At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, there were just two selections in the Family Matinee category. One was Disney’s upcoming film Out of My Mind, and the other is an independent animated film from Disney Animation veteran Christopher Jenkins, 10 Lives. Having risen through the ranks of Disney Animation as an effects artist and supervisor on classics like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, 10 Lives marks Jenkins’ second directorial effort following 2018’s Duck Duck Goose, also from GFM Animation.
(Courtesy of Sundance Institute/10 Lives Productions)
Beckett (voiced by comedian Mo Gilligan) is a pampered cat who loves the life he shares with his owner, Rose (voiced by Simone Ashley, The Little Mermaid), a behavioral scientist obsessed with saving honey bees. When Rose’s ex-boyfriend Larry (Dylan Llewellyn, Pistol) turns up, Beckett isn’t willing to share the life he’s built with Rose. But in Beckett’s quest to get rid of Larry, he accidentally uses up all of a feline’s nine lives, triggering an unexpected chain of events that will find him returning to Earth in 10 new forms.
Rose’s life’s work is being thwarted by her devious boss, Dr. Craven (Bill Nighy, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), and his two henchmen, Kirk and Cameron (Zayn Malik in his voice acting debut), which gives Beckett some unfinished business. 10 Lives is, first and foremost, a comedy. Some of its cleverest gags come from Beckett’s repeat visits to heaven’s DMV, run by a mysterious woman named Grace (Sophie Okonedo, Christopher Robin). Because Beckett is a pet with unfinished business, he is offered the opportunity to receive 10 additional lives, but under the caveat that he return as a different type of animal on each trip. It’s not exactly a secret, as the film’s opening starts at the top of the third act, in which the fourth-wall-breaking protagonist and narrator is first introduced as a horse before offering a flashback of everything that led to that point.
I was often reminded of A Dog’s Purpose and The Secret Life of Pets during the screening, with 10 Lives feeling like a marriage of those two films. That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot of originality to be found here, and the movie really nails the ending in a satisfying way. The villain, however, feels like a less sinister Yokai from Big Hero 6, complete with an army of robotic drone bees. And, for the most part, the plot loses its drive in the second act, which primarily exists for gags as Beckett appears as a series of different creatures.
(Courtesy of Sundance Institute/10 Lives Productions)
The independent budget of 10 Lives is mainly felt through the quality of its animation. The world feels about as textured as a computer-animated preschool series, which becomes very unattractive when Beckett is turned into some very small creatures. Some of the character rigs don’t feel as polished as they should be for a feature, likely the result of being used for such a short amount of time per reincarnation. And the world is often still, with floating light particles overdone to try and compensate for how dead it sometimes feels.
10 Lives isn’t destined to become a classic like the films Christopher Jenkins cut his teeth on, but it’s an overall enjoyable film for adults, and kids who love animals will surely fall in love with it. It touches on the importance of savoring life contrasted by a rather sunny view of death, similar to how Pixar handled the afterlife in Soul. And if nothing else, viewers will enjoy the four original narrative songs written by ZAYN (“Love You,” “See Me,” “Happy Tonight,” and “Karma Knows”).
I give 10 Lives 3 out of 5 Starbucks stops on the elevator ride to Heaven’s DMV.