- “Well, this must be your lucky day, Your Majesty, for I know quite a lot.”
- ―Cat
The Cat is one of the titular characters in the 2004 Disney short, The Cat That Looked at a King, which was originally released in the 2004 DVD edition of Mary Poppins.
Background[]
In the real-world, the Cat is a normal cat who appears in live-action form, though she does not speak. When she jumps into the painting, she transforms into her animated form.
In her animated form, she is capable of speaking and during her encounter with the King, the two engage in a contest to know who has more knowledge to which the Cat bests him throughout it. Instead of getting the kingdom the King offered, the Queen appreciates her by giving the Cat a necklace as a token of appreciation.
Role in the short[]
The Cat is first seen in live-action form where she jumps into a painting where a girl and a boy observe the painting below them. Julie Andrews (dressed in modern clothes) enters the painting the Cat went into along with the boy and girl where they observe the King reading the facts and figures of the world while sitting in his throne. The Cat then appears in animation form where she chases a mouse across the King's throne. As the King approaches her, she describes the King as a ruler who doesn't know his own measure to which the King explains that he is a collector of knowledge and purveyor of facts. The Cat explains to him that she traveled far and wide, living seven of her nine lives while explaining to the King that he only lived for one life.
The King then challenges the Cat into a contest to know who has more knowledge. Throughout the challenge, the Cat and the King ask each other questions to know who is the cleverest. As Julie Andrews and the children observe the Cat and the King competing, she explains to the children that the Cat the King discovered thought she was a house cat and wagered his crown. The Cat then asks the King one final question about what is the strongest thing in the world to which as the King tries to answer her question, his wife the Queen explains to him that patience is a possible answer to answer the Cat's question. As the King notices of how the Cat bested him in a contest, she tells the King to look into her eyes. The King looks into the Cat's eyes and starts to realize who he was during his relationship with the Queen. After the Cat wins over the King, the Queen gives her a necklace as a token of her appreciation just before leaving the painting and bidding the King a farewell. The Cat transforms from animation form to live-action form chasing the mouse as she leaves the painting. She is last seen when she stares at Julie Andrews just before leaving the park.
Gallery[]