That Darn Cat (1997)

A maid is kidnapped and scratches a message onto D.C. the cat's collar and when his owner Patti discovers this, she plays amateur detective with the help of D.C. to try to find the culprits.

Director:

Bob Spiers

Writers:

Gordon Gordon (novel) (as The Gordons), Mildred Gordon (novel) (as The Gordons)

Stars:

Christina Ricci, Doug E. Doug, Dean Jones

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christina Ricci	...	Patti
Doug E. Doug	...	Agent Zeke Kelso
Dean Jones	...	Mr. Flint
George Dzundza	...	Boetticher
Peter Boyle	...	Pa
Michael McKean	...	Peter Randall
Bess Armstrong	...	Judy Randall
Dyan Cannon	...	Mrs. Flint
John Ratzenberger	...	Dusty
Megan Cavanagh	...	Lu
Estelle Parsons	...	Old Lady McCracken
Rebecca Schull	...	Ma
Thomas F. Wilson	...	Melvin (as Tom Wilson)
Brian Haley	...	Marvin
Mark Christopher Lawrence	...	Rollo

Storyline

In a small Massachusetts town, two bumbling criminals mistakenly kidnap a maid, thinking her to be the wife of a prominent businessman. D.C., short for Darn Cat, is an alley cat who, while looking for his nightly snack, stumbles upon the kidnap victim, bound and gagged in a shed. The kidnap victim scratches a plea for help on the back of her wristwatch and puts it around the cat's neck. Patti finds the watch and links it to the missing maid. Playing amateur detective, she enlists the aid of an FBI agent, Zeke, who has been assigned to the case. Patti and Zeke follow D.C. through tight openings to track down the captive.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | fbi | neo screwball comedy | tape over mouth | maid | 

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Taglines:

He's the one who's got the Clue

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Family | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mačka na zadatku

Filming Locations:

Mc Cormick, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,424,617, 17 February 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,301,610

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Simonds Productions,Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Christina Ricci's last Disney movie, as the original was for actress Hayley Mills in the 1960s.

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Goofs

Shortly after Zeke entered the kidnappers hideout, there was a medium range shot of him approaching Patti as she was still tied up. Patti has her head turned to the left, looking at the masked kidnappers as Zeke gets closer to her chair. She suddenly has her head turned to the right, looking at Zeke when the shot switches to a close-up one second later.

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Quotes

Mr. Flint: [to Mrs. Flint] Why can't your plastic surgeon give the stock market a lift?

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Old Fashioned (2016)

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Soundtracks

Birdland
Written by Ron Aspery
Courtesy of Zomba Music Services

User Reviews

This is why remakes always get a bad rap...

An abomination. Disney's remake of their own 1965 slapstick classic concerns a clever feline leading an F.B.I. agent to a kidnapped woman. Christina Ricci gives a churlish, let-me-outta-here performance as the cat's owner, while the the fed is played embarrassingly over-the-top by Doug E. Doug, who has been directed to resemble a human cartoon. A pair of rich neurotics (Dyan Cannon and original "Cat" cast member Dean Jones) are amusing, and the formula plot still has a little juice left in it; but the handling here is so heavy and lugubrious--and the cat so dull and lifeless--that the whole project feels dog-tired. NO STARS from ****