Talent, ambition and drive count for everything in Hollywood unless you’re a cool cat with dreams of dancing. Because everyone knows that pigs don’t fly, cows don’t sing and definitely, Cats Don’t Dance. Scott Bakula and Jasmine Guy lend their impressive talents to star in this musical, animated, rags-to-riches feature as the voices of Danny, a way-cool hep cat with toes that yearn to tap, and Sawyer, the sexy, cynical chanteuse for whom Danny swoons. But twirl, tap and leap as he might in dances choreographed by legendary human dancer Gene Kelly Danny can’t even get an audition. People always get the good parts; animals only bark, moo or meow. With songs by Randy Newman and vocals sung by the great Natalie Cole, Danny and the animals struggle through harrowing and hilarious escapades each doing what they do best, regardless of species. And in the end, Danny and Sawyer, realizing they are a match made in cat heaven, follow their dreams and shuffle off past everyone who says that Cats Don’t Dance.

For thoughts on Cats Don’t Dance, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/NtnntbeGwqs?si=UelLzf5Is-PzKELd&t=4058]

Video Quality

Warner Archive brings Cats Don’t Dance to Blu-Ray sourced from a new 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative in its 1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio that will blow your mind. This feature is visually stunning with big, bright colors and no trace of damage after such a carefully-handled restoration. There is very minor softness with certain shots which seems to stem back to the animation style, but these issues are barely a blip on this wonderful experience. This disc allows the original look of the film to shine through in all of its glory instead of digitally smoothing over any original imperfections.

Thankfully, there is a sterling amount of natural film grain present with a striking amount of detail and clarity to the picture. The textures of all the various background environments look naturally filmic and give the bustling story a nice sense of depth. The animation quality is in top form, even if it was not given as much shine as Disney during this era, and it really looks beautiful in high definition. Black levels hold up perfectly with no instances of crush or noise to be found. Warner Archive has released a dream disc for fans of the feature.

Audio Quality

The audio quality of the Blu-Ray disc matches the video with a practically perfect DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that nearly brings the house down. From beginning to end, you will not hear any flaws, damage, or weakness in fidelity. Any previous sonic limitations are left in the dust with this full-bodied soundscape that provides impeccable clarity to the dialogue, sound effects, and music throughout. The sound effects are given phenomenal depth and are layered well to give the track a fuller sound. The songs are one of the more buoyant aspects of the film, and they blast through the room with a strength you will not believe. This track is dynamite by any metric. This disc includes optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

Daffy Duck In Hollywood: An eight-minute Merrie Melodies short is provided in which Daffy Duck causes a bit of mayhem on the set of a big Hollywood picture. This is presented in gorgeous HD.

What’s Up, Doc: A seven-minute Looney Tunes short is provided in which Bugs Bunny recounts his life story from birth to showbiz. This is presented in gorgeous HD.

Show Biz Bugs: A seven-minute Looney Tunes short is provided in which Bugs and Daffy square off on stage to compete for the applause of the audience. This is presented in gorgeous HD.

Curtain Razor: A seven-minute Looney Tunes short is provided in which Porky Pig takes on the role of a talent agent who gets more than he bargained for when a fox comes in with ambitious promises. This is presented in gorgeous HD.

Original Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided.

Final Thoughts

Cats Don’t Dance is an unfairly overlooked effort from the ‘90s which shows that Disney did not have a monopoly on creativity. While not perfect, this story is a ton of breezy fun with a vibrant soundtrack, sumptuous animation, and throwback story which just might lay the groundwork for younger viewers to appreciate the Golden Age classics. Nostalgia may be carrying this one a bit for many, but there is something to appeal to all demographics if they go in with an open mind. Warner Archive has delivered a terrific Blu-Ray featuring a flawless A/V presentation and some fun additional shorts. If you love exploring the animated output outside of Disney, be sure to give this charming tale a try. Recommended

Cats Don’t Dance can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.