{ "id": "ep2sb7p409", "slug": "the-rabbis-cat", "title": "The Rabbi's Cat", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": "Animated and short films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject", "label": "Animated films by source material and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-based-on-comics-and-games", "label": "Films based on comics and games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-based-on-comics-and-games" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Rabbi's Cat (Le Chat du rabbin) is a 2011 French 3D animated film by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux, adapted from Sfar's comic series about a talking cat in 1920s Algiers; it won the Annecy Cristal and the 2012 César for Best Animated Film.", "snippet": "The Rabbi's Cat (Le Chat du rabbin) is a 2011 French 3D animated film by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux, adapted from Sfar's comic series about a talking cat in 1920s Algiers; it won the Annecy Cristal and the 2012 César for Best Animated Film.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.animated-films-by-source-subject.films-based-on-comics-and-games", "markdown": "# The Rabbi's Cat\n\n**The Rabbi's Cat** (French: *Le Chat du rabbin*) is a 2011 French animated feature film co-directed by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux, adapted from Sfar's comic-book series of the same name. Set in Algiers in the 1920s, it follows a rabbi's cat that gains the power of speech after eating the family parrot and then asks to convert to Judaism.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) • [2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/) The film won the Cristal for a Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2011 and the César Award for Best Animated Film in 2012.[3](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-129365/palmares/) • [4](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/09/joann-sfar-obtient-le-droit-de-porter-a-l-ecran-voyage-au-bout-de-la-nuit_6309394_4500055.html)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | *Le Chat du rabbin*[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/) |\n| Directors | Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) |\n| Source | Sfar's comic series, first volume published in 2002; the film adapts three volumes[5](https://www.zerodeconduite.net/article/quand-jecris-le-chat-du-rabbin-je-me-souviens-du-roman-de-renart-des-comedies-de-moliere) • [6](https://cineuropa.org/fr/newsdetail/204436/fr/interview/495646/) |\n| Setting | Algiers, 1920s, at the intersection of Jewish, Arab, and French culture[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/) • [7](https://gkids.com/films/the-rabbis-cat/) |\n| Premise | A cat eats the family parrot, gains speech, and asks to convert to Judaism[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) |\n| Runtime and format | 1 h 40 m; released in 3D[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) • [8](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2011/05/31/le-chat-du-rabbin-de-la-bd-a-la-3d-un-passage-poussif-pour-le-chat-et-le-rabbin_1529984_3476.html) |\n| Major awards | Cristal du long métrage, Annecy 2011; César for Best Animated Film, 2012[3](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-129365/palmares/) • [4](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/09/joann-sfar-obtient-le-droit-de-porter-a-l-ecran-voyage-au-bout-de-la-nuit_6309394_4500055.html) |\n| Reception | 94% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (16 reviews); Metascore 74[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rabbis-cat/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story of the film\n\nThe film opens in Algiers in the 1920s, where Rabbi Sfar lives with his daughter Zlabya, a noisy parrot, and a mischievous cat.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/) • [14](https://www.afca.asso.fr/ressources/repertoire-cinema-animation/707%2CLe-Chat-du-Rabbin) The cat devours the parrot and begins to speak, at first telling only lies, the first being that he did not eat the parrot.[13](https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/the-rabbis-cat) • [14](https://www.afca.asso.fr/ressources/repertoire-cinema-animation/707%2CLe-Chat-du-Rabbin) In love with Zlabya and feared by the rabbi as a bad influence on her, the cat declares himself ready to convert to Judaism and asks for a bar mitzvah, obliging the rabbi to teach him the rudiments of Mosaic law.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) • [14](https://www.afca.asso.fr/ressources/repertoire-cinema-animation/707%2CLe-Chat-du-Rabbin)\n\nA second thread drives the plot. When a French dictation test threatens the rabbi's post, the cat commits the sacrilege of invoking the Almighty to help him; the rabbi passes, but the cat loses the power of speech and is treated again as an ordinary animal.