Cats Don't Dance

**Cats Don't Dance** is a 1997 American animated musical comedy film directed by Mark Dindal.

The film was released on March 26, 1997 by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label.

## Plot

Danny, an ambitious singing & dancing cat goes to Hollywood, California and overcomes several obstacles to fulfill his dream of becoming a movie star.

## Voice Cast

* Scott Bakula as Danny
* Jasmine Guy as Sawyer
	+ Natalie Cole as Sawyer (singing voice)
* Matthew Herried as Peabo "Pudge" Pudgemyer
* Ashley Peldon as Darla Dimple
	+ Lindsay Ridgeway as Darla Dimple (singing voice)
* Kathy Najimy as Tillie Hippo
* John Rhys-Davies as Woolie the Mammoth
* Betty Lou Gerson as Frances Albacore
* Hal Holbrook as Cranston Goat
* Don Knotts as T.W. Turtle
	+ Rick Logan as T.W. (singing voice)
* George Kennedy as L.B. Mammoth
* René Auberjonois as Flanagan
* Mark Dindal as Max
* Frank Welker as Farley Wink
* Peter Renaday as Narrator

## Production

"Cats Don't Dance" 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; however, by 1994, Jackson ceased to be involved in the film.

In the film's earlier stages, it 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.

The Warner Bros. Animation writing department added cat characters based on stories about the filming of Warner Bros. Studios productions like "Casablanca", "East of Eden" and "The Music Man"; stagehands would feed wild cats, which dominated the back lot for decades.

Producers David Kirschner and Paul Gertz then decided to have dance numbers in the vein of classic musical films like "Singin' in the Rain."

Kershner felt the style would appeal to a wide audience. An old Hollywood backdrop also inspired the premise of anthropomorphic animals being allegories of those who didn't look and/or sound mainstream struggling to gain attention in Hollywood in the early 20th century.

Kirschner contacted Mark Dindal to be director of the project a year after the two met and while Dindal was working on "The Rocketeer."

Around the same time, Brian McEntee joined as art director, Randy Newman joined as composer, and Gene Kelly joined as dance consultant.

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."

The team watched old musical films for reference before asking Kelly, who instantly joined due to his interest in the story. One meeting took place at Kelly's house between him and Dindal, and he vividly remembered how the films he starred in were choreographed.

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.

According to Mark Dindal: *"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."*

Mark 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.

According to animator Lauren Faust, Nancy Giles was originally cast as the speaking voice of Sawyer; however, Jasmine Guy replaced her when the film was 90% complete.

## Release

New Line Cinema (which was a sister company to Turner Feature Animation at the time) expressed interest in distributing "Cats Don't Dance", but when Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner in 1996, it ended up in the hands of Warner Bros., who would later merge with New Line Cinema in 2008.

## Box Office

"Cats Don't Dance" did not fare well at the box office. During its opening weekend, it grossed only $939,781. Overall, it grossed $3,566,637 on an estimated budget of $32,000,000.

Director Mark Dindal and producer David Kirschner were both frustrated with Warner Bros. over the lack of advertising and the failed marketing campaign for the film.

## Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, "Cats Don't Dance" has an approval rating of 74% based on 23 reviews with an average rating of 6.6\10. The site's 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."*

The Chicago Tribune wrote: *"Cats Don't Dance has some of 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."*

Todd McCarthy of Variety magazine said: *"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."*

The New York Times said: *"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."*

Margaret A. McGurk of the Cincinnati Enquirer called it a *" happy-go-lucky romp that dishes up the most cartoon fun since Toy Story."*

The Los Angeles Times said that the film's *"blending parody and nostalgia about an era half a century removed from the lives of the core audience seems a foolish indulgence."*

Robert Faires of the Austin Chronicle gave "Cats Don't Dance" a rating of 4 in a half stars out of 5, stating: *"The dynamic compositions and vivid pastel palette evoke vintage Disney, and the expressiveness of its characters recalls the cartoon work of the great Chuck Jones -- these are funny animals we can feel for."*