A Cat and Mouse Game (2019) - full transcript

(birds chirping)

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] The story which
we are about to tell you

happens in a holiday
cottage in the summertime.

The story in question is more
like an animal news report

than an animal fable,
although that is debatable.

Once upon a time, a cat had a
weak liver due to overeating.

Let's not beat around the bush.

Marcelle is a greedy cat and a thief

whose owner, this time, caught red-handed.

(owner speaking in foreign language)



(owner hissing)
(Marcelle meowing)

Two days beforehand in
this very same place,

Cheeky, the former tenant's
mouse, escaped from his cage

which wasn't shut properly.

Now left to his own devices,

he will have to deal with
the trials and tribulations

of a life of freedom.

Between this predator and prey

who should really never have
met, a chase full of danger,

tricks, and twists is about to start.

(Marcelle meowing)

(Cheeky squeaking)

(lively music)

(cat hissing)



The game of cat and mouse is an old story

but what appears on the screen as a game

is not funny in real life.

(children chattering)

It's a cruel game that can
result in death for the mouse.

(child laughing)

Left to his own devices
but more alive than ever,

Cheeky makes a feast out of a crumb

without anybody noticing.

The new occupants of the
place, city slickers,

hate mice except in cartoons.

On the other hand, they love cats.

Rita is a Burmese cat, a
rather sophisticated one.

(child laughing)

With a strict eye, she watches
over one of her kittens.

- Meow.

- [Narrator] When he's
not stealing salmon,

Marcelle is the favorite, a
stray cat rescued by the family.

At six years of age, this city
cat is in the prime of life

and his fur is as soft as a caress.

But watch out.

Under the guise of a friendly
tom cat, Marcelle is a killer.

During the course of this story,

we are going to witness
the strategies put in place

by the predator and his prey.

In plain language, will Cheeky escape

the murderous instincts
of Marcelle the feline?

(crickets chirping)

(door banging)

In general, the predation
drama takes place at night

when man is sleeping
peacefully in his bed.

(owl screeching)

Then, at twilight, the animals take over.

(owl screeching)

(tense music)

Let's join Cheeky taking
refuge between two walls.

Loyal to his opportunistic
mouse tendencies,

he takes advantage of his new environment.

Cheeky has found room and
board, and a piece of biscuit.

An adult mouse can snack 20 times a day,

with an appetite that is pleasing to see.

(clock ticking)

As curious as he is hungry,

Cheeky explores the big
world of the kitchen

and comes face to face with
the pantry, proof that man,

who often complains about the
presence of mice in his home,

is also the one that feeds them.

Mice are omnivorous.

They eat very discretely.

Well, almost.

(inquisitive music)

Marcelle is nocturnal, with
over-developed hearing.

His ears, able to move 180 degrees,

help him find the slightest hissing

or ultrasound emitted by his prey.

It's one o'clock in the morning

and Cheeky has his nose in the flour.

Usually Marcelle chases gray mice.

This type of mouse is a first.

For his part, Cheeky, who
has been living in a cage,

has never seen a cat up close.

He weighs 30 grams to
Marcelle's four kilos,

except that in the animal kingdom,

the strongest one isn't always the winner.

(tense music)

A cat like Marcelle doesn't
kill the first mouse

that passes by just to eat him.

He can also kill as part of a game

or he can just have fun with it,

even if this time, the
game didn't last long.

(bright music)

Cheeky has saved his skin, but
what will happen next time?

(cockerel crowing)

In the morning, it needs more
than the crowing of the cock

to awaken Marcelle.

(food rustling)

- [Owner] Marcelle.

(food rustling)

(Marcelle meowing)

- [Narrator] Marcelle can't
resist the call of his kibble.

He has a voracious appetite

and eats a dozen small meals per day.

Nevertheless, instinctively,
a well-fed cat still hunts.

(tense percussive music)

Marcelle is an eclectic predator.

As well as mice, he likes
fish, including raw fish.

In his field of vision
are Moby Dick and Bubble,

a couple who literally go
round and round in circles.

The cat can spend hours lying in wait.

The sideboard in the lounge
is a stressful environment.

