Cats Don't Dance
Encyclopedia
Cats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated
musical comedy film
, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment
's feature animation unit (later merged into Warner Bros. Animation
, Turner Feature Animation had also produced the animated portions of The Pagemaster
in 1994). The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
. Set in a world where human beings and anthropomorphic animals live side-by-side, it focuses on a cat named Danny who wants to break into show business in Hollywood.
The film features the voices of Scott Bakula
and Jasmine Guy
, and was the directorial debut of former Disney animator Mark Dindal
. It is also notable for its musical numbers, written by Randy Newman
, and for Gene Kelly
's contributions as choreographer
. Cats Don't Dance was Kelly's final film project, and the film is dedicated to him.
named Danny, who dreams of becoming a movie star
, travels from his small hometown of Kokomo, Indiana
to Hollywood. There, Danny finds animal talent agent Farley Wink and his secretary, a sassy and cynical
lady cat named Sawyer, with whom Danny falls in love. Danny is admitted into a small role in the latest film featuring child actress Darla Dimple, "America's Sweetheart, Lover of Children and Animals." He is enthusiastic until he realizes the role's insignificance. Determined to become more central, he takes matters into his own hands, turning his one line of "meow" into an impressive bit of music, but in doing so, he upstages Darla Dimple. She immediately orders filming to stop, showing her true side; cruel and obnoxious. She sends her valet
, Max (a massive, rigid parody of Erich von Stroheim
's portrayal of Max von Mayerling from Sunset Boulevard
) to make Danny stick with the script.
That night, Danny (along with his penguin
friend, Pudge, a young lad he met when he first came to Hollywood) learns from the studio's mascot, Woolly the Elephant, that all of the other animals who came to Hollywood sharing Danny's ambitions (including Sawyer) are reassigned to the supporting cast, playing stereotypical animal roles, while the humans assume central roles. Danny therefore organizes an impromptu dance session in an alley the next morning to remind the animals why they came to Hollywood. He convinces Sawyer, with some difficulty, to resume her former practice of dancing and she joins them. Danny begins making plans to finally get some recognition. Darla and Max overhear him from afar. Believing that the animals provide a threat to her stardom, Darla thinks of a way to use Danny to keep the spotlight on herself.
Darla invites Danny to her mansion so she could "apologize" for what Max did the other day. She even offers to call studio boss L.B. Mammoth to arrange for Danny and his friends to perform for him. Danny eagerly embraces her offer. He enlists the assistance of all the animals to get ready for a big show (even Sawyer, who's starting to reciprocate Danny's feelings for her) just as a press conference for "Lil' Ark Angel" takes place outside the sound stage. Darla and Max trap the animals on the ark and flood the sound stage; the flood spills out and nearly destroys the studio. The animals are blamed for the incident and are immediately fired. Darla promptly reveals her deception and Danny's part in it to everyone and rides off in her limousine laughing. Realizing this, all the animals get angry at Danny for letting Darla do such a horrible things to them. Defeated and alone, Danny prepares to return to Kokomo. Sawyer, however, realizes that, despite his mistakes, Danny brought back the hopes of her and her friends and she truly loves him. Tillie the Hippo convinces her to catch him at the bus stop before he leaves but she is too late. After the bus driver offhandedly insults the animals who tried and failed to be in the pictures, Danny changes his mind about going home and leaves. He conspires with Pudge to demonstrate the animals' skills one more time.
Danny and Pudge sneak into the studio and invite their friends, including Sawyer, to the premiere of Darla's film. While preparing backstage, Pudge snaps his tie, which alerts Max through his ears. Danny is chased out to the roof of the theater and atop a giant Darla balloon, where he is forced into a final showdown with Max. When all seems lost, they both notice the balloon is about to pop (with Max still on it). Danny repeats Max's question that was earlier asked to him ("How does the kitty cat go?" "Meow?" Very good!"), then pops the balloon, sending Max away. Danny returns to the theater just as the film ends and addresses the audience, informing them that he and his friends will sing and dance as requested. The others, thinking he will only ruin their lives more, leave only to be held back (literally) by Tillie. After a small argument, Danny says that if they accept what the humans think of them they can leave (to the shock of the others). They say that "Life here for animals is a pits. We're always playing the scapegoat, quickly forgotten, always work for scale." (Pun
s, as these words are spoken by a goat, an elephant—which "never forgets"--and a fish, which has scales.) Danny asks them why they're still here, and explains that they can't forget the feeling they have when Cranston and Frances dance together, when Woolly plays music, or when Sawyer sings. He reminds them that the people "cursed them, humiliated them, even slammed the door in their faces, but they haven't yet made the animals forget." Then T.W. remembers a fortune cookie paper saying, "they can smash your cookie, but you'll always have your fortune."
