Aikido for Cats

Unlike projects that lean on familiar martial arts tropes, Aikido for Cats is rooted in Aikido — a lesser-known discipline centered on harmony, redirection, and peace rather than domination. All conflict scenes are overseen by our Aikido motion consultant, Simone Chierchini (5th Dan), ensuring movements remain both authentic and true to the philosophy.

This foundation makes the project fundamentally different from Kung Fu Panda:

• We’re not parodying traditions but drawing on real philosophy and discipline.

• The visual style is photo-realistic, not cartoonish.

• The story is grounded in wartime Tokyo (1942–45), where the Inu brothers’ human Master — an Ōmoto-kyō practitioner — is arrested. The arrest shapes the dog brother’s diverging paths of restraint versus anger and abandonment.

• Into this fractured world wanders Tom, a kitten abandoned by his family and unable to fit in with the street cats, who sense something foreign about him. Isolated and naïve, he discovers a secret cat dojo and mistakes Aikido for mere fighting. His clumsy imitations — fueled by anger and pride — nearly destroy him, until he is guided by two unlikely teachers: Miyako, a disciplined temple cat and Aikido master, and Maru, a street-smart stray. Through their contrasting lessons — restraint and instinct — Tom learns that true strength lies not in winning but in listening and redirection.

Tom’s journey from alienation and misconception to resilience and belonging gives the film its emotional heart, carrying the audience from innocence to understanding.

• The characters are built for emotional storytelling and global merchandising, not slapstick.

So while Kung Fu Panda proved the appetite for animal martial arts franchises, Aikido for Cats advances the idea in a new, deeper, and more authentic direction.