Character page for the film Cat's Eye.
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Quitter's Inc.
Dick Morrison
Played by: James Woods
An addicted smoker who joins Quitter's Inc. and ends up getting more than he bargained for.- Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: After he quits smoking, Dick attends a lavish party while trying not to smoke. Unfortunately, Dick's withdrawal causes him to start hallucinating that numerous guests are smoking, offering him cigarettes, and that Donatti is also watching him, all set to "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.
- Curtain Camouflage: In "Quitters, Inc.", Dick sees a pair of boots behinds a row of coats in his closet. He delivers an impassioned plea about how he wasn't smoking. The next morning, the boots are gone and there are muddy footprints leading away from the closet.
- Forced to Watch: In "Quitters, Inc.", after smoking once, Dick is forced to watch Cindy in the electric cage.
Vinnie Donatti
Played by by: Alan King
A mafia crime lord who runs an anti-smoking clinic and uses immoral methods of curing the habit.- Faux Affably Evil: Donati is a very polite and encouraging man towards Dick who expresses happiness in his successes quitting smoking but makes some very ugly threats with that same jovial expression and shows no signs of being bothered when he has to make good on them.
- Jaywalking Will Ruin Your Life: The main method of Quitters Inc., is to enforce this trope on their clients as harshly as possible. All to get them to quit smoking. First they torture their loved ones with electrocution, then proceed to mutilation with further "transgressions". If the smoker still can't quit, Quitters Inc.'s management "give up" on their clients.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Donati is willing to torture and rape the loved ones of smokers in order to motivate them to quit, and even kill the ones who can't quit the habit. They seem happy when their customers do manage to quit, but any who try to sneak a smoke finds out that they're not bluffing.
The Ledge
Johnny Norris
Played by: Robert Hayes
A retired tennis player who gets on Cressner's bad side when he cheats on Cressner's wife.- Action Survivor: Becomes one during his trip on the ledge, and his subsequent fight with Cressner.
- Determinator: Johnny while making his trek across the ledge, and he manages to do so and survive.
- Rage Breaking Point: Upon finding out that Cressner killed his wife, Johnny instantly attacks Cressner and his men.
Cressner
Played by: Kenneth McMillan
A compulsive gambler who forces Johnny Norris to wander on the ledge of his building.- Death by Adaptation: Cressner - whereas his fate at the end of the story is never stated [though it's implied Norris will push him off the ledge if he does indeed make it back], he definitely falls off in the movie.
- Evil Is Petty: Cressner does not take kindly to his wife's relationship with Johnny Norris. As a prize for winning the "bet", however, he offers his wife. He never said he'd give Norris all of his wife, though...
- Establishing Character Moment: Cressner betting with two acquaintances over General's survival crossing the street (and expressing glee at General making it despite that it caused a four car pile-up) shows how unscrupulous his gambling tendency is.
- Exact Words: Cressner prides himself on never welshing on a bet. He promises Norris that if he wins, Norris will have his car cleaned of drugs, a bag of cash, and Cressner's wife. He delivers all three, but what Norris receives is the wife's head.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Cressner. He runs into the exact same pigeon that his victim did, tries to kick it, and falls off the ledge - landing on the same horn that he'd thrown out the window previously.
- Pet the Dog: Cressner bets on General surviving crossing traffic and takes him back to his apartment to be fed when he does. He later shows no regard for General and almost steps on him during his petty torments of Norris. This comes back to bite Cressner when General causes one of his goons to fall over during his escape, allowing Norris to gain the upper hand.
General
Amanda
Played by: Drew Barrymore
A little girl who adopts General and his defended from an evil troll.- Children Are Innocent: Amanda is a good-hearted little girl, and General means the world to her.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Amanda is by far the sweetest character in the movie.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Amanda falls in love with General at first sight.
- Psychic Link: Implied to have one with General, due to her image appearing all over the West Coast.
The Troll
Voiced by: Frank Welker
A murderous little monster who attempts to steal Amanda's breath.- All Trolls Are Different: The troll is a vicious, small creature who emerges out of children's bedroom walls to kill them by stealing their breath. While intelligent, it can't talk, but does have humanlike clothing and a small knife for defense.
- Balloonacy: During their final battle, the troll tries to escape General by flying away on a bunch of helium mylar balloons. It works only partly and General manages to catch him.
- Child Eater: The little troll; he kills children by stealing their breath.
- Mistaken Identity: The troll frames the cat after mauling the parakeet to death, so he would have an uncontested shot at stealing Amanda's breath.
General the Cat
The main protagonist of the "General" segment and the only character to appear throughout the entire film.- Adaptation Species Change: In the short story Quitters Inc the animal they electrocute in the beginning is a rabbit. Well here it's the cat that goes through the painful demonstration.
- Badass Adorable: General is a sweet and gentle tomcat, but when a troll tries to hurt his new owner, General turns it into a stain on the floorboards.
- Cats Are Magic: The three stories are tied together by the wandering street cat who is on a journey to save a little girl from a troll-like creature, after he received a psychic signal of some sort.
- Determinator: Nothing is going to stop General from protecting Amanda.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After going through hell throughout the entire film, the cat finally manages to find a loving home with the family of the young girl.
- Evil Detecting Cat: General keeps hissing at Cressner. He also knows a troll is lurking about. He botches his Detect Evil throw with Amanda's mother who has an Irrational Hatred of him, though, despite his initial reluctance to take the bait in her trap.
