Danny (Cats Don't Dance)

Cats Don't Dance is a 1997 American animated musical comedy film directed by Mark Dindal, and featuring the voices of Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, and Ashley Peldon.

The film originated in 1993 as a proposed film collaboration between Michael Jackson and David Kirschner. It was announced as a film combining live action and animation, with Jackson attached to star and consult on the music and choreography. By late 1994, Jackson had dropped out of the project. It was reverted to Turner Feature Animation. It features six original songs written by Randy Newman, and an original musical orchestral score composed by Steve Goldstein. It was the only fully animated feature film produced by Turner Feature Animation, which was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation when Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner during the post-production of Cats Don't Dance in 1996. The film's production took four-and-a-half years to be completed.

Turner's ownership rights were extricated by late-September 1996. The release of Cats Don't Dance was conducted in October 1996, and the film was theatrically released in the United States on March 26, 1997 by Warner Bros.. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. However, it was a box-office failure, grossing $3.5 million domestically. The film's producer David Kirschner blamed Warner Bros. for a failed marketing campaign and a lack of promotional tie-ins. Cats Don't Dance won two Annie Awards, Best Animated Feature and Best Music in a Feature Production, becoming the first non-Disney animated film to receive these awards.

In an alternate world, in 1939, where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, Danny, an optimistic orange tabby cat from Kokomo, Indiana, travels to Hollywood in hopes of starting an acting career there. After meeting a young penguin named Pudge, Danny is selected by agent Farley Wink to feature in a film that is in production at Mammoth Pictures called Lil' Ark Angel, alongside Wink's secretary, a cynical Turkish Angora cat named Sawyer. Upon joining fellow animals—Tillie the hippo, Cranston the goat, Frances the fish, and T.W the tortoise—Danny is dismayed on learning how minor his role is and tries weaseling his way into more time in the spotlight. Danny unwittingly angers the film's star Darla Dimple, a popular yet spoiled child actress; she promptly has her gigantic butler Max intimidate Danny against further attempts to enlarge his part.