{{short description|2001 Dutch family film}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox film | name = Miss Minoes | image = File:Minoes Official Poster.png | caption = Theatrical release poster | native_name = {{Infobox name module|nl|Minoes|nolink=yes}} | director = Vincent Bal | producer = Burny Bos | screenplay = {{plainlist| * Burny Bos * Tamara Bos * Vincent Bal }} | based_on = {{Based on|''Minoes''|Annie M.G. Schmidt}} | starring = {{Plainlist| * Carice van Houten * Theo Maassen * Sarah Bannier }} | music = Peter Vermeersch | cinematography = Walther Vanden Ende | editing = Peter Alderliesten | studio = {{plainlist| * Bos Bros. Film-TV Productions * AVRO }} | distributor = {{Plainlist| * Warner Bros. Pictures<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.film-bioscoopbranche.nl/issue/HFN/2000-12-01/edition/null/page/24|title=WARNER BROS. sluit overeenkomst met BOS BROS. voor Minoes|magazine=Holland Film Nieuws, nr. 37|language=nl|date=December 2000|pages=25|access-date=9 June 2025|archive-date=9 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250609192136/https://www.film-bioscoopbranche.nl/issue/HFN/2000-12-01/edition/null/page/24|url-status=dead}}</ref> }} | released = {{Film date|df=y|2001|12|06}} | runtime = 86 minutes<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 July 2002|title=''Die geheimnisvolle Minusch'' [0]|url=https://www.fsk.de/detail/?detailid=634e3aabc27c240015e46b10&stype=single|access-date=9 July 2025|website=Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft|language=de|archive-date=16 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816110746/https://www.fsk.de/detail/?detailid=634e3aabc27c240015e46b10&stype=single|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=YMC>{{cite news|url=https://jmkextern.bmb.gv.at/app/detail.aspx?FILID=15389|title=Die geheimnisvolle Minusch|language=German|website=Film Database|publisher={{ill|Youth Media Commission|de|Jugendmedienkommission}}|access-date=22 September 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250922200039/https://jmkextern.bmb.gv.at/app/detail.aspx?FILID=15389|archive-date=22 September 2025}}</ref> | country = Netherlands | language = Dutch | budget = ƒ12 million<ref>{{cite news|last=Ockhuysen|first=Ronald|title=Potter, Minoes en De Ring zijn overal|url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/voorpagina/potter-minoes-en-de-ring-zijn-overal~bcb997af/|date=21 November 2001|work=De Volkskrant|language=nl|access-date=26 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126173854/https://www.volkskrant.nl/voorpagina/potter-minoes-en-de-ring-zijn-overal~bcb997af/|archive-date=26 January 2025|url-status=live}}</ref> | gross = $4.8 million<ref name="BOM">{{Cite Box Office Mojo |id=0279231|title=Miss Minoes (2001)|access-date=13 April 2025|archive-date=3 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203144153/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0279231/|url-status=live}}</ref> }}
'''''Miss Minoes''''' ({{langx|nl|'''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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kindertvgeheugen.nl/series/serie-overzicht/3727-minoes-2003|title=Minoes (2003)|work=KinderTV Geheugen|language=nl|access-date=28 June 2025|archive-date=19 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219213558/https://kindertvgeheugen.nl/series/serie-overzicht/3727-minoes-2003/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film received positive reviews and won the Golden Calves for Best Feature Film and Best Actress.<ref name="NFF">{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmfestival.nl/film/minoes|title=Minoes|website=Nederlands Film Festival|language=nl|access-date=20 July 2021|archive-date=28 May 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250528112419/https://www.filmfestival.nl/film/minoes|url-status=live}}</ref> Music Box Films released an English dubbed version in the United States on 23 December 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/reviews/specialty-releases/e3i958a71578df7f926af48ec6b7985bc7e|last=Toumarkine|first=Doris|title=Film Review: ''Miss Minoes''|date=22 December 2011|access-date=30 December 2011|publisher=Film Journal International|archive-date=3 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603081423/http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/reviews/specialty-releases/e3i958a71578df7f926af48ec6b7985bc7e|url-status=dead}}</ref> in New York City<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-12-21/film/miss-minoes-review/|last=Anderson|first=Melissa|title=Movies: ''Miss Minoes''|date=21 December 2011|access-date=30 December 2011|work=The Village Voice|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702175718/http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-12-21/film/miss-minoes-review/|archive-date=2 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Chicago.