Cats Don't Dance

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]