Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Steve Pulaski Cats Don't Dance has gone down in history as one of the biggest risks in animation yet. It is one of the few full length animated features not to bare the Disney name, yet comes off as one just as cheerful and safe for kids. Clearly, parents didn't believe so, or possibly they didn't hear about the film due to Turner Feature Animation's miserable marketing tactics, not to mention the competition of the re-release of a Star Wars movie and Disney's film Hercules.Because of all those factors, Cats Don't Dance was a monstrous bomb, all the more considering it was an animated film, which are always expected to gross at least double their budget, and it remains as a curious piece of history and nostalgia. It comes off as so cheery and genial, that as you watch it, the name "Disney" never comes to mind. It's in a league of its own, where pitch-perfect realism doesn't always come first, and fun and livelihood always lead the way. It's a unique experience.The story concerns Danny (voiced by Scott Bakula), a plucky and anxious cat who leaves his humble roots in Kokomo, Indiana to travel to Hollywood, where he can hopefully make it big as an actor. One roadblock, he's a cat, and Hollywood's places for cats are few and far between. He manages to get cast in a movie with Darla Dimple (Ashley Peldon), a spoiled, heavily-pampered child actress who turns maniacal and practically evil as soon as the cameras stop rolling.Along the way, the naive soul runs into Sawyer (Jasmine Guy), a beautiful, yet heavily pessimistic female cat, who Danny is immediately smitten with. Sawyer explains how Hollywood's attitude towards animals would seem inviting, when it is just morose and neglectful towards the idea of stepping outside the box. This sort of makes Cats Don't Dance's life come full circle. Think of it as Danny. He steps out of his natural roots to find fame in Hollywood, winds up getting the cold shoulder, until the inevitable happens and he is looked on with great satisfaction. Now think of the film's life. It stepped out of the cliché Disney light, was created and brought to life by a studio no one knew, was ignored pretty much by everyone during its initial release, yet is looked on as a classic animated gem by many in the present. If serendipity could talk...The animation is beautiful. Rambunctiously neat, and very, very eye-appealing. Not to continue to rain on the film's parade, but at this point in time (1997), we were already met with the genius of Pixar and their groundbreaking film Toy Story. We knew all of what animation can do, and once you see what seems to be the best, do you have much interest in the rest? Regardless, this is sort of what I adore about Cats Don't Dance; it plays by its own rules. It's so lightweight and non-intrusive that it doesn't seem to care it's not on par with other pictures of its own league. It isn't heavy-handed or on a moral rush. It's just looking for a good time.One thing I enjoyed were the musical numbers, which are delightfully sung, wonderfully crafted, and beautifully choreographed with such kinetic energy. I believe the more exposure or knowledge you have with Hollywood, cinema, and how the big guys manipulate the little ones, the more you'll be inclined to enjoy Cats Don't Dance. It's one of the cheeriest films I've seen all year.Voiced by: Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, Natalie Cole, Ashley Peldon, John Rhys-Davies, Kathy Najimy, and Don Knotts. Directed by: Mark Dindal.

ravsten428 Cat's Don't Dance may not be what most movie buffs would call a classic cartoon. It's not made by a big name company but it is a good movie nonetheless.Danny is a cat who wants to make it big in Hollywood. He leaves his town of Kokomo, Indiana to head for big dreams. Once he gets to Hollywood he makes his debut in a film that mostly belongs to the cute but really evil Darla Dimple. Danny tests her patience by not saying his line but rather singing it. She is not happy and reminds him that he needs to know his place in the film as an animal.Danny is determined to make a name for himself and his friends Sawyer, Tilly, Cranston, Pudge and a few others. Sawyer a female cat tries to persuade him out of trying to have dreams because he is only an animal and they are treated differently and aren't given the bigger roles in films. After awhile he gets all his friends and the animals in Hollywood to realize that they are worth it. Darla doesn't like what she sees and decides that she is going to try and sabotage the animals from starring in any future films. She tells Danny that he needs to put on a show and make it big and loud. Danny however doesn't realize that it is a scam. Darla ruins their show and Danny and all the other animals get kicked out of the studios.Danny decides to head back home but after he is on a bus and sees Pudge being pushed around he comes up with a plan that helps his friends and the other animals to make it back into the filming industry. He makes it big for himself and wins back his support from his friends and ends up winning Sawyer's affection. Darla ends up being defeated and you see her having to put up movie posters at the very end of the credits. Cat's Don't Dance may not be big on special effects but it doesn't have to be. It sells itself with a great story and anybody who watches it probably won't be let down.