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ad.nl/film/poezenfilm-minoes-naar-amerika~abd39740/|title=Poezenfilm Minoes naar Amerika|website=Algemeen Dagblad|language=nl|date=5 December 2011|access-date=November 5, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250605224750/https://www.ad.nl/film/poezenfilm-minoes-naar-amerika~abd39740/|archive-date=5 June 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Plot== 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== {{Cast listing| *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== ===Development=== In an interview in 1998, Burny Bos announced that his next film would be an English-language adaptation of Schmidt's 1970 book ''Minoes'', with filming taking place in Canada.<ref>{{cite news|last=Beerekamp|first=Hans|date=20 November 1998|title=Abeltje, maar ook Minoes; Burny Bos heeft een missie: films naar Annie M.G. Schmidt|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1998/11/20/abeltje-maar-ook-minoes-burny-bos-heeft-een-missie-7423776-a559270|work=NRC Handelsblad|access-date=17 April 2025|language=nl|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241013120655/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1998/11/20/abeltje-maar-ook-minoes-burny-bos-heeft-een-missie-7423776-a559270|archive-date=13 October 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> However, this version of the film never materialized.
=== Filming === Principal photography took place from late 2000 to 5 March 2001 in Utrecht, Hilversum, Schiedam, Rotterdam, Alkmaar, Amersfoort and Amsterdam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.film-bioscoopbranche.nl/issue/HFN/2001-04-01/edition/null/page/22|title=Als de kat van huis is............|magazine=Holland Film Nieuws, nr. 39|language=nl|date=April 2001|pages=25|access-date=9 June 2025|archive-date=9 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250609205541/https://www.film-bioscoopbranche.nl/issue/HFN/2001-04-01/edition/null/page/22|url-status=live}}</ref> During filming, Carice van Houten discovered she had a cat allergy and had to take allergy tablets during the shoot.<ref name=AD2>{{cite web|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=KBPERS01:003231021:mpeg21:p00027|last=Zagt|first=Ab|title=Minoes versus Harry Potter|newspaper=Algemeen Dagblad|language=nl|date=27 December 2000|access-date=10 July 2025|via=Delpher|archive-date=10 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250710174347/https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?coll=ddd&identifier=KBPERS01:003231021:mpeg21:p00027|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Release== 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=== The film received positive reviews from critics in the Netherlands.<ref name=AD1>{{cite web|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=KBPERS01:003567005:mpeg21:p00024|last=Rhee|first= Annemart van|title=Minoes: opnieuw een juweeltje|newspaper=Algemeen Dagblad|language=nl|date=6 December 2001|access-date=16 June 2025|via=Delpher|archive-date=17 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250617091623/https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?coll=ddd&identifier=KBPERS01:003567005:mpeg21:p00024|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2001/12/05/krabbelen-en-spinnen-als-de-beste-7567958-a729648|date=5 December 2001|last=Linssen|first=Dana|title=Krabbelen en spinnen als de beste|work=NRC Handelsblad|language=nl|access-date=16 June 2025|archive-date=8 April 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250408141942/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2001/12/05/krabbelen-en-spinnen-als-de-beste-7567958-a729648#selection-1269.3-1269.36|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmkrant.nl/av/org/filmkran/archief/fk228/bos.html|date=December 2001|last=Toma|first=Kevin|title=Minoes: Kat in een verkeerd lichaam|work=Filmkrant; nr. 228|language=nl|access-date=16 June 2025|archive-date=15 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115083735/http://www.filmkrant.nl/av/org/filmkran/archief/fk228/bos.