Now a lot of you may wonder if I am a strictly Disney fan and a fan of no other studio works, particularly when it comes to animation. If you were to ask me that, I would probably say no. I have some favorite non-Disney animated films out there and one of my all-time favorites is the 1997 film from Warner Bros. “Cats Don’t Dance.”
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This is a film that just screams what it means to feature Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. What is more is that “Cats Don’t Dance” takes place at a time when DEI is virtually non-existent…1930’s Hollywood, particularly 1939 which has often been described as Hollywood’s Golden Year given the films that came out at that time such as “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind.”
Being an actor is no different than from having any other job out there. Sure, you get to be rich and famous, but you are also making a decent living and during the 1930s, not everyone from all backgrounds were accepted for who they are.
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In this case, “Cats Don’t Dance” is about singing and talking animals that are trying to make a name for themselves in Hollywood, especially the protagonist, a cat named Danny (Scott Bakula) who has had a dream since he was a kitten to become a movie star. However, the only roles that are available to animals in those days were bit parts and Danny spends the entire movie trying to get himself and his friends noticed, all culminating in a climatic song and dance number at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
Danny represents someone from a different background trying to make a name for himself but has social obstacles to overcome simply because they were just there. If you were growing up in the early to mid 20th century, you had social obstacles to overcome that unfortunately are somewhat still around today.
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We are still seeing discrimination in our society and it’s a major problem for those who want to make a living and a name for themselves. As described in this film, anyone can and will make a mark in something. But the fact of the matter is that some will just give up too easily and that is the case with the film’s leading lady, Sawyer.
Like Danny, Sawyer came to Hollywood with a dream to become not just a dancer, but a singer as well. However, she gave up too easily and ended up as a secretary.
Like Sawyer, I had dreams and aspirations of my own, wanting to get into the field of travel agency, but I had to put them aside simply because it was not possible and that it seemed like I had a different destiny calling out to me.
But Sawyer also has internal hesitations about getting her dreams back on track and it took someone like Danny to make her put those hesitations away for good. And for someone who has the singing voice of the late Natalie Cole, Sawyer definitely did the right thing by pursuing her dreams once again.
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This, of course, all culminates in perhaps one of the best film endings in my opinion, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” Danny and his new friends spent the entire movie being discriminated against by Hollywood and have finally broken down a massive barrier that had been up for who knows how long.
The fact is this is a film that just yells and screams Diversity, Equality and Inclusion more than anything. It’s just a shame that nobody took notice of it when it first came out in theaters in 1997. I was fortunately one of the few to “Cats Don’t Dance” in theaters and let me tell you, it was love at first sight for a film that wasn’t even made by Disney.
“Get the Girl?” “Check.”
Today’s generation needs to see this film because not only it is a great DEI film, but it’s a damn good film period. Absolutely worth a recommendation in my view!!
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Catch you all later!!
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