At this, the animals perform a spectacular song and dance scene. Darla's outrageous attempts to stop them (trying to close the curtain, throwing light bulbs at Sawyer and Danny, opening smoke canisters, trying to make T.W. fall into the crowd, smashing the control booth, and pulling "The GrandDaddy of All Switches") result only in enhancement to their performance and in pain to herself. The production number is a resounding success, and the audience applaud for the animals' efforts; Darla, trying to prove that she is the true star, recklessly screams at Danny through a microphone tangled on her back that "I should have drowned you all when I flooded the stage!!!" Everyone in the audience is shocked at this, including L.B. and the director, Flanagan. With her crime and true nature now exposed to the audience, Darla tries to save face by hugging Danny, but gets dropped down a trap door by Pudge while shouting out for Max (Max, drifting over Paris
at this point, responds slowly to her call: "Oui, Miss Dimple!") As the animals receive more applause for their victory, L.B. and Flanagan apologize to the animals for their misunderstanding over the flooding incident, assuring they will be making history through films.
It is implied that the animals not only get their jobs back at the studio, but are also given starring roles from then on, creating a number of amusing films such as Singin' in the Rain
, Casablanca
, The Mask
, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
, The Witches of Eastwick
, Grumpy Old Men
, Superman, Beetlejuice
, Twister
, Batman & Robin, and Free Willy
. It is revealed afterwards that Darla has lost her fame by being consequentially fired from her movie acting job for almost destroying the studio and she now works as a janitor as her punishment. In the end, Darla sets up a "The End" poster (with it falling down and wrapping around her).
attached "Pullet Surprise", a newly produced Looney Tunes short featuring Foghorn Leghorn, to the original theatrical release, and "The Big Sister", a Dexter's Laboratory
What-A-Cartoon!
short, following the film in its original home entertainment release.
Cats Don't Dance was released to mixed to positive reviews (it has a 69% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes
) and became a casualty of the Turner/Time Warner
merger: it received a traditional theatrical release in 1997 but without fanfare and did not draw an audience, perhaps due to minimal advertising, a lack of promotional merchandise (only two book adaptations and a set of toys from Subway
) and having only one theatrical trailer prepared. Director Mark Dindal was angry with Warner over the lack of advertising and the failed marketing campaign. It was also overshadowed by the overlapping releases of The Devil's Own
and the re-release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
, the last of the Star Wars trilogy "Special Edition" re-releases. Its total domestic theatrical gross was $3,566,637, making it a box office bomb
in contrast with its $32 million production budget.
Despite the film's commercial disaster, Cats Don't Dance was the first non-Disney animated film to have won the Best Animated Feature award at the 1997 Annie Awards.
on August 19, 1997 by Warner Home Video
. While a standard 4:3 VHS, the Laserdisc was special in the fact that it remains to this day the only home video release of the film in its theatrical widescreen format in North America (the film is available on DVD in widescreen in Europe). The Laserdisc was never re-released and has become very rare. The VHS re-released for its second and final time on March 2, 1999.
The film saw its first DVD
release on September 2, 2002, as a 4:3 pan-and-scan DVD with no bonus features. The most recent release was a re-release of the same DVD, but bundled with Quest for Camelot
, which was released on May 2, 2006. In July 2008, Cats Don't Dance was released on DVD in widescreen in Germany, Spain, and the Benelux countries (Belgium/the Netherlands/Luxembourg).
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
musical comedy film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
's feature animation unit (later merged into Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
, Turner Feature Animation had also produced the animated portions of The Pagemaster
The Pagemaster
The Pagemaster is a 1994 adventure fantasy film starring Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Welker, and Leonard Nimoy...
in 1994). The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment is the family film label of Warner Bros., established in 1992. It is best-known for producing numerous family films and television series in either live-action or animation .-History:The division was founded in 1992 to produce more family-friendly films.The first...