Electrified_Voltage This does not appear to be one of the most widely recognized animated films of the 90's, but I did see it once on video during that decade. I guess that would have been shortly after the movie came into stores. It definitely wasn't up there with certain other animated films I saw in my childhood, but I think I found it fairly entertaining. After that, I didn't see "Cats Don't Dance" again until this year, I think just a few weeks ago. It seemed to be well-liked among those who have seen it, so I wasn't expecting a lacklustre effort. However, I didn't like it much during what was my first viewing in a long time. A few weeks later, I've already given it another try. I think it did improve with this viewing, but a lot of it still didn't really impress me.Danny is an ambitious cat who leaves his hometown of Kokomo, Indiana to pursue a career in Hollywood. Very soon after arriving at his destination, he gets a role in a film with Darla Dimple, a child star who is known as "America's Sweetheart, Lover of Children and Animals." He is very excited about his role, until he learns that all he gets to say is "meow" and he doesn't get to dance and sing. When Danny tries to spice up his role, he soon sees Ms. Dimple's true colours and how misleading her on screen persona really is! She is actually a horribly spoiled, selfish, mean-spirited brat with a giant valet named Max, who makes sure she always gets her way! It turns out that animals only get to be extras in Hollywood, so Danny begins to work with other animals to try and change this and show Tinseltown their true talent, but Ms. Dimple knows this could threaten her career if they succeed, so she is determined to foil their plan! When the film begins, we soon see that the animation is nicely colourful and pleasing to the eye, but for at least a while, the movie is a little too fast-paced, making it less effective than it could be. There are some fairly funny parts early on, such as Danny accidentally slamming Sawyer's (a cat secretary in Hollywood who becomes a major part of the story) tail in a door, and the look she gives him, but at this point, I had trouble really getting into the film. It isn't long before Darla Dimple, the antagonist, comes into the story. This character is clearly supposed to be funny, but she didn't amuse me very much. I did not care for her loudness, faces, etc. After a while, the film improves. It eventually didn't seem quite as fast to me and the story got more intriguing, though Ms. Dimple continues to be hardly bearable in the scenes she appears in. The animal characters are generally likable, and viewers can easily find themselves rooting for them. The movie also has an interesting premise and some funny moments, even if there aren't as many good laughs as there are supposed to be.There are times when I'm not 100% sure about my rating for a movie, and this is one of those cases. I most definitely can't say I absolutely LOVE this movie like many others do, but feel I could be giving it a seven out of ten instead of a six. In fact, without the antics of the Darla Dimple character, I might not have any reason to give "Cats Don't Dance" a rating any lower than seven. It seems most people who have seen this 1997 animated feature like it more than I do, but I can still understand its appeal, as it certainly does have its charm. I wouldn't complain if it were to ever gain more recognition. The pace around the beginning, the antagonist, the film's songs which are not exactly bad but not the most memorable numbers for an animated musical, and maybe occasionally some other problems (minor ones) make the movie lose points, but there's also a lot to like. While this film can't match a number of other full-length animations made in the same decade, you could still easily find that it's good family fun.

vegeta3986 without gushing, this is my favorite American animated movie of all time. When i first rented it back in 98, i had to rent it again at least 4 more times. Then i bought it on VHS, and most recently, on DVD. This movie was a part of my childhood and is still a part of me to this day. Every character in this movie is bright, wonderful, and a joy to watch. now i know i said i wouldn't gush. oh well. The movie is about a cat named danny who wants to be a Hollywood actor. So when he arrives in Hollywood he is shocked to find that it treats animals not quite as he thought, causing them to live in despair. along the way he meets sawyer, a white cat who had given up on her desire, a little penguin named pudge, a hippo named tillie, a MGM lion parody named woolly the mammoth, a turtle voiced by don knotts, and a tango duo of a goat and a fish. his main obstacle is a shirley temple joke named Darla Dimple with her HUGE servant named max. She tries everything in her power to stop him from becoming a star. now i would tell you what happens, but this movie is too good to be spoiled. This is the way movies should be. The characters are all incredibly enjoyable (even the villain), the songs are so memorable i've been singing them for 11 years (especially the intro song, danny's arrival song, and nothing's gonna stop us now), the animation is beautiful, flowing and very pleasing to the eye, and the theme, while being a bit overused is still great and warming to the heart. that if you try hard enough, you can do anything. More movies need to be this level of quality. a movie that is so good it makes you look past the tiny flaws. This movie will always have a special place in my heart, but this isn't just through the rose colored glasses of my youth, i just saw this movie again this evening and i still feel the warmth and joy i did when i first saw it. the same can't be said about some of my other movies (magic voyage. that's right. you stink). I praise this movie and i will ALWAYS praise this movie. with amazing characters, visuals, songs, and storyline, cats don't dance gets 10 big and loud cats out of 10.