This month's review is going to be very interesting, as 1997's Cats Don't Dance wasn't really a film that I was familiar with because I watched it a lot as a child, but rather because of the trailer. Growing up, my sister and I loved watching the 1996 sports comedy Space Jam (yes, the Michael Jordan/Looney Tunes project). Rocking out to the music (before the musician behind the best song in the film got revealed to be just awful), enjoying the slapstick comedy of the Toons and watching a decently weird game of basketball made it a thrill for any child.
As a result, we watched this movie a lot on VHS and consequently saw the trailers that started the film just as many times. The first trailer on the VHS (that is to say, the first thing we saw) was a great trailer for Cats Don't Dance (which you will be able to watch in the review below). I remember sometimes even rewinding Space Jam just to watch the trailer for Cats Don't Dance. Growing up, we just didn't really get the chance to actually watch the film until I was much older, and by then I think I wasn't as enthusiastic about it as I should've been (I was a pre-teen and thus "too good" for kids movies).
Now as an adult and no longer willing to tolerate an uppity teenager attitude towards movies (I will judge a movie on its qualities alone rather than how "cool" it is, thank you very much), I will reexamine this silent presence from my childhood. Is Cats Don't Dance a truly great underrated animated film, or is it the result of childhood nostalgia and a desire to relive simpler times?
***
- Produced by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
- Directed by Mark Dindal
- Running Time: 74 Minutes
- MPAA Rating: G
***
SUMMARY
In an alternate 1939, Danny is an idealistic tabby cat from Indiana who desperately wishes to become a Hollywood movie star. However, when he arrives in town, he quickly learns that animals only receive bit roles steeped in stereotype and no chance for improvement. Despite the disappointment, Danny makes friends with his fellow animals and gets himself a role in Mammoth Pictures upcoming film, Lil' Ark Angel, starring the "biggest" star in Hollywood, Darla Dimple. Regarded as the sweetest girl in Hollywood and friend to all animals, Dimple is, in reality, a selfish diva who abhors animals and is miserable to work with. With the help of her loyal manservant, Max, Dimple terrorizes her co-stars and threatens to stop Danny in his tracks.
This quickly results in a conflict between Danny and Darla, as the prior tries his best to elevate the status of animals in Hollywood. Will Danny and his friends be able to make their dreams come true, or will Darla Dimple have the last laugh?
***
REVIEW
Cats Don't Dance is a wonderfully enjoyable film to watch. With great animation, catchy music by Randy Newman, and a fairly decent story, I think that any family will be thoroughly entertained and repeatedly watching. That is not to say the film has no flaws as I do think that I ultimately enjoyed this movie more as an adult for its subtextual theming and references to real world history.
When I watch this movie, I am reminded heavily of the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain (one of my favorite movies of all time), with the whole film being a loving tribute of sorts to the Golden Age of Hollywood. This is rather ironic seeing as how Gene Kelly actually assisted with the choreography of Cats Don't Dance, becoming his final project for which the film has a dedication to him. But the two films share a great deal more than just a connection to Gene Kelly. Singin' in the Rain is a light-hearted musical that covers a real instance of cinema history, namely the transition from silent films to "talkies" and presents the difficulties this had on film production and, especially the actors.
You see, Cats Don't Dance actually tells, through its subtext, the story of minority actors during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the struggles of segregation and typecasting at that time in history. It is something that I think most children will completely miss whilst enjoying the fun songs and vibrant animation, but the story is actually rooted in very real prejudices that existed in the Golden Age of Hollywood (and even persist to this day). Watching the cynicism of Sawyer or the tragedy of Woolie the Elephant (forced to live in a trailer whilst being the literal face of Mammoth Pictures) reflect real life situations and transforms this film into something of a haunting examination of the history of Hollywood, albeit with a happy ending and light-hearted shell.
This is an aspect of the film that I noticed only after becoming more familiar with the history of Hollywood. Outside of this referential nature, the actual story itself, while solid and entertaining, is also tremendously predictable. When you read the synopsis and watched the trailer above, I'm certain you likely predicted exactly how such a movie would go. I'm here to say that any prediction you made about how this film would resolve itself is likely correct. While predictability isn't always a negative when it comes to the film-going experience, I do take some points off from the final score because the film isn't revolutionarily different, as the audience will no exactly where the film is going with very little surprises.
What is surprising and refreshing in my mind is the absolutely stellar soundtrack. Composed by Randy Newman, the songs were inspired by the golden age of Hollywood and sound like something right out of a Gene Kelly musical. The opening song "Our Time Has Come" and finale song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" are wonderful and iconic but I think particular highlights have to go to "Tell Me Lies" and "Big and Loud". The latter, especially easily stands among the better villain songs, even if I think it is far too short (Especially when you realize that the singer was 12 at the time). The songs stand all on their own and really help to make the characters feel just that much more real.
Of course, the cast of such a film was quite good and the characters are solid, if incredibly simple. Danny is essentially an exact analog for the kind of character that Gene Kelly would play in one of his films and Scott Bakula does a great job expresses wide-eyed optimism. Sawyer, played by Jasmine Guy with the singing voice of Natalie Cole, is incredible and perfectly exemplifies the kind of cynical tough-girl that many famous actresses, like Garbo and O'Hara, would often play. Finally we have Darla Dimple, the villain of the film who is, quite frankly, one of the best non-Disney villains of all time. Her motivations are simple, she is incredibly unsympathetic and yet exudes such a raw sociopathic charisma that she manages to capture your attention in damn near every frame. The fact that she is basically an evil Shirley Temple also manages to immediately leave a firm impression in audience minds.
And finally, we move to what I think it easily the films strongest point, its animation. Turner Animation went hog-wild on this film and it shows. The characters movements are dynamic and fluid, expressing so much personality in every frame and still. Animators absolutely adored making this movie and it was clearly a labor of love. Which of course makes the overall results upon its release all the more tragic.
You see, this film was in production at a time when Warner Bros. was purchasing Turner Entertainment and they basically had this nearly completed film put in their lap. At this time in the animation industry, Disney was the unconested giant of the industry but the enthusiasm of the Disney Renaissance was waning with the departure of Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks was still a year away from releasing their first animated film) and thus, Warner Bros. likely had no idea what to do with a animated passion project that they had little role in actually developing. So their marketing was...lackluster to say the least.
The result was a film that under-performed despite having all the hallmarks of a decently entertaining movie. I genuinely think that this film deserved better and if it had been released a year or two later, might've gone down as one of the best animated films of its year. Because Cats Don't Dance is incredibly good.
Despite my concerns with predictability of story or simplicity of characters, the film is truly high quality with an almost overwhelming amount of charm and passion behind every single moment. With musical ear-worms throughout and thematic subtext that truly deserves to be seen and explored further, I cannot recommend Cats Don't Dance any more, regardless of its technical score.
VISUALS
- 9/10
SOUNDTRACK
- 8/10
CHARACTERS
- 7/10
STORY
- 6/10
FINAL SCORE - 7.5/10
***
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