History WesternAnimation / CatsDontDance

* AlmostKiss: Danny and Sawyer.

* BatmanGambit: Danny pulls off a rather impressive one with the final dance number. NiceGuy that he is, he sets it up so that, if Darla had gracefully sat back and let the song play, they'd prove their performing chops and she'd come off smelling like a rose, her reputation further enforced. ''But'' by this point he's fully aware of the likelihood of that happening and has obviously coached his friends to just run with whatever cheating she pulls off. He even takes a very brief moment to shove it in her face after her first couple attempts fail. Though even he is shocked to find out Darla was [[spoiler: responsible for the flood.]]

* FantasticRacism: Humans towards animals. The whole film can be interpreted as an allegory for the prejudice and marginalization African-American actors and singers faced in the 1930s and 40s in Hollywood. That said, [[spoiler: once Danny and friends do finally get the opportunity to demonstrate their talents, the human audience gives uproarious applause and the animals are catapulted to the stardom they wanted for so long.]]

* OpeningTheFloodgates: After giving a press conference on his upcoming film, studio honcho Mammoth opens the door to the sound stage, unaware that the FunnyAnimal performers are undergoing a deluge as part of TheVillain's effort to sabotage their careers. Since this is a cartoon, the water ignores the laws of fluid dynamics, flowing instead according to the RuleOfFunny. Mister Mammoth was most displeased.

* RisingWaterRisingTension: TheVillain is filling the soundstage with water in a scheme to drown or discredit the animal performers. While her victims try to remain afloat aboard a set piece never meant to be seaworthy, poor Pudge remains tied in the control room where the rising water submerges him entirely.

* EngineeredPublicConfession: After her attempts to thwart the animals’ impromptu musical number massively backfire, Darla storms onto the stage covered in wires and various sound equipment. She [[VillainousBreakdown rants and screams at Danny]] that she should’ve drowned them all when she flooded the studio, only to realize too late that the microphone on her head was on, and the entire audience, including L.B. Mammoth, heard ''everything''.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Darla gets the animals fired, just because she fears they'll steal her spotlight, and for Cranston's insinuation that L.B. Mammoth is tired of Dimple and is looking for something new.

* GuileHero: NiceGuy that he is, Danny becomes a heroic version of this during the final act. After picking himself back up, he first secretly sends invitations to the animals while keeping quiet about his plan to get them to stardom. Then when Max appears to kill him, he lures Max into a trap by making Max come to him via Darla's balloon close enough to a spire so he can pop it and send Max rocketing into the sky. Then when he calls the audience's attention, he pretends to honor Darla Dimple before tricking her into saying that she's arranged a live show with the animals. Then when the show starts, Danny, knowing of Darla's tendency to cheat as well as knowing that she's nothing without Max, coaches the animals to go along with whatever cheating Darla comes up with to ruin the show, thus making all of her attempts actually impress the audience. This results in the most spectacular audition in film history and Darla outing herself as the one who flooded Mammoth Studios and getting herself demoted to janitor, leading to the film's satisfying ending.

** The narrator at the ''very beginning'' of the film states that Darla "was not what she was seemed."

* RealityEnsues: While yes, there ''is'' a huge amount of FantasticRacism involved at the studio, Danny is dismissed after breaking script, upstaging the lead actress when cast as an extra, and ruined a very expensive and complicated scene, all on his first day. That ''would'' get you fired in real life.

* CallBack: At the end of the film, Flannigan praises Danny and Sawyer for their performance along with the rest of the animals, calling them "sweethearts, celebrities, darlings" — which is exactly what he called Darla earlier in the film as she is abusing him.

-->'''Flannigan:''' ...nibble kibble in this town again!

* MassOhCrap: The audience after Darla accidentally exposes her true self over the microphone. L.B. Mammoth and Flannigan take it the hardest since they were the ones who fired the animals for the destruction to the studio. Hearing the truth really left them [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone dumbstruck and horrified]] of their actions.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: L.B. Mammoth and Flannigan's reaction when they realize that, yes, Darla flooded the stage towards the end of the film and by firing the animal actors, they've really messed up.

