Was ET inspired by The Cat From Outer Space?

(Video Article)

I am sure that most of you are familiar with the 1982 classic ET, however, I am not sure how many of you are familiar with the 1978 classic The Cat From Outer Space. While the movies may look decades apart to some cinephiles, they were actually made within 4 years of one another. Which brings us to the question of the day, was ET in some way inspired by this forgotten classic? To find the answers I did a deep dive into the world of Cinema, Aliens, and Pussy, A.K.A the Internet. Listen kiddos, these films were special to us when we were kids, so this discussion is more for us nostalgic fans than you little Jimmys out there. Lets first examine the plot of The Cat From Outer Space and find out a little more on this cute, warm and slightly dopey family classic. Also, from now on, were are just going to call the film Pussy From Space to save time, or PFS for short. Pussy From Space follows an intergalactic traveling pussy...cat, that has landed on earth due to troubles with the old flying saucer of milk, yep, I got puns too What Culture! After landing on earth our Pussy finds good ole Dr. Frank who decides Jake is an appropriate name for an Alien Pussy, I guess Kim Kardashian was already taken.

Jake requires Frank to help repair his spacecraft so he can return home to Mother, hijinks ensue and Frank, Jake and there two friends Liz and Link get mixed up in this zany sci-fi caper, which also includes corporate espionage, and government agents trying to capture Jake and his technology. Oh, did I mention PFS includes a scene where Frank and Jake use a combo of a bike and alien power, to soar over government agents?

Ok, Ok... It was a motorcycle, they did not fly for long and the scene was clearly an homage to The Great Escape, however, that does not limit the fact that Spielberg was clearly influenced by PFS. Let's point out Jake's power source, which is his light-up collar from outer space. Anytime Jake makes use of his powers his collar lights up, Gee, that sounds kinda familiar.  ET's power was, of course, his glowing finger, which most certainly was never used on any child's butthole. My butthole, however, was not as lucky.

Now, let's break down both of the film's plots, to the bare bones, gooey center. ET crashes on earth and requires assistance from a group of new friends, Jake crashes on earth and you guessed it, requires help from new friends. Jake and ET both have powers that others want to exploit, and they are both pursued throughout the films by a wide range of villainous characters. Jake and ET's main motivations are to return home, but during their adventures, they both become attached to their new families. Now, are these plot points so original that they could only be influenced by one another? Absolutely not.

But, the films share more than a similar plot, they share scenes and ideas, a plot can be similar, but when you have aliens with light-up power sources, who use those powers to achieve flight on a bike, then it's pretty clear Spielberg has seen Pussy From Space. What proof do I have? The simple fact that Spielberg wrote ET during the summer of 1980 while shooting Raiders of the Lost Ark, two years after the release of Pussy From Space. But we aren't stopping here, there is a little more to this story.

Artists are constantly taking in art and becoming influenced by it, think of Quentin Tarantino, he is able to create films out of ideas he found from tons of wildly different movies.  Are all artists as aware of their influences as Tarantino? No, then again, I am pretty sure even he forgets what inspired half of his ideas. I mean, cocaine is a hell of a drug after all. Being inspired by, is not the same as a rip-off or remake, it's how all art is created, and no, the artists do not have to cite what inspired them.

 If they did, then I would never have had the chance to come up with this wonderful article.
ET will always be a classic, a slightly dark and traumatic classic, but a classic none the less. The Cat From Outer Space is not as serious, or as scary as ET can be for some little Jimmys out there, one ending will leave you crying and the other will leave you smiling warmly. The Cat From Outer Space will never be taken as seriously as ET for that reason, it hails from a time when Disney was strictly trying to make silly, wholesome, stupid comedies to bring people out of the depression of the '70s. Which is exactly why the films can coexist, as similar as they are in ideas, they could not be more different in execution. Which brings me to a bonus question that only Spielberg himself can answer, is Spielberg aware today of this inspiration? Well, even if he is not, now the world is aware that ET owes a great deal of its legacy to a Cat From Outer Space.