Cats Don't Dance

So many feature cartoons of this era operate under formula constraints; the animation of Cats Don’t Dance often feels exuberantly free. Read full review

Cats Don't Dance is an inspired movie movie, one that celebrates and spoofs cinema with wit, verve, and a breathless enthusiasm for the form. Read full review

Cats Don't Dance is not compelling and it's not a breakthrough, but on its own terms, it works well. Whether this will appeal to kids is debatable; the story involves a time and a subject they're not much interested in. But the songs by Randy Newman are catchy, the look is bright, the spirits are high and fans of Hollywood's golden age might find it engaging. Read full review

Cats Don't Dance is a cinematic anomaly: an animated film that could have more appeal for adults than for children. Read full review

Cats Don't Dance is a blast. Read full review

Adults may have more fun watching this engaging film, which cleverly paints Hollywood as a treacherously duplicitous place even though it turns out some of the most joyous entertainments on earth. Read full review

Cats Don't Dance is hilarious and infectious. Dindal was clearly a student of 1930s Warner Bros. cartoons, and wasn't interested in the slick, human figures of a Disney film. He wanted to go off-model, letting the characters squash and stretch with the best of them.  Read full review

With its bonus points for campy fun, Cats Don't Dance is an all-around winner for all ages. [26 Mar 1997, p.D8]

While the animated characters, bright colors and an appealing Randy Newman score may keep the children content, Cats Don't Dance is no saccharine fantasy. Its Hollywood references and dark satire constitute its real strengths. Read full review

Turner Feature Animation dishes out some fancy footwork with "Cats Don't Dance," a delightful animated musical that conjures up a blend of those all-singin', all-dancin' vintage Hollywood extravaganzas and those deftly satirical Looney Tunes installments of the '30s and '40s. [21 Mar 1997]

Along with its implicit messages about the value of perseverance and diversity - and its clever send-up of Hollywood vanities - "Cats" offers some tuneful ditties by Randy Newman (one choice torch song is crooned by Natalie Cole) and enough wisecracking to keep adults from dozing. [28 Mar 1997, p.L34]

Cats Don't Dance is pleasant middle-tier animation that will not cause anyone to lose sleep over at Disney. [26 Mar 1997, p.D07]

An animated parody of the disparity between Hollywood image and reality, this occasionally clever kiddie feature often rises above its straightforward plot. Read full review

Decked out with sharp and colorful design work, some well-drawn characters and six snappy Randy Newman tunes, this first entry from Turner Feature Animation goes down very easily but lacks a hook to make it anything other than a minor kidpic entry commercially. Read full review

The picture has energy to spare, but children won't get the movie-buff references that provide much of its humor. [04 Apr 1997, p.13]

Cats Don’t Dance treads this territory with a whimsy that will be over the heads of young kids and too unimaginative for adults. Read full review

The only thing parents need fear is utter boredom. Read full review

It's too film-savvy for kids who won't catch the allusions to Clark Gable and W.C. Fields, but it's too film-simple for buffs and too boring for adults and too magenta-bright for critics. It's completely human proof! [26 Mar 1997]

Cats Don't Dance, though perfectly wholesome and clearly aimed at young kids, is a movie packed with references that only the most nostalgia-savvy child could get -- cartoon cameos by Mae West, Laurel and Hardy, Bette Davis, Max the scary Sunset Boulevard butler, and so on. [28 Mar 1997, p.7G]

Despite choreography by the late Gene Kelly and six original tunes by Randy Newman, the song-and-dance numbers here are merely congenial and definitely not rousing. [26 Mar 1997, p.42]

The script, attributed to four writers, is based on stories of cats who roamed the Warners back lot, begging for food among the discarded sets of "Casablanca" and "East of Eden." Imagine any storyline designed around that studio legend and you're likely to come up with a more auspicious plot than the one this team has created. [26 Mar 1997]