Netflix Releases ‘Cat Burglar’, Interactive Animation In Looney Tunes Style

Video screenshot via Netflix

Netflix’s gaming front and Tex Avery toons converge with Cat Burglar, a new interactive animation brought to you by the brains of the choose-your-own-adventure Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and animated series Bojack Horseman.

The dynamic cartoon—soundtracked with its own symphony—runs for just 15 minutes, but in total, it brings more than 90 minutes of content to the table. That’s because picking the wrong answer will nudge you into a different kind of death.

Unlike its interactive predecessors Bandersnatch and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend, where your choices influence the story, Cat Burglar is essentially a lightning round of trivia questions that punishes you when you answer incorrectly. Much of the fun, it seems, comes in losing. Like cartoons of the past, violence is fair game and often depicted in all kinds of inventive ways.

You’ll play Rowdy Cat, a burglar who needs to prove to be smart enough to get past a dog security guard and steal a museum’s prized painting. You’ll have three lives, which, admittedly, is a little short for a feline.

Cat Burglar was developed by Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker and producer Annabel Jones, along with Bojack Horseman’s supervising director Mike Hollingsworth.

“The idea was that this would feel like almost a piece of found footage, like a long-lost cartoon,” says Brooker in a behind-the-scenes video.

The arduous process of creating numerous outcomes means this special almost didn’t happen. After completing Bandersnatch, Brooker and Jones were burnt out and couldn’t foresee themselves pursuing interactive content again, Fast Company reports. “[They said,] ‘It’s too hard. You get lost in it at certain points,’” recounts Andy Weil, Netflix’s vice president of comedy and interactive lead.

Their sentiment switched after receiving overwhelmingly positive reception from viewers and two Primetime Emmy Awards. 

“When you see the magic trick roll out on this service and it’s beautiful and it’s seamless and it works, it’s kind of addictive,” comments Weil. “It’s so much fun to see it and also to see people’s reaction to it when they play it.”

Cat Burglar is available to stream and play on Netflix now.

[via dot.LA, Variety, Fast Company, video and cover image via Netflix]