Jazz, Animation, & Cats: Furies by Sara Petty

Honestly, who wouldn’t want to see an animated film about cats? Only stupid people, that’s who. Especially when it’s this good — Furies by Sara Petty is one of my absolute favorite animated films, and it’s finally available online.

For years, there were only a handful of prints in existence. It’s incredibly rare, despite the constant stream of accolades it’s garnered since its 1976 release.

I first saw Furies in college, when my projectionist buddy curated an animal-themed shorts block. He was nice enough to let me video tape the screening, and I held onto that poor-quality bootleg for dear life. Whenever a hard drive was about to go, that crappy quicktime file was always the first thing I transferred. But three months ago, the saints at the iotaCenter put a high-quality copy on their Vimeo channel for free. (Thanks, iotaCenter!)

Made with charcoal and pastels, the film follows two playful cats. Drawing from Cubism and Art Deco styles, Petty takes full advantage of everything filmmaking has to offer. There’s a constant, fluid motion that makes every single frame worth looking at. It’s fun, vibrant, and absolutely gorgeous.

Unfortunately, Petty only made a handful of films, and the rest are even tougher to find. But at least this one is finally available to stream, and we should all be sharing it with our animation (and cat) loving friends.