Attracted by the movement of the water

more than by the goldfish,
Marcelle quenches his thirst

because he's not really hungry.

Having renounced fresh flesh,

Marcelle scratches the mat with his claws.

He's acting fishy.

(tense music)

(owner hissing)

At the end of this tragicomic adventure,

Moby Dick and Bubble
continue to swim in circles.

They return to their normal existence.

(bright music)

Between these partition walls,

Cheeky the mouse moves
between two universes.

He has already visited the kitchen.

Now he has arrived at
the back of the barn.

This mouse, reared and
bought in a pet shop,

meets gray mice, called Mus
musculus, for the first time.

These mice sneak into
our homes all year round.

A dozen of them live here as a family

but outside of their clan,

any newcomer is an
intruder who can be killed.

(bright music)

Cheeky is a stranger
and the dominant males

are about to give him a hard time.

(mice squeaking)

The quibbling stops and
this little mischief of mice

ends up in the nest that
the Mus musculus have built

with twigs, paper,
cardboard, pieces of tissue,

fiberglass, and cotton.

Barely tolerated, Cheeky chases a female.

But just at the moment where
he's about to get lucky,

as we say, a competitor intervenes.

When it comes to flirting,

it's important to respect the
rules of the Mus musculus.

Cheeky will have learned at his expense.

In the meantime, he's champing at the bit.

(birds chirping)

In the garden it's picnic time.

The lady of the house
is feeding the kittens

with a baby bottle

because due to lack of
milk after the birth,

Rita the cat couldn't fill her
role as a nurturing mother.

After two months not yet weaned,

the kittens attack the treat greedily.

The lady of the house helps raise

her two adorable little
felines, two future predators

with their blue eyes.

(gentle inquisitive music)

At the other end of the
garden, let's join Marcelle

whose behavior is intriguing.

He scrutinizes the
ballet of the blue tits.

The more they eat, the hungrier he is.

A cat like Marcelle spends
on average three hours a day

on the act of predation.

A stray cat can spend double that time.

With exception of
rodents and some lizards,

birds represent 1/4 of the
prey killed by Marcelle.

But the world is cruel.

A glass door separates the
cat from the blue tits.

Disappointed, Marcelle
goes on to new adventures.

(tense percussive music)

(Cheeky squeaking)

In the barn, Cheeky
lives his life on a beam

six and a half feet high.

And to think that the
mouse's vision is blurred

and he's aware of very few details.

He compensates with his
tail and his whiskers,

very sensitive tactile organs,

and he has a powerful sense of smell

that helps him find his bearings.

(serene music)

If he could see further
than the end of his nose,

he would see that a mouse
is making a break for it.

Where is he going?

It's a mystery.

(mouse squeaking)

(crickets chirping)

If this intrepid mouse is
going so far from his nest,

it's because he's hungry.

To eat, he's ready for anything.

(owl screeching)

The owl is too.

But let us return to the mouse

who doesn't have the characteristic trait

of making provisions, which forces him

to search for food when
he is a little peckish.

A mouse weighing 30 grams eats

between three and five grams per day.

That's a lot.

At the end of a successful
search, the mouse eats the seed

which he usually shells before eating.

The mouse doesn't know that the
barn owl is biding his time.

It's also called the death owl.

One might think that his
face is mourning his prey.

Although his ears are hidden
under a bed of feathers,

he has exceptionally acute hearing.

Even better, he has the
discretion of a ghost.

In flight, you can't even
hear the flutter of his wings.

(tense music)

(mouse squeaking)

(owl screeching)

(gentle music)

On a balmy summer night with
the moon as the only witness,

a mouse caught off guard
in the midst of a meal

goes from life to death.

(owl munching)

(Cheeky squeaking)

Let's rejoin Cheeky between
the barn and the kitchen,

this place between the
two worlds that he likes

because it's rich in
all kinds of material.

(Cheeky squeaking)

It's five o'clock in the morning,

the hour when Cheeky chews the cardboard

which is in for a hard time of it.

There's a reason for
this, it's physiological.

In mice, incisor teeth
grow all their lives

which explains their need to use them.

