CATS DON'T DANCE
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1997 Scott Renshaw
(Warner Bros.) Starring: Voices of Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, Natalie Cole, Ashley Peldon, Kathy Najimy, John Rhys-Davies, Matthew Herried, Mark Dindal. Screenplay: Roberts Gannaway, Theresa Pettengill, Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser. Producers: David Kirschner and Paul Gertz. Director: Mark Dindal. MPAA Rating: G Running Time: 73 minutes, plus 7 minute Foghorn Leghorn short. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Ten years ago, feature film animation was on the endangered species list. Industry leader Disney had all but given up on animation, and no one else believed that G-rated cartoons could be anything but box-office poison. That was before the booming family video sell-through market made the risk seem less risky, and before a succession of Disney features -- THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, THE LION KING -- put the luster back on animation to the tune of over $2 billion in profits including merchandise and ancillary sales. Suddenly everyone wanted a piece of the action: chief rival Universal (home of the AMERICAN TAIL and LAND BEFORE TIME films), Fox (the upcoming ANASTASIA with Meg Ryan) and now Warner Bros. I'm not sure the contenders for Disney's throne have learned a key lesson, though: story is king. Cute critters and peppy tunes, like those in Warner's CATS DON'T DANCE, aren't enough to support a flimsy script and simplistic animation.
CATS DON'T DANCE is set in Hollywood circa 1940, where a cat named Danny (voice of Scott Bakula) has just arrived from Kokomo, Indiana with dreams of fame and fortune. Unfortunately, song-and-dance cat Danny is about to learn a hard truth from animal agent Farley Wink (Frank Welker): the movies don't want cats who sing and dance, they want cats who go "meow." After invoking the wrath of child star Darla Dimple (Ashley Peldon) by upstaging her in one of her movies, Danny is ready to join the ranks of disappointed animal performers like Tillie Hippo (Kathy Najimy), Mammoth Studios mascot Woolie (John Rhys-Davies) and lovely Persian cat Sawyer (spoken by Jasmine Guy, sung by Natalie Cole). But Danny is determined to fulfill his dream, and tries to rally his new friends to put on the show of their lives.
That plot is the perfect set-up for an animated film, giving animals plenty of chances to break into song, and indeed CATS DON'T DANCE is a fairly lively endeavor. Unfortunately, there is little focus to all that energy. The film barrels along for a tidy 73 minutes, cranking out Randy Newman musical numbers which seem to peter out after about a dozen bars; even the show-stopping production number "Big and Loud" is over practically before you realize it's supposed to be the show-stopping production number. The over-riding philosophy of CATS DON'T DANCE seems to be that if you blast through everything at a breakneck pace, perhaps no one will have time to notice the lack of attention to detail.
No such luck. CATS DON'T DANCE doesn't just feel rushed -- it looks rushed, like the result of a deadline coming up a bit too fast. The background animation is frequently sketchy and drab, a pale imitation of the vibrant land and cityscapes characteristic of Disney's features, while the character animation relies on Hirschfeld-style celebrity caricatures and animals who seem to be recycled from Warner's afternoon "Animaniacs" series. Even the most interesting character, the psychotically egotistical Darla Dimple, is a gloss on "Tiny Toon Adventures"' wee she-demon Elmyra. At least Darla, a wicked poke at celebrity petulance, is entertaining to watch, as is her monstrous bodyguard Max (voiced by director Mark Dindal). Most of the other characters are overly familiar -- Kathy Najimy's jovial hippo is a re-tread of her jovial nun from the SISTER ACT films, and adorable little penguin Pudge (Matthew Herried) is THE LITTLE MERMAID's Flounder with wings -- or a waste of the voice talent. There's little excuse for lining up Hal Holbrook or the legendary Betty Lou Gerson (the original Cruella DeVil) and giving them four or five lines each.
That probably won't mean very much to kids, who will likely be amused by the high-spirited goings-on, but that's just not enough after the way Disney has raised the bar in the last several years. The House of the Mouse has been smart enough to hitch its wagon to timeless stories, resonant themes and memorable characters. CATS DON'T DANCE is lightweight stuff, a simple "naive kid makes good" story as much _from_ the 1940s as _about_ the 1940s, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. In order to be more than a diversion, however, a film like CATS DON'T DANCE needs something more: a song you'll be humming for the rest of the day, a visual style which keeps you enthralled, a character you wouldn't mind seeing turn up in a direct-to-video sequel. There's not much of a creative spark to CATS DON'T DANCE, especially after it opens with a Foghorn Leghorn short which won't make anyone forget Chuck Jones' Warner Bros. glory days. It's something to fill a family-friendly spot on the spring break release schedule, good business but not a very good film.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 fe-line dancers: 4.
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