Trailer
Plot summary
Danny, an orange tabby from Kokomo, Indiana, sings and dances his way to Hollywood in 1939, certain he can become a picture star. The agent Farley Wink books him into Lil' Ark Angel at Mammoth Pictures, where his part is tiny; Wink's secretary, a Turkish Angora cat called Sawyer, was a dancer before she took the job, and the other animal performers once hoped for bigger roles. When Danny pushes for more time on screen, he angers Darla Dimple, the popular child star of the picture, who has no intention of letting the animals become a threat to her career. She has her enormous butler Max warn him off, and the mascot Woolie, an elephant, tells Danny that the important roles go to humans and the animals get thankless ones.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
- Matthew Herriedas Pudge the Penguin (voice)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Cats Don't Dance (1997)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film began in March 1993 as a project with Michael Jackson, who was intended to act, produce and consult on the music and choreography for what was initially a hybrid live-action and CGI animated film. By November 1994 Jackson was no longer involved.
- In the U.S. and Canada the film grossed only $3.5 million against its $32 million production budget. Director Mark Dindal said Warner Bros. "looked at it and decided there wouldn't be a market for it. It wasn't something they responded to."
- Despite bombing at the box office, the film won two Annie Awards, for Best Animated Feature and Best Music in a Feature Production, becoming the first non-Disney animated film ever to win either category.
- Director Mark Dindal ended up providing the voice of the villain's henchman Max himself, a role meant only as a temporary scratch track for a professional actor, because the production ran out of money before it could be recast.
- Cats Don't Dance was the only fully animated feature ever produced by Turner Feature Animation, which was folded into Warner Bros. Animation mid-way through the film's own post-production when Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner.
- Gene Kelly was the film's choreography consultant. The production staff met Kelly three or four times, socialising about approaching musicals and the conception of older musicals.
