| Lily C.A.T. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | Lily C.A.T. |
| Director: | Hisayuki Toriumi |
| Writers: | Hiroyuki Hoshiyama |
| Producers: | Hideaki Suda; Yuji Nunokawa; Isamu Senda |
| Composer: | Akira Inoue |
| Cinematography: | Hitoshi Kaneko |
| Editors: | Seiji Morita; Masaki Sakamoto |
| Production | |
| Production company: | Victor Musical Industries |
| Distributed by: | Discotek Media |
| Released: | September 1st, 1987 |
| Rating: | PG |
| Running time: | 67 min. |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | — |
Lily C.A.T. (リリィ・キャット) is a Japanese animated film short of the science fiction and survival horror genres. It was directed by Hisayuki Toriumi with a screenplay written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama based on original work created by Toriumi. It was produced by Victor Musical Industries and released in Japan on September 1st, 1987.
Wikipedia[]
Meet Lily... she is one bad kitty.
In the 23rd century, companies are now surveying distant planets for mining rights. The Syncam Corporation is investigating a relatively new planet and has hired deep-space cruiser Saldes to shuttle company surveyors to investigate. The employees consist of Jiro Takagi of the Japanese division, Dick Berry of the Australian division, the president's daughter Nancy, Farrah Van Dorothy, Morgan W. Scott, Jimmy, and Dr. Harris Mead, while the crew consists of Captain Mike Hamilton, his subordinates Dular, Walt, and Carolyn, and mechanics Guy and Watts. In addition, Nancy has brought her cat, Lily, on board. The ship allows its passengers to go into hypersleep for 20 years and only biologically age one month.
During the voyage, the ship's computer detects debris flying through space and collects a sample, which causes the extraterrestrial matter to become loose in the ship while the crew and the surveyors are in cryogenic sleep. Upon awakening, the crew learns that two of the surveyors are impostors, but a bigger problem emerges when Morgan is found dead from a mysterious infection. Dr. Mead, Lily, Guy, and Watts also perish from what appears to be a bacterial infection, which dissolves the bodies of its victims, but leaves their clothes intact. During this, Berry attempts to discover who the impostors are by checking their backgrounds.
The bacteria quickly evolves into a hostile life-form capable of mimicking the form of its human victims and kills Dorothy in the sickbay. The computer controls are also overrun by an unknown entity, which results in the deaths of Dular and Walt. Back in sickbay, Jiro and Berry are revealed to be the impostors when Jiro gives an explanation for the bacteria; Jiro is a medical student who murdered three drug dealers who he held responsible for his sister's death from an overdose and Berry is a detective determined to bring him in. Berry handcuffs Jiro, though Hamilton warns Berry that because decades have passed since the murders, no one else is interested in Jiro being brought to justice.
Hamilton reveals because of decades spent in cryo suspension while on deep space missions, he is two hundred and forty years old. Carolyn is a hundred and forty-one. While rest of his crew were between one hundred and fifty to two hundred. Through his own tragic past, he explains that after completing a mission, he would return home to find family and friends had either aged or died. His own son who he had met after last seeing him as a baby was now an adult older than him. Hamilton then found he could not adjust to the new trends and culture of the period he was living in, and was treated as an inconvenience; an ‘old fossil’ as he puts it. And so the only escape was back in to space.
The survivors soon confront the bacteria, which results in Berry getting injured from the recoil of his shotgun. Hamilton and Jimmy create flamethrowers to deal with the bacteria, though Jimmy and Carolyn are quickly killed. Hamilton manages to survive and discovers that a robotic replica of Nancy's cat known as "The Master" or Lily-C.A.T., a Computerized Animal-shaped Technological robot, is responsible for taking over the ship. He then realizes that Syncam wanted to study the bacteria with no concern for the lives of the human crew. Meanwhile, Berry holds a grudge against Jiro because the murders prevented the police from shutting down the dealer's drug ring and cost him a promotion.
Nancy later breaks down and reveals her only reason for coming on the mission was so once she returned to Earth. She would still retain her youth and looks, and flaunt it in front of a former friend she harboured resentment towards. Knowing her friend would then be elderly and envious.
Hamilton, Jiro, Nancy, and Berry flee to the main bridge, where Berry dies from the infection. In a fit of defeatism, Jiro attempts suicide, until Hamilton reveals a shuttle he stored. Hamilton proceeds to destroy the ship by letting out the hydrogen and setting off a lighter, while Jiro and Nancy escape to the planet below them; the remaining bacteria burns up in the atmosphere.
Cast[]
Japanese Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hiroyuki Okita | Jiro Takagi |
| Masako Katsuki | Nancy Strauch |
| Osamu Saka | Mike Hamilton |
| Chikao Ôhtsuka | Dick Berry |
| Eiko Yamada | Farrah Van Dorothy |
| Yoshiko Sakakibara | Miss Caroline |
| Ryôichi Tanaka | Jimmy Mengel |
| Tesshô Genda | Morgan W. Scott |
| Shigeru Chiba | Wat Tyler |
| Hideyuki Tanaka | Gott Walt Coup |
| Kôzô Shioya | Guy Alcuin |
| Hiroshi Ôtake | Dülar Delcassé |
| Mahito Tsujimura | Harris Mead |
| Masashi Hirose | Syncam personell manager |
English Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Bob Bergen | Jiro Takagi |
| Steve Bulen | Wat Tyler |
| Richard Cansino | Walt |
| Russell Case | Guy Alcuin |
| Joan-Carol O'Connell | Farrah Van Dorothy |
| Steve Kramer | Dülar Delcassé |
| Julie Maddmelena | Nancy Strauch |
| Kerrigan Mahan | Morgan |
| Brittany Harlowe | Carolyn |
| Mike Reynolds | Mike Hamilton |
| Greg Snegoff | Dick |
| Michael Sorich | Jimmy Mengal |
| Cliff Wells | Harris Mead |
| Tom Wyner | Syncam personnel manager |
Notes & Trivia[]
- Lily CAT serves as a shortcut to this page.
- This film is clearly inspired by the 1979 film Alien and its 1986 sequel Aliens.
- Japanese titles marked this film as LILY-C.A.T.. The original title in Japanese is リリィ・キャット.
- In Mexico, this film was released under the title Robocat, which is actually quite cool.
- Coming in at just over an hour, this movie technically qualifies as a film short, and is not long enough to be categorized as a feature-length production.
- This movie was released on Region 1 DVD in the United States through Streamline Pictures on February 21st, 1995. Later versions were released through Discotek Media.
- This movie was ranked at #5 on Vulture's "22 Scariest Horror Anime of All Time" lists. [1]
Recommendations[]
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External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Vulture.com; Vulture Lists. "The 22 Scariest Horror Anime of All Time From Berserk to Bloodlust - and everything in between". Eric Vilas-Boas (Sept. 28, 2024).