[14](https://www.afca.asso.fr/ressources/repertoire-cinema-animation/707%2CLe-Chat-du-Rabbin) The delivery of a box from Russia then brings a painter, more dead than alive, who is searching for a hidden tribe and its mythical city in Africa, a Jerusalem of black Jews.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/) • [14](https://www.afca.asso.fr/ressources/repertoire-cinema-animation/707%2CLe-Chat-du-Rabbin) Convinced the city exists, he sets off along the colonial route, taking with him the rabbi, the cat, a wise old Arab sheikh, and an eccentric Russian millionaire.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/) The adventure runs from the terraces, fountains, quays, and cafes of colonial Algiers to Maghrebi tent camps, trading outposts, and the Sahara, in search of the lost Ethiopian city.[7](https://gkids.com/films/the-rabbis-cat/)\n\nSfar has said the adaptation deliberately drew on several albums of the series rather than a single volume, so that viewers unfamiliar with the comics could follow it without fans feeling betrayed.[15](https://www.pixelcreation.fr/3d-video/animation-3d-vfx/le-chat-du-rabbin/) Ideas taken from the comics, such as the transformation of the cat into a man and the rabbi into a cat, were stylized to an extreme so the spectator would feel the break with the film's realistic universe.[5](https://www.zerodeconduite.net/article/quand-jecris-le-chat-du-rabbin-je-me-souviens-du-roman-de-renart-des-comedies-de-moliere)\n\n## The source graphic novel\n\nThe film adapts *Le Chat du rabbin*, a bande dessinée series written and drawn by Joann Sfar, a French comics artist, novelist, and filmmaker whose earlier live-action debut *Gainsbourg (vie héroïque)* won the 2010 César for Best First Film.[5](https://www.zerodeconduite.net/article/quand-jecris-le-chat-du-rabbin-je-me-souviens-du-roman-de-renart-des-comedies-de-moliere) The series' first volume appeared in 2002; by the time of a 2011 interview it ran to five volumes, and the twelfth, *La Traversée de la mer Noire* (Dargaud), was published in 2023.[5](https://www.zerodeconduite.net/article/quand-jecris-le-chat-du-rabbin-je-me-souviens-du-roman-de-renart-des-comedies-de-moliere) • [10](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2023/10/22/joann-sfar-intarissable-fabricant-d-images_6195976_3246.html) The series also received an Eisner Award in 2006, according to the film's production notes.[11](https://chat-du-rabbin.com/archive/pol/content/download/640/3489/file/le-chat-du-rabbin-dossier-de-presse.pdf)\n\nThe English-language edition, published by Pantheon in 2005 at 152 pages, presents the story of an Algerian rabbi whose cat gains speech after eating its master's talking parrot, then engages him in tangled theological debates while insisting on having a bar mitzvah.[12](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joann-sfar/the-rabbis-cat/) The Jewish Book Council's summary adds that the rabbi vows to educate the cat in the Torah while the cat insists on studying the Kabbalah, and that the rabbi's rabbi maintains a cat cannot be Jewish.[13](https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/the-rabbis-cat) Kirkus described the book as set in 1930s French colonial Algeria, in a society where Jews, French, and Arabs mixed, a world \"soon to be swept away by the winds of war and modernity\".[12](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joann-sfar/the-rabbis-cat/)\n\n## Themes\n\nThe film uses the talking cat to question faith, tradition, and authority. GKIDS's synopsis lists its subjects as God, lust, death, phrenology, religious intolerance, interspecies love, and the search for truth.[7](https://gkids.com/films/the-rabbis-cat/) Critics read it as a portrait of coexistence: the Los Angeles Times called it \"a spirited reminder of the kinship between Jewish and Arab cultural traditions\", and one reviewer described Sfar's \"enchanting portrait of a society in which Jews and Muslims live compatibly\".[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) Sfar himself framed the humor as internal to the cultures depicted, saying that in Muslim and Jewish families of the Maghreb there is an irony and a fierce self-criticism, and that people there joke about religion.[16](https://www.leprogres.fr/art-et-culture/2011/06/01/joann-sfar-matou-heroique) A Le Figaro review argued the film mocks no one, neither religions, nor Jews, nor rabbis, but holds the position of a critic watching for the deviations of the human condition.