Companies plan to release film theatrically in N. America in 2026
California-based distribution company Deaf Crocodile announced on Friday it and Cartuna have acquired the North American rights to the Tamala 2030: A Punk Cat in Dark “psychedelic cyber-noir” anime film. The companies plan to release the film theatrically in 2026. The license marks the first co-acquisition between Deaf Crocodile and Cartuna.
(The below trailer has English subtitles that can be toggled on.)
The film is a follow-up feature to the Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space anime film. Writer, composer, and director duo K. and kuno (known together as t.o.L) are returning to the film.
Deaf Crocodile describes the film:
Written, directed, and composed by the mysterious duo K. and kuno — collectively known as t.o.L.— Tamala 2030 picks up the existential thread of its iconic feline anti-hero. Set in Cat Tokyo in the year 2030, the film follows the incorrigible Tamala—a pint-sized, chain-smoking, time-hopping cat—as she impulsively joins her detective friend Michelangelo in investigating a string of bizarre disappearances across Cat Japan. Their search uncovers an intricate pattern tied to ancient occult forces, cosmic prophecy, and a shadowy megacorporation with a familiar name: Catty & Co. The deeper the mystery unravels, the clearer it becomes that Tamala may be more than just a wayward mascot—she may be a messiah, a myth, or the end of everything.
If Tamala 2010 was a subversive take on kawaii culture through a punk sci-fi lens, Tamala 2030 is a futuristic Neo-Noir, doubling down on the first film’s metaphysical mayhem. Inspired in part by the sudden disappearance of loved ones and friends during the COVID pandemic, the film is a kaleidoscope of surreal satire, pop iconography, and mind-bending narrative fragments, fusing influences from Philip K. Dick, David Lynch, and Thomas Pynchon with the aesthetics of Hello Kitty and post-internet paranoia. The result is a visually and philosophically radical experience—part art film, part cosmic joke, and wholly singular.
The 29th annual Fantasia International Film Festival, held from July 16 through August 3 in Montreal, is screening the film’s world premiere.
Deaf Crocodile released the Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space anime film on home video in October. The film originally released in Japan in 2002, and had not previously had an English release.
t.o.L. directed the film, wrote the screenplay, and designed the characters. Kentaro Nemoto also designed the characters and handled 2D animation.
Source: Deaf Crocodile‘s X/Twitter account
Dil Nawaz — a writer who breathes life into emotions through words. I find beauty in silence, meaning in longing, and stories in every heartbeat. Writing for me isn’t just passion; it’s a way to connect souls, one feeling at a time.