Veteran director Roger Spottiswoode makes the most of this appealing yarn and has fun showing us a Bob's-eye view of the streets of London.

This dramatization... plays like a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie, touching lightly on serious social issues before turning into a Cinderella story.

There's a telly-ish feel to much of A Street Cat Named Bob, an attempt to sanitise life on the streets... But it's impossible to watch a film about a happy-ending story like James and Bob's without a warm glow.

What this movie offers, unlike many other films in cinemas at the moment, is the feel-good factor.