. Set in a world where human beings and anthropomorphic animals live side-by-side, it focuses on a cat named Danny who wants to break into show business in Hollywood.
The film features the voices of Scott Bakula
Scott Bakula
Scott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
and Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her starring role as Whitley Gilbert in the television sitcom A Different World.-Biography:...
, and was the directorial debut of former Disney animator Mark Dindal
Mark Dindal
Mark L. Dindal is an American effects animator and director, who created The Emperor's New Groove as well as Cats Don't Dance...
. It is also notable for its musical numbers, written by Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
, and for Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
's contributions as choreographer
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
. Cats Don't Dance was Kelly's final film project, and the film is dedicated to him.
Plot
The film takes place in 1939 Hollywood, during the golden age of cinema. An ambitious young catCat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
named Danny, who dreams of becoming a movie star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
, travels from his small hometown of Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States, Indiana's 13th largest city. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard and Tipton counties....
to Hollywood. There, Danny finds animal talent agent Farley Wink and his secretary, a sassy and cynical
Cynicism
Cynicism , in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics . Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and...
lady cat named Sawyer, with whom Danny falls in love. Danny is admitted into a small role in the latest film featuring child actress Darla Dimple, "America's Sweetheart, Lover of Children and Animals." He is enthusiastic until he realizes the role's insignificance. Determined to become more central, he takes matters into his own hands, turning his one line of "meow" into an impressive bit of music, but in doing so, he upstages Darla Dimple. She immediately orders filming to stop, showing her true side; cruel and obnoxious. She sends her valet
Valet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
, Max (a massive, rigid parody of Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
's portrayal of Max von Mayerling from Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (film)
Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett...
) to make Danny stick with the script.
That night, Danny (along with his penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
friend, Pudge, a young lad he met when he first came to Hollywood) learns from the studio's mascot, Woolly the Elephant, that all of the other animals who came to Hollywood sharing Danny's ambitions (including Sawyer) are reassigned to the supporting cast, playing stereotypical animal roles, while the humans assume central roles. Danny therefore organizes an impromptu dance session in an alley the next morning to remind the animals why they came to Hollywood. He convinces Sawyer, with some difficulty, to resume her former practice of dancing and she joins them. Danny begins making plans to finally get some recognition. Darla and Max overhear him from afar. Believing that the animals provide a threat to her stardom, Darla thinks of a way to use Danny to keep the spotlight on herself.
Darla invites Danny to her mansion so she could "apologize" for what Max did the other day. She even offers to call studio boss L.B. Mammoth to arrange for Danny and his friends to perform for him. Danny eagerly embraces her offer. He enlists the assistance of all the animals to get ready for a big show (even Sawyer, who's starting to reciprocate Danny's feelings for her) just as a press conference for "Lil' Ark Angel" takes place outside the sound stage. Darla and Max trap the animals on the ark and flood the sound stage; the flood spills out and nearly destroys the studio. The animals are blamed for the incident and are immediately fired. Darla promptly reveals her deception and Danny's part in it to everyone and rides off in her limousine laughing. Realizing this, all the animals get angry at Danny for letting Darla do such a horrible things to them. Defeated and alone, Danny prepares to return to Kokomo. Sawyer, however, realizes that, despite his mistakes, Danny brought back the hopes of her and her friends and she truly loves him. Tillie the Hippo convinces her to catch him at the bus stop before he leaves but she is too late. After the bus driver offhandedly insults the animals who tried and failed to be in the pictures, Danny changes his mind about going home and leaves. He conspires with Pudge to demonstrate the animals' skills one more time.
