Cats Don't Dance was released in the United States and Canada on March 26, 1997, by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. It was a box-office failure, grossing $3.5 million domestically due to lack of promotion. Despite this, the film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its animation, humor, characters, voice performances, and musical numbers.
Plot
In an alternate 1939, in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, Daniel "Danny" T. Cat, an optimistic orange tabby cat from Kokomo, Indiana, travels to Hollywood in hopes of starting an acting career there. After meeting a young penguin named Pudge, Danny is selected by agent Farley Wink to feature in a film that is in production at Mammoth Pictures called Lil' Ark Angel, alongside Wink's secretary, a cynical Turkish Angora named Sawyer. Upon joining fellow animals—Tilly the hippo, Cranston the goat, Frances the fish, and T.W the tortoise—Danny is dismayed on learning how minor his role is and tries weaseling his way into more time in the spotlight. Danny unwittingly angers Darla Dimple, a popular yet spoiled child actress and star of the film; she promptly has her gigantic gorilla-like butler Max intimidate Danny against further attempts to enlarge his part.
Danny learns from the studio's mascot Woolie the elephant that human actors are normally given more important roles than animals, whereas animals themselves end up getting minor and often thankless roles to the point of having little to no leverage in show business. The next day, Danny reminds the other animals of their past aspirations by instigating a mass musical performance in an alleyway, which draws Darla's attention. Overhearing Danny's intention to make an appeal to Mammoth Pictures head L.B. Mammoth, Darla invites Danny to her mansion and grants him and the animals full use of the Li'l Ark Angel stage on the day of a press conference held by Mammoth, on the condition that Danny not reveal her involvement in this ostensibly charitable act. Danny happily accepts the offer, unaware that Darla is secretly setting the animals up for failure to prevent them from stealing her spotlight. As the animals prepare their performance on the ark, Darla and Max create a catastrophic flood that washes through Mammoth studios, for which Mammoth blames and dismisses the animals. When the satisfied Darla arrives to thank Danny, he is admonished for his naivety and advised by Woolie to return to Kokomo.
That night, Sawyer takes to heart Danny's attempts to keep the animals' dreams alive and tries catching him at the bus stop, but narrowly misses him. However, after a comment from the bus driver and seeing Pudge wander the streets, Danny stops the bus and secretly invites Sawyer, Woolie, Tillie, Cranston, Frances and T.W. to the Lil' Ark Angel premiere. After the screening, Danny battles Max and sends him flying away by deflating Darla's parade balloon, then calls the audience's attention, only to be mocked by Darla, but Sawyer brings the others backstage to help Danny and Pudge. After Danny convinces them not to give up on their dreams no matter what the humans have said or done, the eight animals put on a musical performance that entertains and impresses the viewers. Meanwhile, Darla's attempts to sabotage the performance drastically enhance it, bringing a standing ovation from the audience. A frustrated Darla admits responsibility for the flood, inadvertently exposing herself to the public and Mammoth in the process. Darla tries hiding her true colors, but Pudge pulls a lever, which causes her to fall into a trapdoor. Danny and Sawyer admit their feelings for each other, the animals achieve their dreams for larger roles, and Darla is demoted to a janitor.
Voice cast
Scott Bakula as Danny, an ambitious, optimistically naïve orange tabby from Kokomo, Indiana, who wishes to become a famous Hollywood star.
Jasmine Guy as Sawyer, a disenchanted sarcastic white Persian/Cream point siamese mix cat secretary of Farley Wink and Danny's love interest, later girlfriend.
Matthew Herried as Peabo "Pudge" Pudgemyer, a little penguin and Danny's first friend who looks up to him as a big brother. Herried was cast after he asked the animators for directions at a cafe, because of which they instantly thought he was perfect for the role.[3]
Ashley Peldon as Darla Dimple, the villainous human child star of Hollywood. She conceals her anger and sinister nature from her fans and superiors through a facade of sweetness and innocence, and is willing to do anything to maintain her star status. She is referred to as "America's sweetheart, lover of children and animals!" Darla is based on Shirley Temple and Norma Desmond.
Mark Dindal as Max, Darla's gargantuanvalet who obeys her every command and will not hesitate to punish anyone who crosses her, serving as the direct force that Darla physically lacks as a child.
Frank Welker as Farley Wink, a human agent for animals and Sawyer's boss.
David Johansen as Bus Driver, a man whose insults towards the animals getting fired from Mammoth Studios inspire Danny with his last plan to give the animals their long-awaited stardom.
Dee Bradley Baker as Kong, a gorilla who appears while Danny and Sawyer are going to the set of Li'l Ark Angel at Mammoth Studios.