Gnawing in this compulsive
manner keeps the teeth sharp.

(inquisitive music)

These gnawing sounds
haven't fallen on deaf ears

except that Marcelle is on
the wrong side of the wall.

This scamp of a mouse is annoying.

The next morning, the
field alongside the house

is a beautiful sight to behold.

(inquisitive music)

On fine summer days for a
domesticated cat like Marcelle

who spends all year living
in an apartment in town,

the temptation of the
great outdoors is strong.

Letting him out awakens his senses.

So he explores, he observes, or he hunts.

Marcelle tracks down field mice,

rodents a bit bigger than the
gray mouse but more lively.

And he watches up to the moment

where the unexpected makes
a deafening appearance

in the form of an agricultural machine

which starts to cut the grass.

Poor Marcelle, whose hopes
for field mice recede

as the tractor approaches.

(serene music)

In fact, the tractor is a godsend.

Soon the ground will
be littered with seeds.

The rodents will be more and more numerous

and more easily spotted.

The problem is that the
neighborhood is frequented

by farm cats or domestic cats
who have returned to the wild,

competitors capable of
killing 10 rodents per day.

In the meantime, Marcelle is hot.

He needs to be a bit more patient

before the field mice hunting begins.

It's eight p.m.

The gas is burning under
the simmering saucepan.

(tense music)

Soon there will also be trouble
simmering in the kitchen.

Cheeky's fault, this little
hairy two-colored creature

has launched into an exciting expedition.

Cheeky uses a crazy amount of energy

and his heart is put to work.

The heart rate of a mouse is very fast

with an average of 500
to 600 beats per minute.

That's five times faster
than that of a cat.

On this worktop, the
mouse is having a cake

and eating it, as we say,

and indeed, there's also cake for dessert.

Isn't he cute, this nibbling Cheeky?

Isn't he lovely when he removes
the crumbs from his fur?

In children's fairytales or cartoons,

isn't it the mouse that
attracts more sympathy

than the big bad cat?

Popular imagery has made the
mouse a mischievous character.

In reality, they're much worse.

If they are hunted, it's
because of the food they destroy

and the diseases they can transmit to man

so don't be surprised if
Cheeky causes shock and anger.

(alarm ringing)

(woman screaming)
(tense music)

Cheeky has found a way
of escaping the broom,

but as soon as the sun goes down,

the big maneuvers will begin.

(tense music)

From today, Marcelle the
cat is joined in his fight

by the lady of the house,
and all hell will break lose.

She chops, she chops again and again.

She does too much, but
it's due to the annoyance

with this Cheeky that she wants to catch

by means of a spring-loaded
trap called a mousetrap.

(trap clicks)

From sticky bands to poison paste,

lots of ways exist to kill a
rodent, not to mention a cat.

For beginners, the
mousetrap is the favorite.

Still, it's important to
choose the right bait.

If it's too big, the mouse can nibble it

without triggering the
diabolic mechanism of the trap.

(Marcelle purring)

True to his reputation as a big gourmand,

Marcelle is more interested in food

than the preparations for the battle.

(tense music)

(light switch clicks)

It's five to midnight when we find Cheeky,

his destiny in his hands.

If he goes to the barn, he
will join the gray mice.

If he goes to the kitchen,
it's going to be a sad story.

Let's continue the suppositions.

If Cheeky eats, he dies, unless...

With just the right amount
of greed and caution,

the mouse foils the trap, taking advantage

of the inexperience of
the lady of the house

who doesn't do things by heart.

At half past midnight, Cheeky
goes back to his world.

He has had a good meal.

(birds chirping)
(cockerel crowing)

At first light, a beautiful
day dawns on the countryside.

(cockerel crowing)

The lady of the house hopes for a new day,

imagining the mouse caught in the trap.

(woman groans)

(trap clicks)
(woman screams)

(bird chirping)

(inquisitive music)

Let's leave the lady of
the house to her pain

and observe the face-off engaged in

by this brave Marcelle
and Tweety the canary.

We cannot trust Marcelle,
whose predator instinct,

despite a few failures,
can arise at any moment.