[17](https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2011/05/31/03004-20110531ARTFIG00647--le-chat-du-rabbin-une-lecon-de-tolerance.php)\n\n## Production and style\n\nThe film is drawn animation released in stereoscopic 3D, produced by Autochenille Production, TF1 Droits Audiovisuels, and France 3 Cinéma, and distributed in France by UGC Distribution.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) • [14](https://www.afca.asso.fr/ressources/repertoire-cinema-animation/707%2CLe-Chat-du-Rabbin) The 3D release was delayed by the relief (stereoscopic) work, and the film was also shown in 2D in theaters not equipped for it.[15](https://www.pixelcreation.fr/3d-video/animation-3d-vfx/le-chat-du-rabbin/) • [18](https://www.critikat.com/actualite-cine/critique/le-chat-du-rabbin/) For the backgrounds, the makers took the orientalist painters as their reference for the particular light of the southern Mediterranean, while for characters and animation they drew on cinema.[5](https://www.zerodeconduite.net/article/quand-jecris-le-chat-du-rabbin-je-me-souviens-du-roman-de-renart-des-comedies-de-moliere) The original score is by Olivier Daviaud.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/)\n\nThe voice cast is led by François Morel as the cat, Maurice Bénichou as the rabbi, and Hafsia Herzi as Zlabya, with François Damiens as the reporter, [Mathieu Amalric](https://www.edgepedia.org/mathieu-amalric) as the prince, Jean-Pierre Kalfon as the Malka of the Lions, Mohamed Fellag as the sheikh, and Éric Elmosnino as Professor Soliman.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) • [19](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-rabbis-cat) Sfar himself voices a Jew found in the trunk.[19](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-rabbis-cat)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film was released in France on 31 May 2011, launched by UGC Distribution on 243 prints.[20](https://www.cinefil.com/film/le-chat-du-rabbin/vod) • [6](https://cineuropa.org/fr/newsdetail/204436/fr/interview/495646/) It screened in the Zabaltegi-Specials section of the 59th San Sebastián Festival in September 2011.[21](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2011/sections_and_films/zabaltegi_specials/7/590138/in) In the United States, GKIDS released it in December 2012; at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's New Directors/New Films it represented two firsts in the series' 41-year history, the first 3-D feature and the first feature shown as a family film, though the presenter noted it is not suitable for young children.[22](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-rabbis-cat/)\n\nCritical response was largely favorable but divided on structure. The film holds a Metascore of 74, with 8 of 9 critic reviews positive and one negative.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rabbis-cat/) [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club) gave it 100, saying the scenes do not always fit together thematically or tonally but each is its own polished gem; [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) praised the freewheeling style and colorful arabesque imagery while calling the rambling episodic structure imperfect; The New York Times found \"an often sharp commentary on dueling beliefs and idiocies\" in lush pastel hues.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rabbis-cat/) The negative outlier was the [New York Post](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-post) at 38, which judged the film random rather than ambitious.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rabbis-cat/) On Rotten Tomatoes the film scores 94% from 16 critics and 75% from audiences.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat) French critics were cooler: Le Monde's review found the 3D of doubtful interest and the pacing sluggish, while Télé 7 Jours praised the graphics and soundtrack but found the 3D unconvincing.[8](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2011/05/31/le-chat-du-rabbin-de-la-bd-a-la-3d-un-passage-poussif-pour-le-chat-et-le-rabbin_1529984_3476.html) • [23](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-129365/critiques/presse/)\n\n## Awards\n\nAt the 2011 Annecy festival the film won the Cristal du long métrage, the festival's top feature prize.[3](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-129365/palmares/) It was nominated for European Animated Feature Film 2011 at the [European Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-film-awards) and received two Annie Award nominations.[2](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rabbis-cat/) In 2012 it won the César for Best Animated Film.[4](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/09/joann-sfar-obtient-le-droit-de-porter-a-l-ecran-voyage-au-bout-de-la-nuit_6309394_4500055.html) • [24](https://europe.tv5monde.com/fr/guide-tv/autre/le-chat-du-rabbin-120982) It also received the Prix Henri-Langlois for an animated film in 2012.