Watch This! 'Simon's Cat: Missing Cat Colour Special'

The Simon's Cat shorts have been entertaining us for over a decade now. After years of producing black and white shorts, the series first branched out into a full colour (and considerably longer) short film with the crowd-funded Off To The Vets. Now the second full colour special is here: Missing Cat.

The special is an extended 11-minute episode, where Simon's Cat runs away from home after Simon gives him a bath. Our intrepid kitty ventures into new gardens, encountering stranger cats, new experiences- and a whole lot of garden gnomes.

Subscribers to the YouTube channel (or readers of our Web Animation Watch) will probably be aware that this was originally released as a multi-part series in the traditional black and white. It looks fantastic in colour though and it works really well as a single film, with a story that feels fitting for a slightly longer format.

The film itself is every bit as charming as we've come to expect from this series, which is particularly enjoyable for anyone who knows and loves cats. There's countless well-observed feline characteristics that you rarely see captured anywhere else... plus a fair bit of exaggeration for comic effect.  And while the happy resolution is never really in any doubt, it still tugs on the old heartstrings throughout.

Missing Cat is directed by Simon Tofield,  with Rachel Thorn as animation director.  See more Simon's Cat here.