# The Cat from Outer Space
**The Cat from Outer Space** is a 1978 American live-action science fiction comedy from Walt Disney Productions, directed by Norman Tokar and written by cartoonist Ted Key, in which an extraterrestrial cat crash-lands on Earth and must repair his spaceship with the help of a human scientist before the military or a criminal can capture him.[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cat_from_outer_space_the) The film belongs to Disney's long-running formula of live-action animal comedies, given a science-fiction twist as Hollywood raced to follow the success of *Star Wars* (1977) and *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977).[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 1978; Disney.com lists June 9, 1978, while the AFI Catalog records a New York opening of June 30, 1978 and a Los Angeles opening of July 12[3](https://movies.disney.com/the-cat-from-outer-space) • [4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) |
| Director / writer | Norman Tokar (his last film as director); screenplay by Ted Key[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space) |
| Producers | Ron Miller and Norman Tokar[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/2392935d-d7c2-566d-ac62-195ef83c9c3a/the-cat-from-outer-space) |
| Lead cast | Ken Berry (Frank), Sandy Duncan (Liz), Harry Morgan (Gen. Stilton), Roddy McDowall (Stallwood), McLean Stevenson (Link); Ronnie Schell as the voice of Jake[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cat_from_outer_space_the) |
| Runtime / rating | 103 minutes, rated G[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) |
| Budget | Estimated at $3.5 to $4 million[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) |
| Reception | 67% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (9 reviews); Metascore 58, "mixed or average"[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_from_outer_space) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cat-from-outer-space/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
A spaceship makes an emergency landing on Earth, piloted by an alien cat named Zunar J-5/9 Doric-4-7, who calls his mothership to request rescue and is told to repair his craft and rendezvous within sixty-nine hours.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) The U.S. military, led by General Stilton ([Harry Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-morgan)), confiscates the ship and sends its power source to the Energy Research Laboratory for analysis.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE)
The cat tracks down Dr. Frank Wilson ([Ken Berry](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-berry)), the one scientist whose theories about the ship come close to the truth, and reveals himself using a special collar that amplifies his brainpower, lets him speak through thought transference, and move objects by telekinesis.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) Frank nicknames him Jake.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) To repair the ship, Jake needs the Earth equivalent of a substance called Org 12, which turns out to be gold, specifically $120,000 worth.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_from_outer_space) • [1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cat_from_outer_space_the) The money is raised by using the collar's psi powers to manipulate horse races, football, and pool, with complications supplied by an industrial spy ([Roddy McDowall](https://www.edgepedia.org/roddy-mcdowall)) working for a crime boss (William Prince) and by the military's interest in the craft.[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cat_from_outer_space_the) A romantic subplot runs on two levels: Frank and his colleague Liz Bartlett ([Sandy Duncan](https://www.edgepedia.org/sandy-duncan)), and Jake and Lucy Belle, a Persian earth cat.[8](https://d23.com/a-to-z/cat-from-outer-space-the-film/) In the end, Jake remains on Earth as a naturalized U.S. citizen.[1](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cat_from_outer_space_the)
## Production
**Origins.** Producer Ron Miller purchased the screenplay from Ted Key, best known for the newspaper cartoon *Hazel* and for creating the "Peabody's Improbable History" segments of *The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show*; this was the third story Disney bought from Key, after *The Million Dollar Duck* (1971) and *Gus* (1976).[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space) It was the first project Tokar made under an exclusive producer-director contract with Disney Studios, and it was his final film as director.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space) [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began on May 16, 1977 at Disney Studios.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE)
**The cat.** The producers screen-tested several breeds for the title role and chose the Abyssinian for its ease of training and appearance; D23 notes the breed was selected because it looked more "alien."[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) • [8](https://d23.com/a-to-z/cat-from-outer-space-the-film/) Jake was played by two Abyssinian litter mates, Rumple and his twin sister Amber.[8](https://d23.com/a-to-z/cat-from-outer-space-the-film/) Ronnie Schell supplied Jake's voice and also played a small on-screen role as Sgt. Duffy; when producers decided his voice was too recognizable, his human lines were dubbed by an unknown actor.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space)
**Locations and crew.** The film was shot on the Disney Studio lot, in a soundstage and the [Roy O. Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-o-disney) building, at a Burbank airport hangar, and on an army base set built at the studio's 708-acre Golden Oak Ranch.[8](https://d23.com/a-to-z/cat-from-outer-space-the-film/) Charles F. Wheeler was the cinematographer and [Lalo Schifrin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lalo-schifrin) composed the score.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space) Pocket Books published a paperback novelization written by Ted Key to coincide with the release.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space)
## Reception
The film received solid to mixed reviews. Variety praised its "good cast of veterans... all ably kept in pace by director Norman Tokar" and its believable sight gags; [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) called it "a fine Disney product"; The New York Times judged it likely to keep viewers under fourteen amused; Time Out found the hijinks routine.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cat-from-outer-space/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds 67% on the Tomatometer from 9 reviews and 59% on the audience Popcornmeter; its Metascore is 58, with two positive, four mixed, and no negative reviews counted.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_from_outer_space) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cat-from-outer-space/critic-reviews/)
The film was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film but lost to *Superman* (1978).[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space) A 1979 copyright infringement suit filed against Disney by Frank G. Nordstrom was decided in Disney's favor on August 4, 1980, with the judge finding the allegations unfounded.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE)
## Place in Disney's live-action output
Retrospective commentary places the film at the end of Disney's roughly twenty-year run of lucrative live-action comedies, a watchable but undistinguished entry released into a market transformed by bigger-budget space films.[9](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/11977/cat-from-outer-space-the/?___rd=1) Inverse's 45th-anniversary retrospective describes it as the strangest version of Disney's talking-animal formula, noting that the film's actual plot, in which Frank raises gold money largely through gambling on horse races and a billiards game that fills the final third, matters less than the premise itself.[10](https://www.inverse.com/culture/the-cat-from-outer-space-45-year-anniversary) Common Sense Media observes that children raised on later Disney effects films may find the special effects outdated and the pace slow.[11](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-cat-from-outer-space) The film streams on Disney+ and is available for digital rent or purchase.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_from_outer_space)
## References
1. [Cat from Outer Space, The, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cat_from_outer_space_the)
2. [The Cat from Outer Space, Frank Miller, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1438000/the-cat-from-outer-space)
3. [The Cat from Outer Space, Disney Movies](https://movies.disney.com/the-cat-from-outer-space)
4. [The Cat from Outer Space (1978), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56236-THE-CAT-FROM-OUTER-SPACE)
5. [The Cat from outer Space (1978), British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/2392935d-d7c2-566d-ac62-195ef83c9c3a/the-cat-from-outer-space)
6. [The Cat From Outer Space, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cat_from_outer_space)
7. [The Cat from Outer Space critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cat-from-outer-space/critic-reviews/)
8. [Cat from Outer Space, The (film), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/cat-from-outer-space-the-film/)
9. [Cat From Outer Space, The, DVD Talk review by Stuart Galbraith IV](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/11977/cat-from-outer-space-the/?___rd=1)
10. [45 Years Ago, Disney Made Its Weirdest Sci-Fi Movie, Inverse](https://www.inverse.com/culture/the-cat-from-outer-space-45-year-anniversary)
11. [The Cat From Outer Space parents' guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-cat-from-outer-space)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1970s › Released 1977 to 1979*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license