YMMV / The Cat Came Back

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Is the cat oblivious to the torture it's causing Mr. Johnson, or is it fully aware and enjoying it?
• Award Snub: Lost to Tin Toy for Best Animated Short Oscar (alongside Technological Threat, a 3D/2D hybrid directed by Bill Kroyer (FernGully: The Last Rainforest) and Brian Jennings).
• Awesome Music: The background music during the forest, balloon, and handcar scenes, which play frantic, fast-paced renditions of the original song.
• Jerkass Woobie: Mr. Johnson may be mean to the cat, but the extreme punishment he gets in his attempts is just sad.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Old Mr. Johnson will never get rid of the cat — ever. Not even death can free him from the cat. He accidentally kills himself attempting to blow up the cat. The cat also dies... and follows him to heaven, presumably to pester him forever.
  • At one point Mr. Johnson tries to drown the cat, which is pretty horrifying enough, but when he accidentally falls into the water himself, there are dozens of other tied up bags already down there, implying that they may be full of more dead cats.
  • For all the children who it scared, it didn't help that it was made into a TV commercial in the UK (and possibly other territories) for a potato-based hoop-shaped snack in the early 90s.

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