[24](https://europe.tv5monde.com/fr/guide-tv/autre/le-chat-du-rabbin-120982)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Rabbi's Cat, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rabbis_cat)\n2. [The Rabbi's Cat, European Film Academy](https://www.europeanfilmawards.eu/efa-movie/the-rabbis-cat/)\n3. [Récompenses et nominations pour le film Le Chat du Rabbin, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-129365/palmares/)\n4. [Joann Sfar obtient le droit de porter à l'écran « Voyage au bout de la nuit », Le Monde (2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2024/09/09/joann-sfar-obtient-le-droit-de-porter-a-l-ecran-voyage-au-bout-de-la-nuit_6309394_4500055.html)\n5. [« Quand j'écris \"Le Chat du Rabbin\", je me souviens du \"Roman de Renart\", des comédies de Molière, des films de Pagnol », Zérodeconduite](https://www.zerodeconduite.net/article/quand-jecris-le-chat-du-rabbin-je-me-souviens-du-roman-de-renart-des-comedies-de-moliere)\n6. [Le chat du Rabbin : religions et bêtise humaine, Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/fr/newsdetail/204436/fr/interview/495646/)\n7. [The Rabbi's Cat, GKIDS Films](https://gkids.com/films/the-rabbis-cat/)\n8. [« Le Chat du rabbin » : de la BD à la 3D, un passage poussif pour le chat et le rabbin, Le Monde (2011)](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2011/05/31/le-chat-du-rabbin-de-la-bd-a-la-3d-un-passage-poussif-pour-le-chat-et-le-rabbin_1529984_3476.html)\n9. [The Rabbi's Cat, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rabbis-cat/)\n10. [Joann Sfar, intarissable fabricant d'images, Le Monde (2023)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2023/10/22/joann-sfar-intarissable-fabricant-d-images_6195976_3246.html)\n11. [Le Chat du rabbin press kit, Autochenille Production](https://chat-du-rabbin.com/archive/pol/content/download/640/3489/file/le-chat-du-rabbin-dossier-de-presse.pdf)\n12. [The Rabbi's Cat, Kirkus Reviews](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joann-sfar/the-rabbis-cat/)\n13. [The Rabbi's Cat, Jewish Book Council](https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/the-rabbis-cat)\n14. [Le Chat du Rabbin, AFCA (Association française du cinéma d'animation)](https://www.afca.asso.fr/ressources/repertoire-cinema-animation/707%2CLe-Chat-du-Rabbin)\n15. [Le Chat du Rabbin, Pixelcreation](https://www.pixelcreation.fr/3d-video/animation-3d-vfx/le-chat-du-rabbin/)\n16. [« Le Chat du rabbin » / animation 3D. Joann Sfar, matou héroïque, Le Progrès (2011)](https://www.leprogres.fr/art-et-culture/2011/06/01/joann-sfar-matou-heroique)\n17. [Le Chat du Rabbin, « une leçon de tolérance », Le Figaro (2011)](https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2011/05/31/03004-20110531ARTFIG00647--le-chat-du-rabbin-une-lecon-de-tolerance.php)\n18. [Critique : Le Chat du rabbin, Critikat](https://www.critikat.com/actualite-cine/critique/le-chat-du-rabbin/)\n19. [The Rabbi's Cat streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-rabbis-cat)\n20. [Le chat du Rabbin : Streaming/VOD, Cinéfil](https://www.cinefil.com/film/le-chat-du-rabbin/vod)\n21. [Le chat du rabbin, San Sebastián Film Festival 2011](https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2011/sections_and_films/zabaltegi_specials/7/590138/in)\n22. [The Rabbi's Cat, Film Society of Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/the-rabbis-cat/)\n23. [Critiques presse pour le film Le Chat du Rabbin, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-129365/critiques/presse/)\n24. [Le chat du rabbin, TV5MONDE Europe](https://europe.tv5monde.com/fr/guide-tv/autre/le-chat-du-rabbin-120982)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by source material and subject › Films based on comics and games*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rabbis-cat", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rabbis-cat.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Rabbi's Cat\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rabbis-cat. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Rabbi's Cat](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rabbis-cat)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rabbis-cat](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rabbis-cat). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Rabbi's Cat\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rabbis-cat. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Rabbi's Cat is a 2011 French 3D animated film by Joann Sfar and Antoine Delesvaux, adapted from Sfar's comic series about a talking cat in 1920s Algiers; it won the Annecy Cristal and the 2012 César for Best Animated Film." }