That Darn Cat

I have an extremely open mind when it comes to Hollywood remaking, revisiting, creating a sequel to, or otherwise building upon an established film. Consider that mind slammed firmly shut!

The original "Darn Cat" featured a precocious feline surrounded by a village of humans (some funny, some scary, some just plain annoying). But the cat always remained at the center of the story, and the cat's actions are what propelled the whole thing forward. But here, the focus is on Patty Randall (Christina Ricci) and her FBI-rookie pal, Zeke Kelso (Doug E. Doug).

Apparently, the producers knew that they had an up-and-coming young starlet in their midst when they created this litter-box, because the focus is moved away from D.C. and onto Ricci's bratty and generally unlikeable Patty Randall. While no producer can be blamed for seeing talent and grabbing it (Two "Addams Family" films and "Casper the Friendly Ghost" had already gotten Ricci significant exposure!), they forgot that the film's title is "That Darn Cat"... not "That Darn Pat".

And it shows. We still have a minor league all-star cast, and we still have the FBI agent, the young girl and her cat as the heroes of the piece, but we cannot even see the villains (who provided so much of the menace in the original) and we see entirely too much of the assortment of freaks, geeks and throwaway nutcases that populate this burg.

I submit a challenge: Watch this one, then go back and watch the original. Then TRY to remember something significant that the cat in the new version did.

See, you're learning!

Disney Productions…I don't suppose I'm still a part of their target group, but I am complete Christina Ricci target group on my own! That was pretty much the only reason for me to see this film, since I'm not that interested in a cat ‘s adventures… The film is a remake of a 1965 film with the same name, also produced by the Disney Studio's. Christina is an angry and introvert teenage girl – Patti - who's loathes the boring, little town she's living in. Her mother is vain and super-polite, she has no friends and the only one she feels some affection for is her cat, J.D. This cat `witnesses' a kidnapping during one of her nightly escapades and Patti alarms the goofy FBI Agent Zeke (Doug E. Doug).

The film causes a surprisingly big amount of chuckles, since the little town and its inhabitants are so wondrously stereotypical. The grand finale – which involves a boisterous car chase through the town – will certainly impress and please the younger viewers. Some overall good acting as well. First and foremost by the lovely Christina Ricci, but also by a few familiar and respected side characters like George Dzundza (Basic Instinct), Peter Boyle (F.I.S.T) and Michael McKean (Airheads)… Doug E. Doug simply has to act like a Eddie Murphy or Chris Rock clone but he's pretty good in doing so. That Darn Cat is warmly recommend fun for young families and animal lovers.

I was 12 years old when I saw the original film (I lived in Italy and the Italian title was "FBI, OPERATION CAT!") That was a fun film and not just for kids. This awful remake it's pathetic even for a 5 year old! What possessed Disney to ruin their reputation and the memory of a lovely film I don't know and I just can't believe it. Even the title song in the original film (both original version and the dubbed Italian version) was extremely nice and creating the mood for the story. On this remake the title song is even worst than the movie itself. It was just nice to see Dean Jones even if for just a cameo appearance, he was a regular on the great old Disney's films. I cannot honestly see anything else positive in this remade movie.

But I still enjoyed watching her, so I gave it a 3 instead of a 1. Her expressions are priceless. Some of the other cast members (e.g., Michael McKean) are really slumming, too. The cat himself is somewhat amusing. Aside from that, the movie is all cliche, culminating in a much-too-long car chase. (It's also at this point that the movie becomes unnecessarily crude, having been very "family" until then.)

Chris Ricci sleepwalks her way through most of this, but then quickly takes on an air of boredom and disdain - much as I did when watching it. Without her this would be no more than a cheap kids' movie, but at least she does add an air of quality. There are few, if any, more visually striking and charismatic young actresses in the business.

There's not much wrong with it as long as you accept it for what it is - a cheap Disney re-make aimed at very undemanding children. I could watch Ricci all day so I'm probably oblivious to many of the movie's shortcomings, but unless you too are a Ricci fan, a cat-lover, or very small child, I doubt you will find this very entertaining.