Review Fix Exclusive 2013 Tribeca Film Festival Coverage: Say Hello to Bub

An extraterrestrial presence with an innocent face, animated green eyes, a toothless grin and a tiny tongue one can’t help but ogle at — there is a new cat in town and she’s at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

The cuddly and downright adorable Lil Bub makes her presence known in the documentary, “Lil Bub & Friendz” by Andy Capper and Juliette Eisner from Vice Magazine.

These two have put together a heartwarming documentary that focuses on the internet’s obsession with cats. We meet a unique cat, “Bub” and his musician owner, Mike Bridavsky. Capper and Eisner set forth to Minneapolis to attend the Internet Cat Video Festival. Upon arrival, they soon realized they got more than they bargained for.

“Being at the festival, seeing 10,000 people show up wanting to watch cat videos, we realized there was something bigger than what we expected,” recalled Eisner. “Originally we were going to do a short, 10 minute piece for the website. We kind of wanted to do profiles about crazy cat people at first. When we got there, we met Bub and we realized [her] story was incredible. She’s beyond cute and we were drawn to her immediately.”

Bridavsky adopted the perma-kitten, meaning she will remain kitten size for the rest of her life. Bridavsky soon realized she had more medical issues and needed constant care. Bub’s bones are somewhat deformed, which makes walking difficult. Her jaw makes her tongue constantly hang out.

What ensued was the saving of a young man. His savior: Bub.

“This particular cat in question, made us want to [do the film] because of the back story, what the cat represents — the story of how the cat saved a guy’s life from going down the tubes,” said co-director Capper.

Owner Bridavsky eventually started to post videos and pictures of Bub on the web and she instantly became an internet sensation. Bub has appeared on “Good Morning America” and Bridavsky even runs a website that sells Bub-inspired merchandise.

A concern people have is the possibility of exploitation coming about with the new phenomenon of owners profiting off their pets. Mike, however, is sure to give the proceeds to good causes.

“Mike is very vocal about giving back to local animal shelters. The cat does make loads of money which is crazy but is really wonderful because he gives all of that back to charity,” said Eisner.

The film features other internet-famous cat including Grumpy Cat, Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat. We see the reasoning as to why people have become obsessed with felines.

“There’s no ego with a cat,” said Capper.

“Lil Bub & Friendz” will easily turn someone who doesn’t really like cats into someone who can easily accept and appreciate them. Just with one glance, you will see that Bub is one that doesn’t take much convincing to love.

“She kind of gives you that punch in the stomach feeling when you see her,” said Eisner. “Bub is just a one of a kind creature.”