Spying in this way, Marcelle sees

in Tweety the canary a prey.

His eyes do not deceive him.

As domesticated as he is,

Marcelle has kept his wild animal reflexes

and Tweety owes his life to
the cage that's protecting him.

Forgetting his sudden aggression,

he's now attacking his grooming.

(inquisitive music)

Cat grooming isn't only
aesthetic or hygienic.

With his rough tongue and his saliva,

the cat deodorizes his fur and skin

which allows him to hunt without
his odor giving him away.

Basically, the mice had better watch out.

For now, they are milling
about quietly in the mess

and the dust, ignoring the danger.

The Mus musculus don't know

that Marcelle has a
formidable anti-mouse weapon:

cat pee.

Since his arrival in the countryside,

Marcelle has projected jets of
urine to mark his territory.

This kind of behavior has caught

the attention of scientists.

They have discovered that cat
pee contains an odor molecule,

the L-felinine, which
has an effect on mice.

First surprise, a young mouse exposed

to the urine is marked
for life by its odor.

In adulthood, it will be less cautious

and easier to capture.

Second surprise, with females,

this molecule can stop pregnancy

and reduce the number of litters.

Catching Cheeky with cat pee isn't enough,

as Marcelle knows first-hand.

(birds chirping)

In the late afternoon as
the river runs quietly

below the house, a
little event takes place

at the water's edge.

(serene music)

For the first time during the holidays,

Rita the cat is going out.

At the river under the
responsibility of her owner,

she watches her kittens
discover the great outdoors.

(playful music)

Rita is a little stressed,
contrary to the kittens.

Through fun exploration,
they learn agility.

They learn to move and smell,

all useful qualities for
future hunters of prey.

After half an hour of
exercise, we return home

but continue to play
the game of predation.

A kitten raised by the baby bottle

and in an apartment can
become a good hunter,

as long as it's educated.

The apprenticeship begins with games.

(inquisitive music)

While playing, the
kitten is on the lookout.

He leaps, he tracks, he reproduces
the behavior of catching.

For the predation, the mother
is the appointed teacher

of the kittens.

Soon she will bring dead
mice for them to touch.

Then she'll return with live prey

and one day they will learn to kill.

Around the age of three months,

they will play with their prey
as they would with a ball,

playing the game of cat and mouse.

(owl screeching)

With a worrying cry, the white owl

pierces the calm of the night.

However, tonight is not his night.

This full-moon night will
be the night of the hunter.

(tense music)

Marcelle doesn't go to the barn by chance.

When hunting, he takes a favored path.

He tends to return to the
scene of old captures.

Neither Cheeky nor this
little gray mouse are aware

of the danger that lies in wait for them.

If they imagine that the
darkness protects them,

they are mistaken.

In the darkness, the
cat adjusts his vision

thanks to his retina which can adapt

to a very faint light,

whereas the human eye can see only black.

He is at home in the nighttime.

At night, he knows that
his prey is more active

than in the day.

He knows that they are less cautious

because they think it's safe.

Finding refuge in his nest,
which is inside a cardboard box,

the mouse is cutting his teeth.

With mice, if the head can pass through,

the body will follow.

The little nibbler leaves his box.

Cheeky goes into his.

This box of wool is a stroke
of luck and a hiding place.

Has he sensed the danger?

(dramatic music)

To escape the cat, the first
reflex of the mouse is to flee.

The second reflex is to hide.

The third reflex, it's too late.

A wild cat kills to eat.

A cat like Marcelle plays
with the life of a mouse.

This time, Marcelle gives the impression

of taking the hunt seriously.

He doesn't take his eyes off him.

How can the mouse get out of this one?

It's then that he activates
the last chance mechanism.

To stay alive, he will freeze.

This process, triggered by fear,

has a name, tonic immobility.

He predicts that the predator
whose senses remain on alert

can be distracted if its
prey no longer moves.

Three minutes without moving,
and the cat wanders off.

(gentle music)

Cheeky has seen nothing of
this astonishing confrontation.

However, he will see everything

of the distressing incident that follows.

