Simply A Masterpiece

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It's odd that I never got to see this from childhood because it was just so sweet watching it for the first time recently. You have to love the main character Danny though, hes like the best cat friend you'll never get for real! However, we have to unfortunately put up with the self selfish cats in the real world. The 90s children's songs and the theme of the movie about old Hollywood would definitely give you nostalgia. It's too bad we have to deal with CGI films now and not 2-D they had in the 1990s. Natalie Cole (RIP) did a brilliant job at being featured in the movie as Sawyers singing voice. Honestly I can't believe they didn't give the woman credit even if she is Nat King Coles daughter. I thought she deserved better!Good film to watch for all ages!

In the nineties, there were several attempts made by different studios in order to emulate the style from the animated films that the Disney company were producing at those years (Such as "Aladdin", "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King") Some of those attempts were corny and lame, but fortunately, this nice animated film (Which was also the first animated movie directed by Mark Dindal, the same director "The Emperor's New Groove") instead of trying to imitate the Disney formula, prefers to be a light-hearted homage to all the classic musicals from the Golden Age of Hollywood, worked incredibly well in that aspect. The plot is fast-paced, but easy to follow, with very likable characters, and many funny situations and clever dialogues, not to mention the incredibly catchy songs, that were the best part of the movie.From my very personal point of view, I think that the combination of all those elements worked much better than in "The Emperor's New Groove" (Which is also a good movie, but I like this more) This is a nice movie for the whole family, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Anyone remember 'Singin' in the Rain'? Well, this is quite the little knockoff.. a great one. Musical actors take part in an animated feature almost as great as the old movie. But with a spoiled child actress and cats.Danny is a naive but friendly cat who is picked to star in Darla Dimples' "Lil' Ark Angel", quite similar to the Shirley Temple movies and star. This cat becomes baffled by his line of "Meow" while a child (who's name is Darla) comes in and wreaks havoc. Her main plot is the cause trouble and lies about liking animals.The script is superb, much like something Pixar would make. The animation is good. The acting was magnificent. Ashley Pendon's voice was great and I loved her singing voice... Lindsey did great. And the characters' voices to the animals sounded and reminded me much like the ones in 'All Dogs Go To Heaven'. Not to mention, the music was great and my favorite has to be the final song.This movie will bring an instant smile to faces of children and adults alike. It will reminisce childhood memories and will never be forgotten. Always remember that 'Cats Don't Dance' is a heartwarming and lighthearted movie that will be in your heart... young or old.

This is one of those movies I remember seeing a couple times as a kid, and really really loving every second of. After going many years without seeing it again, I recently had the impulse to find and watch the film. To my surprise, it still held up just about as well as it had when I was younger, and in fact if anything I appreciate it more now.The animation in Cats Don't Dance is superb. There are few other animated films which have the same level of color and distinctive, characteristic charm to them, and the brilliant animation style makes the characters themselves similarly memorable and very expressive. It's a perfect example of the animation complementing the characters and events, as well as adding to the overall excitement of the movie.The story is relatively straightforward, and ostensibly isn't anything new: it's the classic story of a naive out-of-towner pursuing a Hollywood dream, discovering Hollywood's real-world coldness, and manages to ultimately find the strength to overcome the obstacles before them and make it big. However, it's executed very well and cleverly enough that it doesn't feel very clichéd.The characters are great as well, and I wouldn't say any of them are underdeveloped or uninteresting. Danny, the protagonist, is naive and optimistic on entering the Hollywood scene. Although the ruthlessness and cruelty of show business breaks his naiveté, he never really loses his optimistic edge, which I think is what makes him work as a character: throughout the entire film his determination to make it big only grows, and as the story progresses he increasingly desires to help the other animals as well. Once simple enough to accept Darla Dimple's word as trustworthy enough, he finds himself only further hardened in his will and he, in the end, manages to beat her at her own game, thoroughly upstaging her in the process (with the other animals accompanying, of course.)Sawyer shares Danny's romanticism about the Hollywood dream and herself had been similarly ambitious, but had adopted a more realistic, cynical attitude towards the possibility of her own dreams of fame being achieved. Nonetheless, she does not come off as overtly bitter, and in the beginning of the movie she seems almost satisfied with (or at least accepting of) her simpler clerical work, with none of the "broken dreams" attitude one might expect. Danny becomes determined to bring her back in touch with her dreaming persona, and although she resists initially she slowly rediscovers her larger ambition. The dynamic between the two characters grows into a love interest as Danny becomes attracted to Sawyer's romantic edge and seductive energy, and she eventually to his undying dedication and determination.The antagonist, Darla Dimple, is a very effective villain: she is sadistic, cruel, and completely self-serving, and hides it from the public under the guise of innocent, angelic childhood. Most of the animals know enough not to get in her way, but Danny is naive enough to trust her with his and the other animals' lives, giving her ample opportunity to crush them completely (she literally attempts to drown them, but failing this, at least frames them for flooding the studio.) Unfortunately for her, her facade of sweetness can barely be kept up as Danny attempts to bring himself and the other animals a last crack at making themselves seen and heard, and when her effort to sabotage their show backfires she loses it and exposes herself, before the audience, to be the monstrosity that she is.The supporting characters are also entertaining. The various animals deal with their lost dreams of fame in their own ways, and in each case they seem, as with Sawyer, to have accepted it (even Flanigan the goat, bitter as he is, just seems to be generally grouchy more than anything else.) However, they all lack the same degree of hidden ambition and, up until the end, feel they'd rather continue on as regular little people than put themselves on the line again. Nonetheless, they still retain their same love of their talents and, when they finally see a perfect opportunity before them at the end, they give it their best. Max, Ms. Dimple's gargantuan butler, is surprisingly amusing despite (okay, because of) the outward stupidity of his character. Even more interesting is that he can be made to be both terrifying and funny, often simultaneously.One last unique aspect of the movie is the pop culture references, which are all 1930s-based: people such as Laurel and Hardy and Cary Grant appear, among a number of others. Although most children won't get these references, I personally appreciated it as I last watched the film. The end credits began with a series of parody movie posters, which are interesting in that the movies they're based off of mostly came out at around the same time Cats Don't Dance did.Overall, this is one of those movies I just have endlessly fond memories of, and I highly recommend it. It has stayed off the radar for many people, simply because it was never very well-publicized, but for anyone who gets a chance to watch it it's well worth the time.