That Darn Cat! (1997)

I think everyone can tell that the 1997 remake of “That Darn Cat!” is made for a target audience of little children who not only want a comedy about kidnappers but also won’t know that this is a remake. Not only does this remake have little which entertains anyone of the target audience it will also upset those who watched the 1965 original. The Movie Scene said in their review, “Not wanting to sound cruel it almost feels like a contract piece, like its star Christina Ricci had one more movie to make for Disney and so they decided to turn to one of there lesser known 60s movies and gave it a make over so that she could appear before she became too old.” However, that is not the only issue as despite the heart of the story stays the same so many changes from additional characters to the focus being more on Patti than her cat D.C. just don’t really work.

When two criminals mistake a maid (Rebecca Koon) for Mrs. Flint (Dyan Cannon) the wife of affluent businessman Mr. Flint (Dean Jones) they take her back to the small town of Edgefield where they hold her hostage. Edgefield is a quite town which makes teenager Pattie Randall, played by Christina Ricci, feel bored, but she dislikes about the town except for her pet cat D.C. who every night goes out for a stroll. When one night D.C. returns with a watch in place of his collar and half a message scratched on the back of it, Pattie puts tow and two together and comes up with the idea that D.C. has found where the kidnapped maid is and so somehow convinces the FBI and Agent Zeke Kelso, played by Doug E. Doug, to follow her cat to see fi it leads them to the hideout. However, for the clumsy Kelso following a smart cat is not an easy task.

The Movie Scene admitted, “Now whilst the heart of the story is still the same I liked the way "That Darn Cat" starts with a change which sees Dean Jones, who made his Disney debut in the 1965 version of "That Darn Cat", playing a wealthy man whose maid gets kidnapped. In fairness I liked it purely because it allows for Dean Jones to have a small part and sadly what follows on from there ended up becoming more and more disappointing as we get modernized versions of old scenes such as D.C. outsmarting a dog to steal its food to a new scene with rival mechanics on opposite sides of the road trying to sabotage each other's business.”

Now this remake of “That Darn Cat” will work for those who haven’t seen the original, the comedy of a cat outsmarting everyone will entertain children and Christina Ricci playing Patti with a bit of attitude will also probably entertain. Even all the different characters with their quirks from Lu (Megan Cavanagh) who works in the butchers to Melvin (Tom Wilson) who is a security guard will also bring laughs, for children. However, there is little that will entertain adults who find themselves watching as not only is a lot of it obvious but also silly especially a big final chase scene. It gets to the point that for adults there is more fun in spotting every recognizable actor like Thomas F. Wilson, Megan Cavanagh, and Estelle Parsons than anything else.

However, what is missing is the charm, whether it be D.C. being this smart cat who really seems to be playing with people through to Agent Zeke Kelso who finds himself given the job of following him. To be fair, Doug E. Doug is funny as Zeke, in an over the top away but everything he does is too stereotypical. The Movie Scene said, “And to be honest it is the same throughout with all the characters, but then I did end up watching the original version first and the performance of Hayley Mills and Dean Jones in the original are head and shoulders above those of Ricci and Doug.”

What everything ends up with is the remake of “That Darn Cat” ended up being upsetting, not just because as a remake it really insults the original but also because everything appears so ordinary. The Movie Scene ended their review by saying, “The charm and humour of the original is lost thanks to a variety of superfluous sub plots and whilst I am sure young audiences will be amused by all the comedy it fails to deliver anything to really keep older audiences entertained at the same time.”

As everyone can predict, this remake is just bad. There is nothing that makes it worth watching. If you saw the original and really love it, avoid this remake at all cost. You will not like it at all since it really puts the original to shame.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I review another film that I saw a little of in school but never finished until earlier this year in “Disney Month 2021.”