In Cats Don't Dance, surprisingly, there are dancing cats. Unfortunately, when the film came out in 1997, not many people saw them. Cats Don't Dance was a product of Turner Entertainment Animation in conjunction with Warner Brothers. Like Warner's other 90's animated products The Iron Giant, and Quest for Camelot, Cats was a flop, earning a dismal $3.5 million.

Danny is a kitty from Kokomo Indiana with big dreams. In 1939, he heads to Hollywood to become a movie star. He lands a role right away in a film called Lil Ark Angel - an adaptation of the Noah's ark story - but his only line is the stereotypical "Meow." Animals in Hollywood are having their dreams dashed left and right as they are never given a chance to shine. You see, in Hollywood, cats don't dance... people do. Danny takes on the Ark Angels' child star Darla Dimple to establish real roles for the animals in Hollywood whose talent is all going to waste.

There are a couple of funny cameos by famous animal stars of the time King Kong and The Wizard of Oz's Toto. In fact, there are quite a few funny bits in the film. The sinister character of Darla Dimple was a lot of fun, and while she was probably inspired (at least in look) by Shirley Temple, she reminded me a lot of the villain Baby Doll from Batman: The Animated Series.

Danny is voiced by Scott Bakula and the female cat, Sawyer, is lent the vocal talents of Natalie Cole who does well with the 30's style musical songs. The animation style, reminiscent of Warner's old Loony Tunes animation, brings a classic feel to this relatively new and brightly colored film. I really see no reason for this film to have done as poorly as it did. It is a nice little movie that most people would enjoy. The theme of discrimination in Hollywood comes off as a bit silly as it sort of makes light of the real issue, but I guess its at a good level for kids. In spite of the huge number of cat and dog cartoons out there, this one brings its own sense of innocence and excitement that doesn't reek of corporate tampering. Cats Don't Dance didn't blow me away, but it was much better than a description of the plot would have led me to believe. The film could have benefited from a few more character moments to get me to care more about Danny, but I still enjoyed watching that little fur ball never giving up his dreams. While fans of golden age films like Singin' in the Rain (the film was dedicated to the late Gene Kelly who choreographed some of the musical numbers) would probably adore this film, for me it was worthy of a B+.

Definitely an underappreciated animated film!
I remember seeing trailers for it, and thinking, "Gawd, that movie's gonna suck..."
I never saw it in theatres, but was curious enough to rent it when it came out. And in fact, it did not suck at all!
The animation is vibrant and lively, the humour is way more slapsticky than what we were used to seeing in animated films as we approached the 21st century (that's not a bad thing, mind you), and although the music isn't exactly on par with say, The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, the songs are quite catchy.
It's worth seeing!

I've seen this a few times, and to be honest, I find it hard to give it four stars, yet it seems unfair to give it less. I'm used to seeing films that COULD have been great, but weren't. Cats Don't Dance just has the feel of a film that ought to have been bad...but somehow, incredibly, wasn't.

It feels like a film that ought to have felt familiar, but didn't, yet did. That sounds confusing, but when you watch a talking-animal cartoon of this sort, you can't help expecting it to be either like Disney or like some of the bad Saturday morning cartoons you grew up with. And it's not, which was a little unbalancing. There is a sense of familiarity I can't quite put my finger on, though. Maybe it's old Tex Avery cartoons it reminds me of, or Harmon-Ising's old stuff. Or maybe it's just the way my mind expected characters to be stereotypes and they weren't. When Danny comes to Hollywood on the bus, in a straw hat and with a big, goofy grin on his face, it's clear that here is the clueless country hick hero...and yet Danny, as overconfident and innocent as he is, is no dimwitted rube.

Perhaps the refusal to fit the stereotypes is what kept this toon from being more popular or well-known, but it is also part of what makes it so fresh, and for a movie about breaking out of stereotypes to actually do so itself is a unique event. How many films practice what they preach, I wonder?

Not that it doesn't have its enjoyably derivative moments. Tea with Elephant obviously owes something to Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. And who doesn't revel in the Sunset Boulevard-ness of Max and Darla? Even having the Lil' Ark Angel Shirley-Temple-parody as the villian is a scream of wonderful originality. (Hmm, who came first, Darla Dimple or Elmira? I'll have to check.)

This is a movie which could have been--almost SHOULD have been--cranked out as another satisfying, feel-good clone without much effort.

Instead, a creative team gave us their best and most imaginative effort and created something with a mind and heart and soul of its own. You have to admire the people who pulled it off. Standing ovation! Dance, cats, dance!

One of my favorite animated movies. I have seen this movie many times and have enjoyed it each time. The animation is well done, the characters are good (Max is great!) and the story is original. I love the cartoony look. The animators also put a lot of expression into the faces which proves you don't have to have an ultra realistic CG characater to have good facial expressions.
I also like the joke they put at the end of the credits:
"No animals where harmed in the making of this movie but many had to be ERASED AND RE-DRAWN."

I liked it. It's different in a good way. It reminded me somewhat of a Fred Astaire movie crossed over with Looney Tunes. The reason I say Astaire is the dancing, and it's a musical. Looney Tunes, because the zaniness of it.

The animation isn't anything amazing, but it is good. The songs are, for the most part, very well done. The characters weren't developed a lot, but enough so that you could get a feeling of what they are like. It had a good moral of never give up on your dreams, no matter what happens.

Overall it's very good film and if you haven't seen it, rent it. :)

Okay, it's not like the Lion King or anything . . . . .

