Don Gato y su Pandilla (known in English as simply Top Cat: The Movie) is a 2011 movie made in Mexico, based on the famous cartoon of the same name.
Skipping to the intro of what is thought to be for TC and the gang another ordinary day (whatever that meant), Officer Dibble is excited to be promoted as the new Chief of Police after knowing that the old Chief will be retiring. But in an unexpected turn, his son-in-law, Lou Strickland, would instead be taking his place despite having no experience. He replaced the staff with robots which he thought to be more competent, with everything else relying solely on technology, in the belief that they couldn't make mistakes. With absurd changes within the city's law and the people of New York under a tyrannical rule, Top Cat, his gang and Officer Dibble plan to stop him in his tracks.
It was released in Mexico and in Latin America to great success and is very well-received. The English dub that was released in the UK a year later, however, was critically panned but is still a box-office success. The movie was set to be released in the States by August 2, 2013.
A prequel was released in Mexican theaters on October 30, 2015 called Don Gato: El Inicio de la Pandilla (known as Top Cat Begins in English) which takes place before the film and series where Top Cat meets Benny and the rest of the gang.
Provides examples of:
- Alternate Species Counterpart: Top Cat's gang of dogs serve as this — Vinny is the dog counterpart to Benny the Ball, Einstein to Brain, Dandy-Dandy to Fancy-Fancy, Spectrum to Spook, and Chattanooga to Choo-Choo.
- Anachronism Stew: Despite the apparent Setting Update which led to the bright, flashy, metropolitan depiction of New York, some of the retro elements still remained (apparently as a Call-Back to its original era). But the famous police telephone box that Officer Dibble constantly reminded TC to stay away from has long since become obsolete.
- Balloon Belly: Subverted in the film adaptation, in the scene where Dibble returns to the alley to alert T.C. and his gang that the villain became Chief of Police... after the gang had a celebration going. It may or not be visible to you, but if you've got a good eye and can compare other scenes T.C. is in, take your pick
(Go to 0:23:00). He does however, state he feels sick from eating too much having partied. - Big Bad: Lou Strickland is the movie's main villain.
- Big Damn Movie: Of the Top Cat franchise, and was released in theaters.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: The robot who poses as Top Cat while robbing an orphanage makes a comment about Strickland's supposed beauty while "taunting" him in front of the camera.
- Cats Are Mean: Averted by T.C., as in the original series — The movie makes his decent side clearer, as he not only saves an old woman from being squashed, he makes it clear to his gang when they suggest stealing someone's tickets to an event that they will only steal from someone who deserves it. He is also shocked to learn that he has been accused of stealing from an orphanage.
- Chekhov's Gun: The Maharajahton 5000.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: At least in this version, Fancy-Fancy has this type of girlfriend who insisted that she'd be the only girl he'd ever love.
- Confirmation Bias: In-Universe. Strickland insists that, unlike people, machines are never wrong. When Dibble says that's not true, Strickland says he's wrong, thus proving him right.
- Creator Provincialism: Averted. Despite being animated in Mexico and voiced by Mexican voice actors, the setting still was New York City rather than any Mexican city. This is justified, possibly out of respect to the original setting.
- Though many signs are written in Spanish. This is fixed in some English releases.
- Dance Party Ending: The movie ends with TC and the gang dancing to "New York Groove" by Ace Frehley.
- Evil Knockoff: Strickland's way to get Top Cat arrested is by having a robot version of Top Cat rob an orphanage.
- Furry Reminder: In one scene while peeking through the window, TC and the gang fall from the ladder they were standing on, landing on their feet safely...except for Brain who fell on Top Cat instead, head first.
- Girl Friday: Trixie is Strickland's before deciding to switch sides when she finds out about her boss's evil plan.
- Groin Attack: What the cats did with Laszlo Laszlo during his performance which caused him to 'miss a note' so TC would win the bet with the Maharaja.
- Gross-Up Close-Up: One still from the movie's website included this when Strickland boasts about how he is the most handsome guy TC has ever seen.
- Ironic Name: Big Gus himself and his gang whose names are the complete opposite of what they look like.
- Also, Lou Strickland's Mexican name (Lucas Buenrostro) and his Brazilian one (Boapinta) suggest he's as beautiful as he believes he is.
- Kangaroo Court: After being framed for robbing the orphanage, Top Cat is also subjected to an unfair trial, where Strickland is both the only jury member and his lawyer.
- Mythology Gag: There are several borrowed gags/situations and even appearances of one-time characters from the original series' episodes that most likely would've caught the attention of long-time fans.
- All That Jazz: Jazz (Top Cat's one time rival) and Beau (his sidekick) make brief non-speaking cameos in the pool hall.
- The Maharajah Of Pookajee: a maharajah known for giving rubies away as tips visits New York. But for some inexplicable reason, his name "Pookajee" is instead pronounced "Peekajew" (to the point of being misspelled as "Pikachu").
- The Violin Player: Laszlo Laszlo becoming a famous violinist. In here, he has already become one though he's still a janitor, according to Benny.
- Hawaii Here We Come: Benny the Ball's hula dance bit is used to lure away a gorilla.
- The $1,000,00 Derby: Top Cat disguising himself as an Arabian oil king. The photogenic horse who speeds up every time it hears a bell ring also appears but later in the film.
- The Unscratchables: Big Gus and his gang have a small role in helping TC's gang get TC out of jail.
- Nepotism: Lou Strickland has no experience in the police but becomes the new Chief of Police after his father-in-law's retirement. It's eventually revealed that Strickland was given the position by a robot posing as the former Chief, who doesn't even have a daughter.
- New Technology Is Evil: Zig-zagged. Strickland's police robots and heavy surveillance are clearly bad, but the fancy, advanced cell phone that Top Cat receives is pretty useful, even if it only plays a minor part in the story.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Above mentioned, Fancy-Fancy's date is abandoned during a rowboat date and is sent to a waterfall. Later in the movie, she comes back, unscathed, to confront him of that.
- The Plan: Top Cat makes the Big Bad destroy his own entire system, after using a telephone he gained earlier. It turns out the telephone was a Red Herring and the Big Bad had never lost control of his system, as TC made him think.
- Pragmatic Villainy: A downplayed example that is Played for Laughs. When he becomes Chief of Police, Strickland lets Dibble keep his job, while firing the rest of the officers and staff and replacing them all with his robots. Strickland explains that only he needs a single employee to come in and turn the machines on in the mornings, since he can't be bothered doing it himself, and he chooses Dibble solely because they happen to share the same birthday, meaning Strickland won't have to organise more than one party.
- Prison Rape: The implied fate of Strickland when he is sent to Dog Jail where he shares a cell with a large dog who mistakes him for his long lost love. He even states "[he's] too pretty to go to jail" when he's arrested.
- Setting Update: The original series debuted The '60s. This adaptation clearly jumps forward several decades, showing more advanced technology such as the Times Square jumbotrons (created in The '80s) and modern day cars, phones and other commodities from the 2010s.
- Similar Squad: In-Universe. Top Cat makes friends with dog versions of his old cat gang during his imprisonment in Dog Jail.
- Surfer Dude: The voice chosen for Spook has unintentionally made him sound like one. His speech patterns are supposed to be akin to that of a Beatnik.
- Writers Cannot Do Math: Strickland buys tickets for himself, as well as the seats in-front, behind and to the sides of him. When TC steals the tickets, there are enough for TC and his five friends.