The film was launched in 1993 as a vehicle for Michael Jackson, who would produce, star, and be a consultant in the music and choreography. It would have been a hybrid live-action/CGI film,[4] but by 1994, Jackson had ceased to be involved in the film.[5] In its earlier stages, the film concerned less anthropomorphic stray cats that live among the sets and studio backlots. At one point, David Shire and Richard Maltby Jr. composed songs for the film before Randy Newman was hired.[6]
Turner Animation was run by David Kirschner, and had originated as the feature division of Hanna-Barbera, where Kirschner was CEO.[7] The Turner Animation writing department added cat characters based on stories about the filming of Warner Bros. Studios productions like Casablanca (1942), East of Eden (1955), and The Music Man (1962); stagehands would feed feral cats, which dominated the back lot for decades.[7] Producers David Kirschner and Paul Gertz then decided to have dance numbers in the vein of classic musical films like Singin' in the Rain (1952). Kershner felt the style would appeal to a wide audience. The 1930s Hollywood backdrop also inspired the premise of anthropomorphic animals being allegories of those who did not look and/or sound mainstream struggling to gain attention in Hollywood in the late 1930s.[7]
Kirschner contacted Mark Dindal to be director of the project a year after the two met and while Dindal was working on The Rocketeer (1991).[7] Around the same time, Brian McEntee joined as art director, Randy Newman joined as composer, and Gene Kelly joined as dance consultant.[7] Dindal, Kirschner, and McEntee noticed the improving animation technology and were excited to see how it would be incorporated with traditional animation in Cats Don't Dance; McEntee himself worked on the computer-animated ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast (1991).[7] The team watched old musical films for reference before asking Kelly, who instantly joined due to his interest in the story.[7] One meeting took place at Kelly's house between him and Dindal, and he vividly remembered how the films he starred in were choreographed.[7]
During production, management at Turner Feature Animation changed repeatedly and each head that came in attempted to take drastic revisions, including updating the setting to the 1950s rock-and-roll era. Dindal said: "It's pretty hard to try and keep what you have finished so far, and then suddenly transition into a different period of time or introduce a different character or have a completely different ending that doesn't seem to fit the beginning you have".[6]
Dindal's portrayal of Max was initially a scratch track and was never intended to be heard on the film. Dindal wanted Max to be voiced by a professional actor, but as the film started running out of money, he kept his own vocals in.[6]
Music
Steve Goldstein composed much of the score. For the film, Randy Newman composed songs inspired by the classic songs of the Golden Age of Hollywood, including "Danny's Arrival Song", "Little Boat On The Sea", "Animal Jam Session", "Big and Loud", "Tell Me Lies", and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", while the opening and ending pop song "Our Time Has Come" was written by Martin Page and the end credits song "I Do Believe" was written by Simon Climie and Will Downing. Goldstein and Newman gathered a couple of nominations at the Annie Awards, with the latter winning the award for the musical numbers written and composed by him.
The film had also its first DVD release on September 3, 2002 in a pan-and-scan format with bonus features.[11] A re-release of the same DVD, but bundled with Quest for Camelot, was released on May 2, 2006. Internationally, in July 2008, Cats Don't Dance was released on DVD in widescreen in Germany, Spain, and the Benelux countries. A widescreen DVD was released for the first time in North America on November 1, 2016 via the Warner Archive Collection.[12] The original widescreen presentation is also available digitally for rental or purchase through Google Play and also through Amazon Video. The film was officially released on Blu-ray via the Warner Archive Collection on September 26, 2023.[13]
Reception
Critical reaction
Cats Don't Dance received a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site consensus reads: "Cats Don't Dance, but they should easily entertain all-ages audiences thanks to some colorful animation, sharp humor, and a catchy soundtrack".[14]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[citation needed]
Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Decked out with sharp and colorful design work, some well-drawn characters and six snappy Randy Newman tunes, this first entry from Turner Feature Animation goes down very easily but lacks a hook".[16]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four. He wrote the film "is not compelling and it's not a breakthrough, but on its own terms, it works well. Whether this will appeal to kids is debatable; the story involves a time and a subject they're not much interested in. But the songs by Randy Newman are catchy, the look is bright, the spirits are high and fans of Hollywood's golden age might find it engaging".[17] John Petrakis, reviewing for the Chicago Tribune, noted Cats Don't Dance would appeal more for adults than children, but provided a good moral lesson on prejudice. He further wrote the film has "the sharp irreverence of the brilliant Who Framed Roger Rabbit. There are plenty of clever asides and witty one-liners, not to mention a few terrific supporting characters".[18]
Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times summarized in his review: "While the animated characters, bright colors and an appealing Randy Newman score may keep the children content, Cats Don't Dance is no saccharine fantasy. Its Hollywood references and dark satire constitute its real strengths".[19] Jack Mathews, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, described the film as a "startling miscalculation". He next wrote: "It has lots of cute animals, some jaunty Randy Newman songs and solid, if uninspired, animation work. But blending parody and nostalgia about an era half a century removed from the lives of the core audience seems a foolish indulgence".[20] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post wrote the film was "colorful, but unimaginatively drawn".[21] Also from The Washington Post, Jane Horwitz felt children "won't get the references to old movies or stars like Bette Davis and Clark Gable. Still, the action (however confusing), the music and the characters should hold even toddlers for a while".[22]
Box office
Cats Don't Dance became a casualty of the merger between Turner and Time Warner. It received a traditional theatrical release on March 26, 1997, but without fanfare and did not draw an audience. The film grossed $3.5 million in the United States and Canada against its $32 million production budget.[1] Dindal and Kirschner told the Los Angeles Times that they were both frustrated with Warner Bros. over the lack of advertising and the failed marketing campaign.[6][23]
Accolades
Despite mostly positive reception, the Stinkers filed the film under the Founders Award in 1997 (which lamented the year's biggest studio disgraces), citing it as "loud, unfunny, and completely over the heads of its intended audience".[24] On the other hand, when it comes to positive accolades, although failing in gathering any Oscar nominations, it became historically the first non-Disney animated film to win the Best Animated Feature at the Annie Awards.