But still, "Cats Don't Dance" is an awesome movie about never giving up on your dreams, even if everyone else thinks you're a bit crazy. The characters are very vibrant and interesting, especially Darla Dimple (the innonent devil . .LOL) and Danny (the main character kitty ) IMO! Some of the songs are quite catchy and help show the setting of the movie (which I think is in the late 1930s timeframe), as well as the personalities of the characters themselves. The story and dialogue are very well done, and the whole thing is just amazing.

Sure, it was a bomb in the theatres, and I do agree that the movie cover sucks, but that doesn't mean that you should let this cartoony gem of a movie pass you by!

WAIT! Don't be scared off by the dreadful cover art, and the fact that you've never heard of it. This is a little gem of a movie.

To be honest I'd probably never have watched it if not for the rave reviews on Keyframe, but seconds into the film I knew it was going to be alright. Then when I spotted two of the writers from 'Balto' in the opening credits, I suspected it might be good.

It was. The artwork is really not 1997 cinema quality, though the animation isn't bad, and very creative in some scenes, in a manic, Warner Brothers sort of way. The songs are mostly really good, and performed by people who can actually _sing_. The characters are all great (and BTW I think there are probably more species of animals in this film than any animated movie I've ever seen. Dozens of different character designs).

The film has a feel good vibe to it without ever being schmaltzy (quite an achievement considering everything about the story is stock standard). All of the characters who you're supposed to like are actually likeable. It's not often a comedy gets that right.

I defy you not to be swept along by this movie. Everything about it works, even if it falls short of greatness in several areas: the animation... I don't know. They spent $32M on it. Ok, I know that's not a lot, but it's not peanuts either, and it wasn't like they were paying for Eddie Murphy or Robin Williams. It should have looked a bit better than it did. The romance between the central characters should have been developed a bit fuller and earlier than it was. Sawyer (odd name - sure she must be named after someone) seems to fall for him just a little too easily.

But don't let minor quibbles put you off. If you loved 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit', you'll be bound to like this. It practically oozes Toontown. In fact, to say that it was heavily indebted to WFRR would be putting it mildly, but then the whole animation industry is.

The whole theme of talented animals being taken for granted, ignored, unable to get work in a Hollywood that churns out mediocre pap, could be a metaphor for so many things... but it could also be a metaphor for the film itself.

'Cat's Don't Dance' came out the same year as 'Hercules', the nadir of Disney's 90's decline. 'Hercules' made $100M at the box office. 'Cat's Don't Dance', made one thirtieth of that. Barely 10% of its production budget. That makes 'Ishtar' - one of the most notorious bombs of all time - look like a success. And dammit, it's WAY BETTER than Hercules.

Or Ishtar.

It was really hard to pick between 3 and 3.5 stars for this one. Aaagggh! Alright, damn it!

This movie is awesome! As soon as I first saw it I knew I had to buy it. It follows the singing and dancing cat Danny and his dreams of becoming a star. The problem is that Hollywood is only interested in talented people, not animals. So Danny joins the line-up of animals who are have the same dream but are basically extras in a noahs arc picture. There he meets Darla, the villin of the movie. She is a rip off of Sherly Temple but in a comical way. She is only nice in front of the camera. When off camera she is an evil little girl. This leads of to a HUGE ending that of course I can't give away. But with the many different and lovable characters in this musical it is a wonderful movie for everyone. I give it an A+

Mark Dindal's a freaking genius. He knows what it takes to make a fun, spirited animated movie for people of all ages while Disney continues to grow staler and more formulaic. His Disney collaboration, The Emperor's New Groove, is probably one of the greatest animation achievements of all time, but here you can see where the seeds of ingenuity were starting to sprout. Cats Don't Dance is a low key but understated movie. It thinks outside the box without staying too far outside the box. It keeps to tried and true elements, never forgetting the spirit of cartoons and animation, but is still original and fresh enough and doesn't bury us in already worn out formula. The story is zippy and exceedingly clever and never slows down or changes direction. It contains the right amount of heart in the form of a cute "follow your dreams" message. This movie is a parody about the disparity between "image" and "reality". Yet it never uses this message as an excuse to get heavy-handed or toss out songs where none are welcome. Along the way, the movie gets wildly hilarious, and the songs are actually quite chirpy. The main character Danny is easy to fall in love with. He's so naive and kind-hearted and full of big dreams. And his growing relationship with his sultry but initially disheartened lady friend Sawyer is interesting to say the least. Two characters are rather flat, but all the animal characters that matter are very colorful and full of personality. And the wildly over-the-top villain and her henchman must be seen to be believed.

There are a few bad points to this movie. Even though the animation is supposed to look like a cartoon and just would've looked wrong looking like a super lavish affair, there is one part where this cartoony animation is given a close up and you can literally see the grains of the color pencil lines. The other bad point comes during and after the scene with the song "Little Boat on the Sea". I'm a fan of this movie, but I'll admit it. This song is a tad sugary. And the villain's subsequent rampage when things go wrong for her is very cartoonish.

Yet don't let the negatives(nor the very bad cover art) steer you away from this surprising movie if you haven't seen it yet. It's a very fun movie, full of energy and spunk, with a sense of heart and lots of dancing.

I find myself watching this movie more than I do my other ones. Why do I love Cats Don't Dance so much? Because it's redefines what an animated movie should be.

Although I wasn't born anywhere near the 1930s, I still love some of the movies of the 30s, which is why I pride myself on this movie. The music was 30s 'esque, which was a real plus, plus the overall atmosphere of the film was completely 30s.

I love the characters, especially Danny. He was, in my opinion, the best of all of them. Some of the others I like were Sawyer, and Pudge.

Overall, it's a flim I would recommend to anyone, young or old, because it has so much to offer to all audiences.