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/voorpagina/minoes-is-prachtige-katse-juf~b98e5d38/|last=Ekker|first=Jan Pieter|title=Minoes is prachtige katse juf|newspaper=De Volkskrant|language=nl|date=6 December 2001|access-date=10 July 2025|archive-date=10 July 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250710175419/https://www.volkskrant.nl/voorpagina/minoes-is-prachtige-katse-juf~b98e5d38/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/miss-minoes-2011|work=RogerEbert.com|title=The girl comes on little cat feet|author=Ebert, Roger|date=21 December 2011|accessdate=5 November 2024|archive-date=9 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709084505/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/miss-minoes-2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Home media=== ''Miss Minoes'' was released on DVD and VHS by Warner Home Video on 4 October 2002 in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/warner-minoes-4-oktober-op-dvd/|title=Warner: Minoes 4 oktober op DVD|last=van Ballegoie|first=Eric|website=AllesOverFilm|language=nl|date=11 September 2002|access-date=4 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250104214635/https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/warner-minoes-4-oktober-op-dvd/|archive-date=4 January 2025}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=van Oostrum|first=Arnold|date=8 October 2002|title=Minoes (DVD)|url=https://allesoverfilm.nl/recensies/738/minoes/dvd|work=AllesOverFilm|language=nl|access-date=16 August 2025|archive-date=16 August 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250816111315/https://allesoverfilm.nl/recensies/738/minoes/dvd|url-status=live}}</ref> It sold around 250,000 copies within the first two months.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/minoes-dvd-breekt-verkooprecord/|title=Minoes DVD breekt verkooprecord|last=van Ballegoie|first=Eric|website=AllesOverFilm|language=nl|date=6 October 2002|access-date=6 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516035239/https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/minoes-dvd-breekt-verkooprecord/|archive-date=16 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/warner-250000-dvds-en-videos-van-minoes-verkocht/|title=Warner: 250.000 DVD's en Video's van Minoes verkocht|last=van Ballegoie|first=Eric|website=AllesOverFilm|language=nl|date=17 December 2002|access-date=27 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250227174149/https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/warner-250000-dvds-en-videos-van-minoes-verkocht/|archive-date=27 February 2025}}</ref> 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''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/warner-releases-in-april-en-mei/|title=Warner releases in april en mei|last=van Oostrum|first=Arnold|website=AllesOverFilm|date=30 March 2007|access-date=4 July 2025|archive-date=4 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250704101230/https://allesoverfilm.nl/nieuws/warner-releases-in-april-en-mei/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |+ {{sronly|Accolades received by ''Miss Minoes''}} |- ! scope="col" ! style="width:50px;" | Year ! scope="col" data-sort-type="date" ! style="width:100px;" | Award ! scope="col" ! style="width:300px;" | Category ! scope="col" ! style="width:250px;" | Recipient(s) ! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Ref heading}} |- ! scope="row" rowspan="6" | 2002 ! scope="row" rowspan="6" | Netherlands Film Festival | Golden Calf for Best Feature Film | Burny Bos | {{won}} | rowspan="3" | <ref name="NFF"/> |- | Golden Calf for Best Actor | Theo Maassen | {{nom}} |- | Golden Calf for Best Actress | Carice van Houten | {{won}} |- |}
== See also == * ''Miss Moxy''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://bosbros.com/portfolio/minoes/}} (Dutch) * {{Official website|http://www.musicboxfilms.com/miss-minoes}} (English) * {{IMDb title|0279231}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes|miss_minoes}}
{{Annie M.G. Schmidt}} {{Vincent Bal}} {{Burny Bos}} {{Golden Calf for Best Feature Film}} {{Portal bar|Film|Netherlands|2000s|Cats}}
Category:2001 Dutch-language films Category:Films based on works by Annie M.G. Schmidt Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Films based on children's books Category:Films about cats Category:Films about shapeshifting Category:Films set in the Netherlands Category:2001 Dutch films Category:Films about journalists Category:2001 comedy films Category:2001 films Category:Dutch comedy films Category:Bos Bros. films Category:Best Feature Film Golden Calf winners