I will agree it's not as bad as it was played to be but I will say if I saw this as a kid, I'd probably be a little messed up by it.
As for the English dub. Ehhhh, I don't think it's bad but when I found out it was made in Germany, it kind of made sense how it felt awkward at times. Although, to me, it didn't effect the overall feel of the story.
I enjoyed it, but I really didn't think it was that gory of a movie. I was a bit worried because I love cats, but luckily the animation was so unrealistic that it didn't really bother me. Also, was it supposed to be in German? Did I miss that?