That Darn Cat DVD > Reviews > Darned Funny DVD

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	wella cted, funny staryline, enjoyable for entire family from younget to oldest
Disadvantages:	no extras, unremastered print

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Released in 1965 during the heyday of Disney live action films, this comedy classic is full of names that even the college aged set will be sure to know. I say names, for though they turn in truly splendid performances, the true star of the show is the animal playing D.C., a cross eyed mischievous Siamese cat full of real cattitude.

The FBI are desperate to crack a series of bank robberies, and not having much success. D.C. (short for Darn Cat), goes out for his daily wander, and encounters a woman being held captive by the bank robbers after their latest robbery. Seeing an opportunity to send for help, she manages to scratch H E L on the back of her watch and places the watch about the cat's neck. He takes off and continues on his way, at last arriving home where his impressionable young mistress (Hayley Mills) notes the strange collar he is wearing and its apparent message. Pooh poohed by her disdainful older sister and her father as being a fantasist, she nonetheless decides it is an SOS and connects it to the newspaper story of the missing local woman who disappeared. Contacting the FBI, an agent arrives (played by Dean Jones), and decides that D.C. MIGHT be lead. Unfortunately, he is allergic to cats and as all cats seem to know these things, D.C. proceeds to take great delight in causing him discomfort. Nor is he about to merely co-operate by leading them to the haunt he found the woman in. First, he must go on his rounds, and the hapless FBI agent must trail him into all the awkward places a feline likes to go. All through this the excited teenage owner is waxing romantic about the adventure, and her boyfriend slightly jealous of the FBI agent taking up her attention. is it all a wild cat chase, or will D.C. lead them to the missing woman and the bank robbers (led by Roddy McDowell) before something truly horrific happens to her?

This was to be the last Disney performance by Hayley Mills, and it was one of her best. Wide eyed and enthusiastic, she had matured into a lovely young woman and so was past the childish ingenue roles Disney had to offer after this. Giving as always an impeccable performance, she plays quite well against the FBI agent portrayed by Dean Jones. His frustrated attempts are funny, without resorting to rubbery Jim Carreyesque silliness, relying instead on subtle reactions to the outrageous scenarios he gets subjected to by D.C. Those scenarios are not overly unrealistic either. Anyone who has owned a cat can tell you the crazy places and embarrassing things they have discovered their wandering felines have got into, and D.C. is no exception. In the feline scenes, the cat positively steals the show, thanks to its superb naturalness, which is a great credit to both the animal and its trainer. Roddy McDowell is deliciously chilling as the sociopathic lead bank robber, and makes the terror the woman feels quite palpable. His menace remains once offscreen, providing the impetus for the viewer to feel anxious over his victim's as yet undiscovery and relief at the conclusion.

While it is rather a timeless film, a few things do date it. Apart from the clothes, hairstyles and cars, which are easily ignored (especially the clothes and hair, seeing that 60's and 70's fashion is apparently "in" again), what does date it is the Bobby Darrin soundtrack and the surfer boy slang in the brief appearances by the boyfriend. These two are also forgivable to some extent, and do not detract from the film, but do allow its era to be pinpointed. In these times of retro movies, however, and the higher individuality of hobbies in modern youth, it is not incomprehensible nor unappealing in presence. It remains entertainingly funny fare for the entire family, with plenty of laughs without resorting to rude humour, so often found in modern family films, yet not cheesy or moralistic. It is simply a good clean romp that absolutely trumps the less enjoyable run of the mill 1997 remake.

Where the DVD release does fall down however is in its transfer to DVD media. Disney fails to provide any extras, not even deigning to provide the original theatrical trailer, but decided to again use the re-ratioed for TV fullscreen format. As this print was clear and bright, they also failed to remaster it, so the while the picture is clear, it is obvious that it is film, and not an uber crisp digital rendering. While this may not be a point of annoyance for film purists, the lopping off the picture is an issue, as it is VERY noticeable. The film uses the plot device of showing newspaper headlines, and these are cut off at either end to some extent, making it obvious there is part of the picture missing. The sound is converted to digital mono, but again, unremastered to 5:1. These niggles all add up to a disappointing release by Disney of one of their finer classic films, though still watchable and enjoyable. Luckily, they did not presume to charge over the odds for such a budget effort, as they have a few other classics, and this can be had for under £6. For that price, this film is a steal, giving a film that will entertain the entire family again and again for less than the price of a single child's cinema ticket. Due to its clean film print, clear sound, and price, I will give the DVD release of this 5 star film 4 stars. It loses a star purely due to the lack of extras, the fullscreen treatment, and a wish for remastering to a better visual standard for the modern viewer and our higher quality TV sets.