KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Griff Lees
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Scotty Burke
It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Jesper Brun
A wonderfully energetic cartoon with lots of laughs and a colour pallette of the entire spectrum. By the director who brought us Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" you can't go wrong (exept with Chicken Little). You can spot some similarities in the design of Cats Don't Dance. It was an exiting burst of energy watching Cats Don't Dance and I recommed it to all families around the world. With its witty movie references tfor the parents and bouncy animation for the kids and animation lover cause those were its highlights. Darla Dimple and her butler Max made me laugh several times, because I guarantee you that some of those facial expressions by Darla and a stellar voice performance by Lindsay Ridgeway make her enjoyably insane. The angles used on Max are just priceless, and him doing his thing with his stiff-upper-lip attitude and yet Frankenstein's monster like appearance literally just steals the screen. The musical numbers are enjoyable and a couple of them memorable, and the animation truly shines during them with well choreographed dancing and all that jazz. Be sure to watch it when you are not tired, because it will perhaps exhaust you.Good family fun.
Animated Antic
You've probably never heard of the 1997 animated movie "Cats Don't Dance", and there's a good reason. At the time, the film studio that basically controlled the animation industry was Walt Disney Animation Studios and every movie studio had tried to achieve their success and failed. Warner Bros. Animation Studios tried to use Disney's formula used well in the latter's films, and also tried to stand on their own, but neither way worked. The reason why was because of the poor marketing used on their animated movies. Despite this, "Cats Don't Dance" did well at the Annie Awards (the highest achievement in animation), as it won Best Animated Feature over Disney's "Hercules" and rightfully so. "Cats Don't Dance" is a very entertaining movie and is certainly something that more people should see.Taking place in the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 30's, a cat named Danny (Scott Bakula) leaves his home town of Kokomo, IN and heads to Hollywood to try to become a movie star. When he arrives, he is given a role of an extra on the movie Li'l Ark Angel, the new film from big name star Darla Dimple (Ashley Peldon) who seems to be all cute and smiles on the camera, but is really a spoiled brat who hates animals off. After upstaging her during filming of the movie, he realizes that animals don't get respect that he thought. For example, an elephant named Wollie (John Rhys-Davies) dreams of being a piano player, however is forced to always portray the role of a trumpeting mammoth for the studios logo. Wanting to prove that animals can be just as good as human actors, Danny sets out with the other animals to put on a big and loud show while trying to avoid the wrath of the evil Darla Dimple.One of the pros with the story is that it's nice and simple. It doesn't have to be complicated for children to follow and has a good message about racism that sadly still occurs in the world today. I also enjoyed the fact that it takes place in the early years of movies, with the film having very clever references showing movies that would play during that time like "Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With The Wind". The animation was the best part about the movie. I loved how fast paced it was and how the slapstick was effectively used. It reminded me of the cartoons that came out at the time like the old Disney, Looney Tunes, and Tom and Jerry shorts. It felts like I was watching cartoons from the 40's as the music matched the movie perfectly and had things you'll probably never see in cartoons today, like the big executives smoke cigars and a diva fish holds a cigarette holder like Cruella De Vil. Speaking of the music, its pretty catch, upbeat and very memorable. The songs are written by Randy Newman and feel like they came out of a Broadway musical. As for the characters, they all have fun personalities and have understandable motives. By far the best character of the bunch is the villain, Darla Dimple. Her bratty personality along with her having a very creepy butler named Max lead to the film having some very good laughs. My only problem is a very minor scene that involves a bunch of Warner Bros. movies being promoted (one of them being the infamous "Batman & Robin") through parodies of posters. Honestly, its just a nitpick though."Cats Don't Dance" is a movie that I highly recommend you should watch. It has a very nice and simple story, some fantastic animation, fun characters, and memorable songs which is what I expect to see in a fun animated musical. It certainly isn't anything groundbreaking,but in reality it doesn't have to be. If a film has plenty of entertaining moments, then I'm usually left happy and that's what this movie did.
