Loving Maru

I love Maru. Honestly, who doesn't? Singing Maru's praises on this little blog feels silly. It's akin to writing "There's this edible bird called chicken. Have you tried it? It's really good."

For that rare person on the Internets who knows about my blog and has never of Maru, Mugumogu, the person with whom Maru lives, has a YouTube channel entirely devoted to this cat. (I am hesitiant to call Mugumogu Maru's owner.) The videos run from about a minute long to six minutes long and consist of Maru doing stuff, mostly playing with cat toys or exploring boxes and bags.

Maru does not do "tricks". Maru exhibits behaviors, behaviors almost universal among cats. Cats love chasing little things. Cats love boxes and bags. The camera goes on, Maru plays with stuff, the camera goes off. End.

I do not know if it is more correct to say Maru is a great comic actor or Mugumogu is a brilliant film editor. Both are certainly true. Maru can be very graceful, like all cats, but sometimes Maru is a spectacular klutz. The funny comes from the fact you aren't sure which will happen next.

It doesn't hurt that he has a very handsome face but is a little chubby, or "fluffy" as his most devoted fans will say. It just makes him seem more accessible. Maru is Japanese for "round", so Mugumogu doesn't have any illusions about who Maru is. The cat was born to star in comedies.

More than this, Maru understands the concept of "close-up" at least as well as Martin Scorsese does. There's a short film that shows Maru with two cat toys, one he can take or leave and one that he wants to keep with all his heart. When the off-screen human reaches for the beloved toy, instead of hissing, Maru narrows his eyes. Only when the hand comes on-screen does Maru bat it away.

Acting is about choices and once you see it, you realize there is no better way to play this scene.

Statistically, I would predict there are about 1.5 people who have heard of this blog but not heard of Maru. Go click on the link. You'll thank me later.

For those who have heard of Maru, you should click on the link as well.

What, you have something better to do with the next five minutes of your life? You are reading my blog, for pity's sake. I think we both know what that means.