* VillainousBreakdown: Darla when all her efforts to stop the animals impromptu number in the finale backfire immensely. It ends with her [[HoistByHisOwnPetard outing herself]] to an audience while she's ranting at Danny.

* CallBack: At the end of the film, Flanigan praises Danny and Sawyer for their performance along with the rest of the animals, calling them "sweethearts, celebrities, darlings" — which is exactly what he called Darla earlier in the film as she is abusing him.

* AccidentalMisnaming: "Donald? Dino?"

UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, 1939: A singing and dancing cat named Danny (Creator/ScottBakula) dreams of being a big movie star. He gets a role in the latest film starring [[TastesLikeDiabetes sickeningly adorable]] child star [[MeaningfulName Darla]] [[Creator/ShirleyTemple Dimple]] ([[Series/GuidingLight Ashley Peldon]]), only to find out the hard way that [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything animals in Hollywood only get minor, stereotypical roles]]. Determined to show Hollywood their talent, Danny rounds up some of his newfound friends, and tries to find a way to impress the studio exec producing the film. When Darla finds out, her true nature begins to show, and she decides to sabotage the animals' plans so they don't steal her spotlight.

%%* EnergeticAndSoftSpokenDuo: a villainous example. ThePrimaDonna Darla Dimple does most of the talking, since maintaining her facade as "lover of children and animals" requires being the {{keet}} under scrutiny. Max is Darla's MightyGlacier manservant, who rarely says more than, "Yes, Miss Dimple." Together, everyone at Mammoth Studios walks on eggshells around this AlphaBitch and her bone-crunching enforcer.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: See FantasticRacism
* TheDragon: Darla Dimple's butler, Max.

%%* EnergeticAndSoftSpokenDup: a villainous example. ThePrimaDonna Darla Dimple does most of the talking, since maintaining her facade as "lover of children and animals" requires being the {{keet}} under scrutiny. Max is Darla's MightyGlacier manservant, who rarely says more than, "Yes, Miss Dimple." Together, everyone at Mammoth Studios walks on eggshells around this AlphaBitch and her bone-crunching enforcer.

''Cats Don't Dance'' is a 1997 film, and one of only two made by [[UsefulNotes/TedTurner Turner Entertainment]]'s Turner Feature Animation unit (itself an outgrowth of Creator/HannaBarbera's feature animation wing) before Creator/WarnerBros took over (the other being ''WesternAnimation/ThePagemaster''). The film was choreographed by Creator/GeneKelly, and the main character was based on him as well. Kelly died in 1996 mid-production.

The film takes place in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood in the year 1939, and the plot revolves around a singing and dancing cat named Danny, who dreams of being a big movie star. He gets a role in the latest film starring [[TastesLikeDiabetes sickeningly adorable]] child star [[MeaningfulName Darla]] [[Creator/ShirleyTemple Dimple]], only to find out the hard way that [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything animals in Hollywood only get minor, stereotypical roles]]. Determined to show Hollywood their talent, Danny rounds up some of his newfound friends, and tries to find a way to impress the studio exec producing the film. When Darla finds out about this, she starts to show her true nature, and decides to sabotage the animals' plans, so they don't steal her spotlight.

The film contains many {{Shout Out}}s to classic films, most notably ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' and ''Film/SunsetBoulevard''. It was poorly promoted and, as a result, [[BoxOfficeBomb underperformed at the box office]]. However, it was critically acclaimed and still has a loyal following to this day (particularly among the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom).

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cats_dont_dance.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250: "Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now!"]]

* EngineeredPublicConfession: Darla ends up wrapped in wires and when she returns to the stage to berate and threaten Danny for the animals' performance, she angry yells that she sabotaged the studio with the flood into a microphone right above her head.

* AwardBaitSong: "I Do Believe". However, due to being buried deep in the end credits (after they've been rolling for a couple minutes, and after a long stretch of reprise-less instrumental music), it tends to be forgotten among the rest of the film's songs.

* OminousLatinChanting:
** Invoked with the original introduction of Max: it's not actually a chant, just dolorous vocalization, but his 'theme' is indeed ominous.
** The DarkReprise of "Big and Loud" also has the trope.