popcorninhell
Cats Don't Dance (1997) is a hyper-saturated animated feast for the senses and an especially fun treat for those familiar with the musicals and screwball comedies of the 1930's. Having been accustomed to the beautiful detail of Pixar and the delicate touches of Disney's golden age, I was pleasantly surprised by a movie that takes absolute advantage of the slapsticky world of cartoons.Danny (Scott Bakula) is our wide-eyed feline protagonist who sings and dances his way into a big studio picture headlined by America's Sweetheart Darla Dimple (part voiced by Ashley Peldon and sung by Lindsay Ridgeway). His friends/critics include cynical bit players Tillie the Hippo (Kathy Najimy), Cranston the Billy goat (Hal Holbrook), Wollie the Elephant (John Rhys-Davies) and Pudge the Penguin (Matthew Herried). Also in the mix is obvious love interest Sawyer (voiced by Jasmine Guy and part sung by Natalie Cole). I say obvious because she absolutely despises Danny through two thirds of the film and she's the only other cat in the film. Call me crazy but I think that relationship is a lock.Danny learns quickly that animals aren't considered star material in Hollywood. His hamming on the set captures the attention of an infuriated Darla yet gains the respect of the other animals. This dynamic is reminiscent of how African Americans were treating during the time. Those who made a go of acting were type-casted as slaves, maids and shoe shiners. Those lucky enough to take full advantage of their roles like Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind (1939) received death threats.It's interesting to not that in addition to the barrier breaking Gone with the Wind, The film also makes references to The Wizard of Oz (1939), regalia of the LGBT community instilling since of community. Maybe the creators of Cats Don't Dance wanted to make a modern day fable holding to the maxims of equality and acceptance towards all. Though the more reasonable rationale for both films getting their names in lights is they were both released in 1939.There are other sly riffs on Hollywood classics such as The Footlight Parade (1933), The Ten Commandments (1956), Singin' in the Rain (1952) and Bringing Up Baby (1938). That is in addition to the Darla Dimple character being an obvious parody of Shirley Temple at one point ravenously biting off the heads of animal crackers in front of the beleaguered Danny. They even have an onslaught of throwaway gags involving King Kong (1933), Zsa Zsa Gabor and The MGM Lion among many, many others.Yet those not looking to reduce an animated movie to a game of "I Spy" will still find a lot to take away. The plot while well-worn is nevertheless genuine and interesting, the animation is eye-popping- ly goofy and the songs are entertaining if occasionally a little bland. One would wish that the characters were given a little more breathing room since the pace of the film is near neck-breaking yet seeing the gang sing "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" makes it all worthwhile.Directed by the man who gave you The Emperor's New Groove (2000), featuring songs written by the considerably talented Randy Newman and starring the Captain of the Starship Enterprise NX-01, Cats Don't Dance is infectious fun. Overall not quite up there with The Lion King (1994) but comparable to Disney's Hercules (1997) released the same year. It's certainly not a film deserving of its obscurity so track it down and watch it if you can.http://www.theyservepopcorninhell.blogspot.com
ZachTheRunner
Nothing's more of a nostalgic movie for me than Cats Don't Dance, the energetic animated musical of Hollywood, passion, and the pursuit of dreams that is the most criminally underrated movie I have ever seen in my life.We are introduced to Danny, a cat full of ambition and dreams of making it AS A STAR! He arrives in Hollywood and quickly meets the other wonderful cast of animals: Tilly Hippo, Cranston Goat, T.W Turtle, later Woolly Mammoth, and another cat simply named Sawyer; who is not too pleased with Danny's dream-chasing, singing and dancing attitude. Shortly after the introduction to the others, he lands a spot on the latest movie "Little Ark Angel" starring "America's Sweetheart, Lover of Children and Animals" Darla Dimple: who's pretty much a cross between Shirley Temple, Baby-Doll from the animated Batman, and a Disney villain. While filming the movie, Danny makes himself noticed much to the displeasure of Darla who shows her true colors as a spoiled little munchkin who again is as heinously evil as some of Disneys most evil villains. Which results in the calling of the gargantuan servant of Darla known as Max, which results in Max teaching Danny a lesson that I'm not gonna lie is actually pretty funny. After that happens, we find out why no one liked his little number and why Sawyer is so despondent toward Danny. We find out that Hollywood, for no clear reason, wants talented human actors and not talented animals. And the other characters we've met have talent that was wrongfully overlooked, Sawyer being both the most promising and seemingly the most broken of the group. But Danny, still wanting to follow his dream, tries to convince the others to do the same. The result: the rest of the movie.If I took out the nostalgia, I would love Cats Don't Dance all the same. I love how fun it is, I love how sincere it is, but mostly I love how passionate and driven it is. Its not a flawless movie; some of the singing voices sound a bit odd when compared to the talking voices. Danny isn't THAT well developed but not enough that I think he brought the film down. But aside from a few nitpicks I truly do love it.The music is done by Randy Newman. And while I don't "love" Randy Newman, this is really good. The songs are both catchy and fit the moods appropriately. The orchestral work is impressive as well, fitting the 1930s Hollywood setting perfectly. The animation is fantastic too; offering a familiar Warner Bros. animation feel.Honestly, I love this movie. I love everything about it. It's great, fun to watch, memorable and very underrated. I love the characters, the music, the animation, the drama; but mostly the passion. Its serious nostalgia for me, and people should definitely watch it.