Danny and Pudge sneak into the studio and invite their friends, including Sawyer, to the premiere of Darla's film. While preparing backstage, Pudge snaps his tie, which alerts Max through his ears. Danny is chased out to the roof of the theater and atop a giant Darla balloon, where he is forced into a final showdown with Max. When all seems lost, they both notice the balloon is about to pop (with Max still on it). Danny repeats Max's question that was earlier asked to him ("How does the kitty cat go?" "Meow?" Very good!"), then pops the balloon, sending Max away. Danny returns to the theater just as the film ends and addresses the audience, informing them that he and his friends will sing and dance as requested. The others, thinking he will only ruin their lives more, leave only to be held back (literally) by Tillie. After a small argument, Danny says that if they accept what the humans think of them they can leave (to the shock of the others). They say that "Life here for animals is a pits. We're always playing the scapegoat, quickly forgotten, always work for scale." (Pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s, as these words are spoken by a goat, an elephant—which "never forgets"--and a fish, which has scales.) Danny asks them why they're still here, and explains that they can't forget the feeling they have when Cranston and Frances dance together, when Woolly plays music, or when Sawyer sings. He reminds them that the people "cursed them, humiliated them, even slammed the door in their faces, but they haven't yet made the animals forget." Then T.W. remembers a fortune cookie paper saying, "they can smash your cookie, but you'll always have your fortune."
At this, the animals perform a spectacular song and dance scene. Darla's outrageous attempts to stop them (trying to close the curtain, throwing light bulbs at Sawyer and Danny, opening smoke canisters, trying to make T.W. fall into the crowd, smashing the control booth, and pulling "The GrandDaddy of All Switches") result only in enhancement to their performance and in pain to herself. The production number is a resounding success, and the audience applaud for the animals' efforts; Darla, trying to prove that she is the true star, recklessly screams at Danny through a microphone tangled on her back that "I should have drowned you all when I flooded the stage!!!" Everyone in the audience is shocked at this, including L.B. and the director, Flanagan. With her crime and true nature now exposed to the audience, Darla tries to save face by hugging Danny, but gets dropped down a trap door by Pudge while shouting out for Max (Max, drifting over Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at this point, responds slowly to her call: "Oui, Miss Dimple!") As the animals receive more applause for their victory, L.B. and Flanagan apologize to the animals for their misunderstanding over the flooding incident, assuring they will be making history through films.
It is implied that the animals not only get their jobs back at the studio, but are also given starring roles from then on, creating a number of amusing films such as Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
, Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, The Mask
The Mask (film)
The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film based on a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. This film was directed by Chuck Russell, and produced by Dark Horse Entertainment and New Line Cinema, and originally released to movie theatres on July 29, 1994 through New Line...
, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
, The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick (film)
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1987 American horror comedy based on John Updike's novel of the same name. Directed by George Miller, the film stars Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne, alongside Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer as the eponymous witches...
, Grumpy Old Men
Grumpy Old Men (film)
Grumpy Old Men is a 1993 American romantic comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Ann-Margret, with Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ossie Davis, and Buck Henry. Directed by Donald Petrie, the screenplay was written by Mark Steven Johnson, who also wrote...
, Superman, Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
, Twister
Twister (film)
Twister is a 1996 American disaster/thriller film starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as "storm chasers" researching tornadoes. It was directed by Jan de Bont. The film was based upon a script by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin. Its executive producers were Steven Spielberg, Walter Parkes,...
, Batman & Robin, and Free Willy
Free Willy
Free Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
. It is revealed afterwards that Darla has lost her fame by being consequentially fired from her movie acting job for almost destroying the studio and she now works as a janitor as her punishment. In the end, Darla sets up a "The End" poster (with it falling down and wrapping around her).
Voice cast
- Scott BakulaScott BakulaScott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
as Danny, an ambitious, optimistic cat who desperately wants to become a famous Hollywood star. He is the protagonist. - Jasmine GuyJasmine GuyJasmine Guy is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her starring role as Whitley Gilbert in the television sitcom A Different World.-Biography:...
(Natalie ColeNatalie ColeNatalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, singing) as Sawyer, a sassy but cynical she-cat receptionist and the deuteragonist. - Ashley PeldonAshley PeldonAshley Peldon is an American television and film actress.-Early life and career:Peldon was born in New York City, New York. Along with her sister Courtney, she worked as a child actor....
(Lindsay RidgewayLindsay RidgewayLindsay Elizabeth Ridgeway is a former American child actress in film, television, and theater. She is a voice actor in several animated shows like Totally Spies! and plays the character Britney....
