| Miss Minoes | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Vincent Bal |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Minoes by Annie M. G. Schmidt |
| Produced by | Burny Bos |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Walther Vanden Ende |
| Edited by | Peter Alderliesten |
| Music by | Peter Vermeersch |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes[2] |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Language | Dutch |
| Budget | ƒ12 million[3] |
| Box office | $4.8 million[4] |
Miss Minoes (Dutch: Minoes) is a 2001 Dutch family film written and directed by Vincent Bal and co-written and produced by Burny Bos, based on the 1970 Dutch children's novel Minoes by Annie M.G. Schmidt. The film stars Theo Maassen and Carice van Houten as the titular character.
A film adaptation of Minoes was announced in 1999 following the success of The Flying Liftboy. Filming took place around various locations in the Netherlands.
The film was released on 6 December 2001 in the Netherlands by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Family Entertainment label, and was later broadcast as a four-episode miniseries on television by AVRO in 2003.[5] The film won the Golden Calves for Best Feature Film and Best Actress.[6] Music Box Films released an English dubbed version in the United States on 23 December 2011[7] in New York City[8] and Chicago.[9]
Plot
[edit]One night, a cat named Minoes stumbles upon a can of chemical liquid dropped by a truck, and after drinking it transforms into a human woman. As a human, she maintains her feline traits such as her fear of dogs, meowing on the roof with other cats, catching mice, purring, and eating raw fish. She soon meets a journalist named Tibbe de Vries, who works for the newspaper of the fictional town of Killendoorn.
Tibbe is very shy, and therefore he finds it quite hard to write good articles. At first, Tibbe does not believe she is a cat in human form, but Minoes happens to know all kinds of interesting news from the town cats, so it doesn't bother him. In exchange for food and shelter, Tibbe allows Minoes to help him with his journalist job by finding interesting news to write about. With the help of the Cat Press Service and all the news the cats bring in, Tibbe soon becomes the journalist with the best articles.
However, there is one important article that Tibbe does not dare to write: an article on the rich Mr. Ellemeet, the chemical factory owner. All town members consider him a respectable man, and a real animal lover. But all cats know that he is not what he seems. After Minoes finally convinces Tibbe to write and publish the article, the whole town turns its back on him. He loses his job and is almost evicted from his apartment.
However, Minoes helps set up a sting in which Ellemeet is filmed shooting at cats and exposed as the cruel villain he is. In the end, although Minoes has a chance to turn back into a cat by eating a bullfinch (which supposedly eats herbs that can cure many conditions such as that of a cat turning into a human), she decides to remain human and stay with Tibbe, having fallen in love with him. The film's credits reveal that the two got married.
Cast
[edit]- Carice van Houten as Minoes
- Theo Maassen as Tibbe de Vries
- Sarah Bannier as Bibi
- Hans Kesting as Harrie de Haringman
- Wim van den Heuvel as Mr. Pastoor
- Olga Zuiderhoek as Mrs. Van Dam
- Kees Hulst as Mr. Van Dam
- Jack Wouterse as Mayor Van Weezel
- Pierre Bokma as Mr. Ellemeet
- Marisa van Eyle as Ms. Ellemeet
- Hans Teeuwen as Tinus (voice)
- Katja Schuurman as Minoes' sister (voice)
- Loes Luca as Aunt Moortje (voice)
- Wim T. Schippers as Simon The Schoolcat (voice)
- Paul Haenen as Mrs. Pastoor (voice)
- Frits Lambrechts as Joop (voice)
- Kim van Kooten as Leentje (voice)
- Annet Malherbe as Jakkepoes (voice)
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]In an interview in 1998, Burny Bos announced that his next film would be a English-language adaptation of Schmidt's 1970 book Minoes, with filming taking place in Canada.[10] However, this version of the film never materialized.