(dramatic music)

(mouse squeaking)

The tragic game of cat
and mouse isn't over yet.

Cheeky sees Marcelle leave the barn,

his prey still alive in his mouth.

(crickets chirping)

The cat doesn't kill
where other mice live.

That would only make them more suspicious

the next time around, so
Marcelle takes him to the house

where the environment is safe

and he's hidden from rival predators.

(owl screeching)

(serene music)

The following day, it appears

that the sweet pleasures of life are back.

(woman humming)

The kitchen smells of cherry pie

and there's an odor of quiet
happiness floating in the air.

Purring with pleasure,
it looks like Marcelle

wants to grab his owner's attention.

Would he, by any chance,
want to eat kibble?

No, it's nothing to do with kibbles.

It's said that a cat brings
a dead mouse to his owner

as an offering or to prove to her

that she's totally useless at hunting.

(woman screaming)

The most plausible explanation
is literally geographical.

It's in his feeding area,
located in the kitchen,

that Marcelle has laid his prey

because it's there that he's
used to eating his kibble.

(inquisitive music)

While Marcelle is busy with his bowl,

a mouse is on an outing.

He's left the barn, his secret lair,

and the perimeter of the house.

In the countryside, it's been known

for domestic mice to cover 500 yards

between two farms in search for food.

Our mouse won't go that far.

Nonetheless, his running off
feels like a great adventure,

an adventure motivated by hunger.

This adventure in broad daylight

inconveniently exposes
the mouse to danger.

(tense music)

(bird squawking)

The danger is in the air
with this threatening buzzard

whose diet mainly
consists of small rodents.

The mouse is therefore an ideal prey.

Luckily for him, the noisy tractor

puts the predator to flight.

As one danger goes away,
another one with large wheels

suddenly materializes, a metal monster

that the farmer, Mr.
Johnny, handles dexterously

whilst moving around a
500-kilo bale of hay.

(dramatic music)

It was a close call.

This field nearly became
the field of despair.

Having come close to death twice,

the mouse nonetheless carries on his trip.

(inquisitive music)

While the sunlight slowly goes down,

he arrives at Mr. Johnny's farm.

The farm, for a mouse, is the
place of all the foodstuffs,

not to say of all the dangers.

Here, a cat named Toffee
rules supreme as a predator.

He's on top form for outdoor hunting.

(tense music)

What a bad idea that was for the mouse

to leave his cozy nest.

By escaping the great Toffee,
the mouse has dodged a bullet.

He's going back home.

He's had such a perilous day.

With Mus musculus, life expectancy

is between one to three years.

This mouse very nearly
got a much shorter one.

(mouse squeaking)

It's 11 p.m., calm prevails.

It's even more pleasant as
it's rather rare these days.

(gentle piano music)

Soft music accompanies
the owner of the house,

immersed in the reading of a great novel.

Her loyal Marcelle by her side,

that companion with a
gentle look in his eyes

who's so much more than
just a domestic animal.

Let's monitor Cheeky to make
sure he's not misbehaving,

but that's not the case.

He's just leaving a wash, caution.

With Cheeky, leopards do
not change their spots.

He's starting to chew on an
electric cable to cut his teeth.

In the living room, the pages of the novel

which tell the story of the
friendship between two men

are being flicked through,

a far cry from the relationship
between Marcelle and Cheeky.

(owl screeching)
(tense music)

(owl screeching)

The cry of the barn owl announces

the beginning of hostilities

as the mouse progresses
in his destructive work

with one snap of the incisors.

(gentle piano music)

Page 47, Aunt Clara offers
a rubber mouse to Lennie.

With Cheeky, we're miles away
from this fictional novel,

but we're about to witness

an authentic dramatic turn of events.

(dramatic music)

(electricity buzzing)

(lights clicking)

The mouse blows the fuses.

(woman screaming)

This is the crucial moment

when the lady of the house
is looking for the fuse box.

Here comes the eagerly awaited moment

when the lights come
back on, the moment when,

inevitably, there is
electricity in the air.

(woman screams)

(inquisitive music)

In the dead of night, Cheeky runs off,

leaving the lady of the house alone

with her resentment and a grudge.