, singing) as Darla Dimple, the obnoxious and bratty human child star of Hollywood. She serves as the main antagonist. - Kathy NajimyKathy NajimyKathy Ann Najimy is an American actress, most notable as Olive Massery on the television series Veronica's Closet, Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act and the voice of Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill. Prior to her film work, she was best known for two Off Broadway shows...
as Tillie Hippo, a happy-go-lucky hippopotamusHippopotamusThe hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
who tries to find the best in every situation. - John Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
as Wooly the Mammoth, the aging elephant mascotMascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for Mammoth Pictures. He originally came to Hollywood to write and perform music and acts a mentor to Danny. - George KennedyGeorge KennedyGeorge Harris Kennedy, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. He is perhaps most familiar as the convict Dragline in Cool Hand Luke , airline troubleshooter Joe Patroni in the Airport series of disaster movies from the 1970s and...
as L.B. Mammoth, the human head of Mammoth Studios whose secret of success is "Simple, it's Dimple!". - Rene AuberjonoisRene AuberjonoisRené Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Chef Louis in The Little...
as Flanagan, the human director of "Li'l Ark Angel" who is constantly kissing up to both Darla and L.B. Mammoth. - Betty Lou GersonBetty Lou GersonBetty Lou Gerson was an American actress, predominantly in radio, but also in film and television, and as a voice actress.-Early life:...
as Frances Albacore, a sarcastic, cranky fish who dances with Cranston. The cigarette holder she always holds may be a nod to Cruella de VilCruella de VilCruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
, who was also voiced by Gerson. This was Gerson's last film role before she died in 1999. - Hal HolbrookHal HolbrookHarold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
as Cranston Goat, a cranky elderly goatGoatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
who surprisingly loves to dance. He is always seen with Frances and they always dance with each other. - Matthew Herried as Peabo "Pudge" Pudgemyer, a little penguinPenguinPenguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
who is Danny's first friend when he comes to Hollywood. He looks up to Danny as a big brother. He serves as the tritagonist. - Don KnottsDon KnottsJesse Donald "Don" Knotts was an American comedic actor best known for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, a role which earned him five Emmy Awards...
as T.W., a nervous and superstitiousSuperstitionSuperstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
turtleTurtleTurtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
who always relies on the fortunes from fortune cookies. He originally came to Hollywood hoping to be an Errol Flynn-type star. - Mark DindalMark DindalMark L. Dindal is an American effects animator and director, who created The Emperor's New Groove as well as Cats Don't Dance...
as Max, Darla's enormous manservant and personal human assistant and the secondary antagonist. He obeys Darla's every command, and will not hesitate to punish anyone who crosses her. He serves as the direct force that Darla socially lacks, as she is just a child. - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as Farley Wink, a human agent for animals. - David JohansenDavid JohansenDavid Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues, and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in...
as Bus Driver, a human whose insults inspire Danny with his last plan to give the animals their long-awaited stardom.
Musical numbers
- "Our Time Has Come" - James IngramJames IngramJames Ingram is an American soul musician. He is best known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards...
, Carnie WilsonCarnie WilsonCarnie Wilson is an American singer and television hostess, perhaps best known as a member of the pop music group Wilson Phillips.-Early life and musical career:... - "Danny's Arrival Song" - Danny
- "Little Boat on the Sea" - Darla, Danny
- "Animal Jam" - Danny, Animals
- "Big and Loud (Part 1)" - Darla
- "Big and Loud (Part 2)" - Darla
- "Tell Me Lies" - Sawyer
- "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" - Danny, Sawyer, Tillie, T.W., Cranston, Frances
- "I Do Believe" (end credits) - Will DowningWill DowningWill Downing , is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Downing is known in the contemporary jazz and R&B music genres for his rich baritone vocals, and his interpretations of R&B and pop classics that stretch back to the early 1980s...
Release and response
Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
attached "Pullet Surprise", a newly produced Looney Tunes short featuring Foghorn Leghorn, to the original theatrical release, and "The Big Sister", a Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios . The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions...
What-A-Cartoon!
The Cartoon Cartoon Show
What a Cartoon! , is an American animation showcase project created by Fred Seibert for Hanna-Barbera Cartoons to be run on Cartoon Network...
short, following the film in its original home entertainment release.