Filming
[edit]Principal photography took place from late 2000 to 5 March 2001 in Utrecht, Hilversum, Schiedam, Rotterdam, Alkmaar, Amersfoort and Amsterdam.[11] During filming, Carice van Houten discovered she had a cat allergy and had to take allergy tablets during the shoot.[12]
Release
[edit]It was a box office success, grossing $4,227,362 in the Netherlands, $111,858 in Germany, $34,164 in Austria, and $389,200 in Norway.
Critical response
[edit]The film received positive reviews from critics in the Netherlands.[13][14][15][16]
The 2011 English dub received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying that "the movie is probably ideal for those proverbial young girls who adore cats, and young boys, too. I can’t recommend it for adults attending on their own, unless they really, really love cats".[17]
Home media
[edit]Miss Minoes was released on DVD and VHS by Warner Home Video on 4 October 2002 in the Netherlands.[18] This DVD release is presented in a 1.85:1 letterbox format while the bonus materials included are a 25-minute behind the scenes featurette along with deleted scenes, bloopers, the music video "Nooit meer bang" sung by the pop group Abel, the film poster and multiple trailers.[19] It sold around 250.000 copies within the first two months.[20][21] The DVD release was later re-issued on 25 April 2007 as part of De Annie M.G. Schmidt Collectie 2 DVD set that includes The Flying Liftboy and Otje.[22]
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Netherlands Film Festival | Golden Calf for Best Feature Film | Burny Bos | Won | [6] |
| Golden Calf for Best Actor | Theo Maassen | Nominated | |||
| Golden Calf for Best Actress | Carice van Houten | Won |
References
[edit]- ^ "WARNER BROS. sluit overeenkomst met BOS BROS. voor Minoes". Holland Film Nieuws, nr. 37 (in Dutch). December 2000. p. 25. Archived from the original on 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ "Die geheimnisvolle Minusch [0]". Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft (in German). 14 July 2002. Archived from the original on 16 August 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ^ Ockhuysen, Ronald (21 November 2001). "Potter, Minoes en De Ring zijn overal". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "Miss Minoes (2001)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Minoes (2003)". KinderTV Geheugen (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 19 February 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Minoes". Nederlands Film Festival (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 28 May 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ Toumarkine, Doris (22 December 2011). "Film Review: Miss Minoes". Film Journal International. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ Anderson, Melissa (21 December 2011). "Movies: Miss Minoes". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "Poezenfilm Minoes naar Amerika". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on 5 June 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ Beerekamp, Hans (20 November 1998). "Abeltje, maar ook Minoes; Burny Bos heeft een missie: films naar Annie M.G. Schmidt". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 13 October 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ "Als de kat van huis is..." Holland Film Nieuws, nr. 39 (in Dutch). April 2001. p. 25. Archived from the original on 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ Zagt, Ab (27 December 2000). "Minoes versus Harry Potter". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025 – via Delpher.
- ^ Rhee, Annemart van (6 December 2001). "Minoes: opnieuw een juweeltje". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025 – via Delpher.
- ^ Linssen, Dana (5 December 2001). "Krabbelen en spinnen als de beste". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ Toma, Kevin (December 2001). "Minoes: Kat in een verkeerd lichaam". Filmkrant; nr. 228 (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ Ekker, Jan Pieter (6 December 2001). "Minoes is prachtige katse juf". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025 – via Delpher.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (21 December 2011). "The girl comes on little cat feet". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ van Ballegoie, Eric (11 September 2002). "Warner: Minoes 4 oktober op DVD". AllesOverFilm (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ van Oostrum, Arnold (8 October 2002). "Minoes (DVD)". AllesOverFilm (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 16 August 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ van Ballegoie, Eric (6 October 2002). "Minoes DVD breekt verkooprecord". AllesOverFilm (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ van Ballegoie, Eric (17 December 2002). "Warner: 250.000 DVD's en Video's van Minoes verkocht". AllesOverFilm (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
- ^ van Oostrum, Arnold (30 March 2007). "Warner releases in april en mei". AllesOverFilm. Archived from the original on 6 March 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
