Catz

Catz is a 1993 American animated adventure comedy film produced by United Saints Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut) and Mike Gabriel from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, Jymn Magon and Cindy Marcus. The film features the voices of Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, Grey DeLisle, Tom Cruise, Tobey Maguire, Matthew Broderick, Emma Thompson, Samuel L. Jackson and John Cleese. Some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. The film involves an anxious worker cat, Danny (Bakula), who falls in love with Princess Sawyer (Guy). When the treacherous scheming of the arrogant officer General Cat R. Waul (Cleese) threatens to wipe out the entire worker population, Danny must save the cat colony from the flooded tunnel and strives to make social inroads.
Danny Elfman and John Debney composed the music for the film, marking their animated film.
Catz was released theatrically in the United States on June 25, 1993. It grossed $275.8 million worldwide on a budget of $46–113 million and received positive reviews, with critics praising the voice cast, animation, humor, and its appeal towards adults.
== Plot ==
Danny is an anxious worker cat who is suffering an existential crisis due to the fact that everyone in the colony, even his psychiatrist, reminds him of his insignificance. While at the local bar one night, Danny falls in love with the colony's princess Sawyer when she visits the bar to escape her suffocating royal life. The cat colony declares war on an encroaching dog colony, and soldiers are sent to engage the invaders. To see Sawyer again, Danny exchanges places with his soldier friend, Tom, and joins the army, where he befriends staff sergeant TurboCat. The cats are unaware that General Cat R. Waul, the army's leader and Sawyer's fiancee, is secretly sending the soldiers loyal to the colony's Queen to die so he can stage a coup d'état. In the battle, everyone except Danny is killed by much-larger acid-shooting termite defenders. Before dying, TurboCat tells Danny to think for himself instead of blindly following orders. Meanwhile, Tom joins the digging crew and falls in love with Danny's co-worker, Kitty Katswell.
Danny returns home and is mistakenly hailed as a war hero. Secretly unsatisfied, Waul congratulates him and introduces him to the Queen. There, Danny meets Sawyer, who recognizes him as a worker. Danny panics and pretends to take Sawyer hostage; he flees with Sawyer, but they end up falling out of the cathill via a garbage chute. Now a fugitive, Danny decides to search for Petopia, a legendary insect paradise. Sawyer attempts to return to the colony, but quickly rejoins Danny after encountering a bear.
Danny's act of individuality inspires the workers and some soldier cats, halting productivity. To gain control, Waul publicly portrays Danny as a self-centered war criminal, promotes the glory of conformity, and promises the workers rewards for completing a "Mega Tunnel" he designed. However, Waul's second-in-command, a lion named Kovu, begins to doubt Waul's constant reassurances that he's acting for the good of the colony.
Danny and Sawyer come upon a human picnic, which they mistake for Petopia. They are baffled by the wrappings on the food, but Nala and Simba, a married couple of liberal lions, condescendingly befriend them and try to help break the wrappers. They are disrupted by the humans, who kill Nala with a animal swatter and attempt to squish the cats with a shoe. Dany rescues Sawyer from the sneaker, and the two cats at last find Petopia, a trash can overfilled with decaying food. Sawyer begins to reciprocate Danny's feelings.
Meanwhile, after interrogating Tom, Waul learns that Danny is looking for Petopia and sends Kovu to find it. That night, whilst Danny is away, Kovu arrives at Petopia and forcibly flies Sawyer back to the colony, where Waul reveals his intention to restart the colony with Sawyer as his Queen. Seeing Danny's desperation at finding Sawyer gone, a drunken Simba, mourning over Nala's death, generously flies Danny back to the colony. When Danny arrives, Waul's soldiers forcibly direct him toward the Mega Tunnel. Along the way, he finds Sawyer held captive in Waul's office. After he frees her, they both discover that Waul's Mega Tunnel leads straight to the puddle next to Petopia, which Waul will use to drown the Queen and the workers at the opening ceremony. Sawyer warns the Queen while Danny attempts to stop the workers in time, but fails. Danny and Sawyer unify the Queen and workers into building a ladder towards the surface as the water rises.
Meanwhile, Cat R. Waul gathers the soldiers on the surface and gloats he has created a new colony, where only the strong survive. When the worker cats break through the surface, Kovu betrays Waul and rescues them. Enraged, Waul attempts to tackle Kovu, but Danny intervenes and takes the blow. He and Waul fall back into the flooded tunnel, with Waul striking a root and dying on impact. Danny nearly drowns, but is rescued by Kovu and resuscitated by Sawyer. Danny is praised for his heroism, and he and Sawyer become a couple. Together, they rebuild the colony, and Danny narrates that he is finally content with his place in the world. The camera then zooms out to show the cathill is in Jacksonville.
== Voice cast ==
* Scott Bakula as Danny Cat, an idealistic, but anxious, worker cat.
* John Cleese as General Cat R. Waul, the sarcastic, unscrupulous and arrogant general officer of the cat military.
* Jasmine Guy as Princess Sawyer, the Queen Amelia's daughter, Cat R. Waul's fiancée, and Danny's love interest.
* Tom Cruise as Corporal Tom, a brave soldier cat and Danny's best friend who becomes Kitty Katswell's boyfriend.
* Grey DeLisle as Kitty Katswell, another friend of Danny's and a worker cat who becomes Tom's girlfriend.
* Tobey Maguire as Colonel Kovu, a lion that serves as Waul's patient and empathetic adviser who becomes disillusioned by the general's actions.
* Samuel L. Jackson as Staff Sergeant TurboCat, a soldier cat who befriends Danny during the fight against the bulldogs.
* Emma Thompson as the Queen Amelia, Princess Sawyer's mother and ruler of the cats.
* Matthew Broderick as Simba, a lion whom Danny befriends.
* Kevin James as the Foreman, the head of the worker cats.
* Keith David as Chris, a drunk cat scout who talked about Petopia.
* Moira Kelly as Nala, Simba's wife.
* Jon Favreau as Danny's Psychiatrist.
* Tom Hanks as the Bartender, the unnamed bartender of the bar that Danny and Tom frequent.
* Jim Cummings, Frank Welker, and April Winchell as additional voices
Category:1993 films
Category:Catz
Category:1993 animated films
Category:1993 comedy films
Category:1990s adventure comedy films
Category:1990s American animated films
Category:1990s children's comedy films
Category:1990s fantasy comedy films
Category:American adventure comedy films
Category:American children's animated adventure films
Category:American children's animated fantasy films
Category:American animated films
Category:American fantasy adventure films
Category:Walt Disney Pictures
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios
Category:Walt Disney Pictures films
Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films
Category:United Saints Animation Studios
Category:United Saints Studios
Category:1990s English-language films
Category:Cats and Kittens characters
Category:Films directed by John Lasseter
Category:Films directed by Mike Gabriel
Category:Films scored by John Debney
Category:Films scored by Danny Elfman
Category:1993 directorial debut films
Category:1990s fantasy adventure films
Category:Animated films set in Jacksonville
Category:Animated films about cats
Category:Films about coups d'état