Cats Don't Dance was released to mixed to positive reviews (it has a 69% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
) and became a casualty of the Turner/Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
merger: it received a traditional theatrical release in 1997 but without fanfare and did not draw an audience, perhaps due to minimal advertising, a lack of promotional merchandise (only two book adaptations and a set of toys from Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
) and having only one theatrical trailer prepared. Director Mark Dindal was angry with Warner over the lack of advertising and the failed marketing campaign. It was also overshadowed by the overlapping releases of The Devil's Own
The Devil's Own
The Devil's Own is a 1997 action thriller movie starring Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Rubén Blades, Natascha McElhone, Julia Stiles and Treat Williams. It was the final film directed by Alan J...
and the re-release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
, the last of the Star Wars trilogy "Special Edition" re-releases. Its total domestic theatrical gross was $3,566,637, making it a box office bomb
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
in contrast with its $32 million production budget.
Despite the film's commercial disaster, Cats Don't Dance was the first non-Disney animated film to have won the Best Animated Feature award at the 1997 Annie Awards.
Pop culture references
- Darla Dimple is a take on Shirley TempleShirley TempleShirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
. Unlike Darla, Shirley was more courteous and respectful to her supporting cast. - Famous 1930s actors and actresses' likenesses are seen at the premiere and the Brown DerbyBrown DerbyThe Brown Derby was the name of a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and most famous of these was shaped like a men's derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood....
restaurant including Joan CrawfordJoan CrawfordJoan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Cary GrantCary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, W.C. Fields, Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and Laurel and HardyLaurel and HardyLaurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
. - Mammoth Pictures is a parody of MGM, complete with Woolly Mammoth's presence on the logo.
- The posters that are parodied at the end include Singin' in the RainSingin' in the RainSingin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
, CasablancaCasablanca (film)Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
, The MaskThe Mask (film)The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film based on a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. This film was directed by Chuck Russell, and produced by Dark Horse Entertainment and New Line Cinema, and originally released to movie theatres on July 29, 1994 through New Line...
, Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
, The Witches of EastwickThe Witches of Eastwick (film)The Witches of Eastwick is a 1987 American horror comedy based on John Updike's novel of the same name. Directed by George Miller, the film stars Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne, alongside Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer as the eponymous witches...
, Grumpy Old MenGrumpy Old Men (film)Grumpy Old Men is a 1993 American romantic comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Ann-Margret, with Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ossie Davis, and Buck Henry. Directed by Donald Petrie, the screenplay was written by Mark Steven Johnson, who also wrote...
, Superman, BeetlejuiceBeetlejuiceBeetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
, Twister, Batman & Robin, and "Free Tilly", a parody of Free WillyFree WillyFree Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
. The final image of Darla as a cleaning lady was a direct reference to the way Carol BurnettCarol BurnettCarol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
ended her variety showThe Carol Burnett ShowThe Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
. - A parody was also included when Danny was dancing past the windows to a restaurant, where the famous comedy duo, Stan LaurelStan LaurelArthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
and Oliver HardyOliver HardyOliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
were sitting at a table together. - The film is an obvious allegorry of the civil rights movementCivil rights movementThe civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and McCarthyismMcCarthyismMcCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
Home media
Cats Don't Dance got its first home video release on VHS and LaserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
on August 19, 1997 by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
. While a standard 4:3 VHS, the Laserdisc was special in the fact that it remains to this day the only home video release of the film in its theatrical widescreen format in North America (the film is available on DVD in widescreen in Europe). The Laserdisc was never re-released and has become very rare. The VHS re-released for its second and final time on March 2, 1999.
The film saw its first DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release on September 2, 2002, as a 4:3 pan-and-scan DVD with no bonus features. The most recent release was a re-release of the same DVD, but bundled with Quest for Camelot
Quest for Camelot
Quest for Camelot is a 1998 animated feature film from Warner Bros. Animation, based on the novel The King's Damosel by Vera Chapman, starring the voices of Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, Eric Idle, Don Rickles, Jane Seymour, Pierce Brosnan, Bronson Pinchot, Jaleel White, Gabriel Byrne,...
, which was released on May 2, 2006. In July 2008, Cats Don't Dance was released on DVD in widescreen in Germany, Spain, and the Benelux countries (Belgium/the Netherlands/Luxembourg).