Distributed through the “Children’s Video Library,” and under a half-hour in length, Banjo needed to be succinct and get its message across quickly.
Thankfully, that is exactly what Don Bluth accomplished with this film.
The story follows Banjo, a young country kitten characterized by insatiable curiosity and a knack for trouble. In fact, almost every time you see his parents they are chastising him for causing a commotion or putting his two younger sisters in danger. I’d almost have expected them to look more harassed than they appear in the first few scenes—but that is a small detail.
Anyway, after being scolded for the umpteenth time, Banjo decides to run away from home and hops on back of a truck headed for the city. There he spends an evening being amazed by all the strange sights, until it starts raining and he gets lonely. That is when he really stops to reflect on how his impulsiveness got him into such a predicament, and nearly spends the whole night sleeping in the cold.
Then a kind streetwise alley cat named Crazy Legs comes along and helps Banjo find his way back home, helped by his fellow city cats.
That is the basic overview, which works well for its target audience. It sticks to a simple plot, without trying to make anything too complicated—and there are no real threats aside from Banjo’s homesickness. And Banjo is a likeable character, who doesn’t constantly complain and just wants to have fun. The fact the street cats are so considerate is also refreshing to see.
Banjo The Woodpile Cat shows off Don Bluth’s style well, and I am tempted to say it is one of his better pictures exactly because of its brevity and conciseness. When forced to create a shorter movie, the elements he brings together shine brighter than those projects stretched across several installments.
So for those who would like to watch a fun family film, or who simply want to enjoy Don Bluth’s animation—please check out Banjo The Woodpile Cat.
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