by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea with Animation Celebration is to take a look at some underseen gems — so no Toy Story or Frozen here.
Let’s get started.
As promised, this month we’ll be taking a look at the directorial debut of the man behind The Garfield Movie, Mark Dindal, with Cats Don’t Dance.
It’s 1997 and we’re in an interesting time for animation productions, as Disney pretty much has a monopoly on major animation domestically, particularly when it came to features. Sure, Cats Don’t Dance might have the Warner Bros. name behind it, but the only feature released ahead of this was the previous year’s Space Jam, which relied largely on their classic characters. I mean, the lead actor in the movie is Scott Bakula. A recognizable name, sure, but certainly not A-list. It also serves as the lone feature for Turner Feature Animation, a studio I didn’t even realize existed until the opening credits rolled.
As well, it’s an interesting time for animation as an art form. Cat’s Don’t Dance mixes in some early computer animation with the more traditional style (which you can hear animator Eric Koenig talk about here). Outside of the more CGI aspects, which are less noticeable here than some more modern-day projects, it very much feels at home in the Warner Bros’s catalogue. The style is very familiar to those of us who grew up with the Looney Tunes — and the movie even throws in some fun, classic pop culture gags with Hollywood as the background. I’ll be honest, it’s cheating a little bit, but it’s what got me through the movie.
But the story tells the tale of Danny (Bakula), a cat with Hollywood dreams, only to arrive and find that animals are relegated to bit parts. There are lots of cooks in the kitchen when it came to the script, and it never got me completely invested. When it’s not going for stuff that hits me in my nostalgia, it doesn’t work nearly as well. There’s a romance between Danny and his fellow feline, Sawyer (Jasmine Guy), that I never quite bought. The villain, though, is fun as an evil Shirley Temple stand-in (Ashley Peldon). The complete over-the-top nature works in the film’s favor, and yields some of the most fun, cartoonish moments. There’s also a clever use of audio and action at the end set piece.
The biggest name in the movie is Randy Newman, and you can feel his fingerprints all over. Not all the songs work, but it always feels like classic music making, including a really fun sequences taking advantage of the animals as music maker, like in “Animal Jam.” That’s when it was at its best for me, rather than the more ballad-y type numbers, or really when trying to go big — like the opening and closing.
Cats Don’t Dance is a fascinating entry into feature animation canon at a time when it was in flux. It does some new stuff, but, honestly, it’t at its best when Warner got back to its roots.
I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great animated work you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month’s entry will be a surprise (even to me), but I’m looking forward to discovering something else new.