Cats Don't Dance

''Cats Don't Dance'' is a 1997 American animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Mark Dindal (in his feature directorial debut). It is the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Feature Animation, which was merged during the post-production of ''Cats Don't Dance'' into Warner Bros. Feature Animation after the merger of Time Warner with Turner Broadcasting System in 1996. Turner Feature Animation had previously produced the animated portions of '' The Pagemaster'' (1994).

The film features the voices of Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, Matthew Herried, Ashley Peldon, John Rhys-Davies, Kathy Najimy, Don Knotts, Hal Holbrook, Betty Lou Gerson (in her final film role), René Auberjonois, George Kennedy, and Dindal. Its musical numbers were written by Randy Newman and includes Gene Kelly's contributions as choreographer, before his death in 1996. The film was Kelly's final film project and is dedicated to his memory.

''Cats Don't Dance'' was released theatrically in the United States on March 26, 1997, by distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under its Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label. Similar to other Warner Bros. films at the time, it was a box office bomb, grossing $3.5 million domestically due to lack of marketing and promotion. Despite this, the film received generally positive reviews, with praise for its animation, humor, characters, voice performances, and musical numbers.

Plot

In 1939, in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, Danny, an optimistic 18-year-old cat from Kokomo, Indiana, travels to Hollywood in hopes of starting an acting career there. After meeting a young penguin named Pudge, Danny is selected by agent Farley Wink to feature in a film that is in production at Mammoth Pictures called ''Li'l Ark Angel'', alongside Wink's secretary, a beautiful yet cynical female white cat named Sawyer. Upon joining fellow animals; Tillie the hippo, Cranston the goat, Frances the fish, and T.W the tortoise, Danny is dismayed on learning how minor his role is and tries to weasel his way into more time in the spotlight. Danny unwittingly ends up angering Darla Dimple, a popular yet spoiled child actress and star of the film; she promptly assigns her 36-foot tall Frankenstein-like gorilla butler Max to intimidate Danny into no longer trying to enlarge his part.

Danny learns from the studio's mascot Woolie that human actors are normally given more important roles than animals, whereas animals themselves end up getting minor and often thankless roles to the point of having little to no leverage in show business. Longing for the spotlight, Danny tries to make a plan that will encourage humans to provide animal actors with better scenarios; Danny's ideas include assembling a massive cluster of animals and putting on a musical performance for the humans.

Later, Danny is given advice by Darla on how to interest and satisfy audiences. He takes this information to heart and groups the animals for an audition on the Ark, hoping to attract the humans' attention. However, Darla, fearing that the animals will jeopardize her spotlight, has Max help her flood the stage with 100,000 gallons of water while L.B. Mammoth, the head of Mammoth Pictures, and Flanigan, the film's director, are giving an interview, getting the animals blamed and dismissed for the collateral damage. The animals are depressed at being barred from acting in Mammoth Pictures, especially Danny, who was convinced by Darla that she was trying to help the animals. Woolie advises Danny to return to Kokomo. Later that night, everyone is at a diner, upset with Danny for ruining everything for them, while Sawyer sings a song about Danny trying to keep their dreams alive. Overhearing Sawyer singing, Tilly suggests Sawyer to follow Danny. Sawyer arrives to the bus stop, just seconds after Danny left, finding his hat and to-do list behind.

However, after a comment from the bus driver and seeing Pudge wander the streets, Danny stops the bus and comes up with another plan. He secretly invites Sawyer, Woolie, Tillie, Cranston, Frances and T.W. to the premiere of ''Lil' Ark Angel''. After the screening and a battle with Max that sends Max flying away on a Darla Dimple balloon, Danny calls the audience's attention, only to be mocked by Darla. However, upon bringing Sawyer and the others backstage to help him and Pudge and after convincing them not to give up on their dreams no matter what the humans have said or done, the eight animals put on a musical performance that entertains and impresses the viewers. Meanwhile, Darla tries to sabotage the show by tampering with the set and special effects equipment, but her attempts instead cause her to enhance the performance.

Darla furiously yells at the animals for foiling her plan when her voice is amplified over the theater's sound system due to a boom mic she had been tangled up with, unintentionally revealing the truth about the incident to the audience, including L.B. and Flanigan. Darla tries to hide her true colors by kissing and hugging Danny, but Pudge sends her down a trapdoor. The animals achieve their dreams for larger roles, Danny and Sawyer admit their feelings for each other, and Darla is demoted to a janitor.

Voice cast

* Scott Bakula as Danny (speaking/singing), an ambitious, optimistically naïve 18-year-old orange tabby from Kokomo, Indiana, who wishes to become a famous Hollywood star.
* Jasmine Guy as Sawyer (speaking), a beautiful, but disenchanted sarcastic Turkish Angora secretary of Farley Wink and Danny's love interest, later girlfriend.
** Natalie Cole as Sawyer's singing voice.
* Matthew Herried as Peabo "Pudge" Pudgemyer, a little penguin and Danny's first friend who looks up to him as a big brother. Herried was cast after he asked the animators for directions at a cafe, which they instantly thought he was perfect for the role.
* Ashley Peldon as Darla Dimple (speaking), the villainous human child star of Hollywood. She conceals her anger and sinister nature from her fans and superiors through a facade of sweetness and innocence, and is willing to do anything to maintain her star status. She is referred to as "America's sweetheart, lover of children and animals!" Darla is a parody of Shirley Temple and Norma Desmond.
** Lindsay Ridgeway provides Darla's singing voice.
* Kathy Najimy as Tillie Hippo (speaking/singing), a happy-go-lucky hippopotamus who tries to find the best in every situation.
* John Rhys-Davies as Woolie the Mammoth, the aging African elephant who portrays the mascot for Mammoth Pictures. He originally came to Hollywood to write and perform music where he acts as a mentor to Danny upon befriending him. Woolie is a parody of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's mascot Leo the Lion, as he wears mammoth tusks made of marble and a wig, which are placed on him.
* Betty Lou Gerson as Frances Albacore (speaking/singing), a sassy fish who dances with Cranston Goat and always holds a cigarette holder.
* Hal Holbrook as Cranston Goat (speaking/singing), a cranky elderly old goat who loves to dance. He is always seen with Frances and they always dance with each other.
* Don Knotts as T.W. Turtle (speaking), a nervous and superstitious turtle who always relies on fortune cookie fortunes. He originally came to Hollywood hoping to be an Errol Flynn-type star.
** Rick Logan provides T.W.'s singing voice.
* George Kennedy as L.B. Mammoth, the human head of Mammoth Pictures. He is a parody of Louis B. Mayer. His secret of success when asked by anyone is "Simple, it's Dimple!"
* René Auberjonois as Flanigan, the human film director of "Li'l Ark Angel" who is constantly kissing up to Darla.
* Mark Dindal as Max, Darla's gargantuan