(birds chirping)
(bell clanging)

After the nocturnal confusion,

there follows a day full of upheaval.

(dramatic music)

The lady of the house has
decided to exterminate the mice

using her 100% DIY trap which
should send Cheeky falling

to the bottom of the bucket.

- [Woman] Marcelle.

Marcelle?

Marcelle?

Marcelle?

Marcelle?

Marcelle?

- [Narrator] The lady of
the house can forget it.

Marcelle's gone looking for
adventure across the fields

where Mr. Johnnie's big
mower has just passed.

Marcelle is going through
a field mouse phase

and all the conditions are auspicious,

clear grounds and no other cat in sight.

Marcelle gives a searching look around

with his vertical pupil,

the sort of pupil which
shuts itself in broad light,

sparing him from being dazzled

and helping him make out
details in broad daylight.

Needless to say that the first field mouse

he'll encounter will be in trouble.

(tense music)

But a bad surprise is on its way.

A common kestrel, with its shrieking cry.

There is a jewel in the sunlight

as the kestrel, common in the countryside,

hunts the same ground as Marcelle.

Kestrel also feed on mice.

After several long minutes
checking out his opponent,

the city cat on holiday in the countryside

throws in the towel to the
kestrel who's stronger than him.

The kestrel has the land to himself

and when he spots the mouse,
he pounces on his prey.

(tense music)

Poor Marcelle, it becomes touching

that he's so consistently unlucky.

It's painful to see him leave empty-handed

but we know that a bowl of
kibble awaits him at home.

(crickets chirping)

(owl screeching)

(inquisitive music)

In the middle of the night,

Cheeky is faced with the temptation trap.

Looking at it under the spotlight,

we ask ourselves who's going to win,

the Cheeky who is cautious

or the Cheeky who gives in to his greed?

Following frequent trips which
involve much procrastination,

the verdict is announced.

(dramatic music)

Cheeky ends up falling for the trap.

(Cheeky squeaking)

The situation of the mouse is critical

and Marcelle arrives on the scene.

It just needs a blow
of the paw and one bite

to finally finish this adventure.

(trap components clattering)

(Cheeky squeaking)
(inquisitive music)

Surprised by the noise of the bucket,

the clumsy Marcelle runs away

so the mouse, miraculously
freed, heads towards the pantry.

With Cheeky, this is an unmistakable sign

that he's in the pink.

(birds chirping)

Cheeky sleeps soundly
while the morning mist

descends upon the countryside.

(serene music)

The perfect harmony
between animals and nature

can be witnessed in this
field where a herd of cows

finds itself feeding
on abundant vegetation.

(cows mooing)

There's something for everyone here.

There is rich grass for the bull,

branches full of leaves for the cows,

and a touch of motherly love for the calf.

In unison with this
charming pastoral scene,

we find ourselves in our
country house at breakfast time.

Here, the animals enjoy being fed at home.

(kibble clattering)

The priceless Marcelle, a
terrible glutton, has decreed

that the cat is never better
served than by himself.

As for the lady of the house, she cuts,

she cuts again and again.

There will be toast for everyone.

And there are crumbs for Cheeky.

This mischievous mouse has
finally found an adoptive family.

Even if it means brushing with danger,

he also finds contentment in this house.

(lively music)

(fork boinging)

(nose honking)

The story that we've just told you

is more real than life itself.

♪ Because she gets to fill ♪

- [Narrator] And what if, in real life,

the story ended as a fable?

♪ You will always ♪

- [Narrator] Let's dream a little.

♪ Ding dong dell ♪

- [Narrator] What if the cat
made peace with the mouse?

And what if Marcelle accepted

that Cheeky would tickle his feet?

(fork boinging)

(nose honking)

♪ Ding dong ♪

- [Narrator] Let's
imagine that the predator

and his prey became friends

and that they stopped
their frenzied pursuits

for playful pranks.

(dramatic music)

(cat screeches)

With what ifs, we could set
the animal world to rights.

With what ifs, Cheeky
and Marcelle would live

in peace and harmony, but for how long?

(lively music)

(bright playful music)