It was the late nineties. Disney was in this strange, frantic era of cannibalizing its own vault, churning out live-action remakes of mid-century classics like The Love Bug, Flubber, and 1970's The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. Most of these felt like fever dreams. But That Darn Cat 1997 full movie stands out because it didn't just try to update a story; it tried to turn a 1965 lighthearted mystery into a weirdly moody, almost Burton-esque suburban satire. It failed at the box office. Critics like Roger Ebert basically tore it apart, giving it two stars and calling it "half-hearted." Yet, if you grew up with a VCR and a Disney Channel subscription, this movie probably lives rent-free in the back of your brain.
Christina Ricci was the "It Girl" of cinematic cynicism back then. Fresh off The Addams Family and Casper, she was the perfect choice to play Patti Randall, a bored teenager in the fictional town of Edgefield. She hates the suburbs. She wears black. She’s basically the only person in town who isn't a walking caricature. When her mischievous Siamese cat, DC, comes home wearing a watch instead of a collar, Patti is convinced it’s a plea for help from a kidnapped maid.
Looking back, the movie is a tonal mess, but that’s actually why it’s interesting.
The Weird Cast Dynamics of the 1997 Remake
Honestly, the cast is stacked in a way that makes no sense for a "cat movie." You have Doug E. Doug playing Zeke Kelso, the bumbling FBI agent who Patti convinces to help her. Doug E. Doug was coming off Cool Runnings and was a genuine comedic force, but the script cages him in this weird space where he has to be incompetent enough for a teenager to lead him around by the nose.
Then there’s the supporting cast.
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George Dzundza and Peter Boyle? These are heavy hitters. They play the kidnappers with a level of grit that feels like it belongs in a different film. One minute you’re watching a cat steal a hot dog, and the next, you’re watching a legitimate kidnapping plot that feels surprisingly dark for a PG Disney flick. This dissonance is exactly what people mean when they talk about the "90s Disney Vibe." It wasn't sanitized the way things are now. It was messy. It was experimental. It was kinda loud.
The 1965 original featured Hayley Mills and was a massive hit. It was bright, Technicolor, and very "Disney." The 1997 version, directed by Bob Spiers (who also did Spice World, which explains a lot about the frantic pacing), swapped the sunshine for a dreary, overcast aesthetic. Edgefield feels like a town where everyone is hiding something.
Tracking Down That Darn Cat 1997 Full Movie Today
If you're trying to find a way to watch the That Darn Cat 1997 full movie right now, you’ve basically got two options. Since Disney owns the rights, it’s tucked away in the deep corners of Disney+. It’s rarely featured on the "Recommended" rail. You have to actively search for it. For the purists, the physical DVD is still floating around on eBay and Amazon, often bundled in those "4-Movie Marathon" packs that were popular in the mid-2000s.
Why would someone watch it now?
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Nostalgia is the easy answer, but there’s a technical curiosity to it, too. This was one of the last big animal comedies before CGI completely took over. While there are some early digital effects, most of what you see is actual animal acting. Using multiple Siamese cats to "act" out a kidnapping investigation is a logistical nightmare that modern studios would never greenlight. They’d just use a digital asset. There’s a weight and a frantic energy to the live animals that gives the movie a chaotic charm.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Plot
People often remember this as a "talking cat" movie. It isn't. DC doesn't talk. He doesn't have a sassy voice-over provided by a B-list comedian. He’s just a cat. The entire plot hinges on Patti interpreting the cat's normal, destructive behavior as "clues."
The watch that kicks off the plot belonged to a woman named Lizzie, a maid for the wealthy Flint family. The kidnapping subplot involves a million-dollar ransom and a pair of bumbling criminals who are genuinely threatening at times. The movie tries to balance this high-stakes crime with sight gags involving a cat in a grocery store. It doesn't always work. Actually, it rarely works. But the effort is fascinating to watch from a screenwriting perspective.
The Legacy of the 1997 Flop
When it was released on February 14, 1997, it was DOA. It opened against Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (Special Edition) and Dante's Peak. A remake of a 30-year-old cat movie didn't stand a chance. It grossed about $18 million against a budget that was likely significantly higher once marketing was factored in.
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But "flop" is a relative term in the world of home video.
Throughout the late 90s, this movie was a staple of sleepovers. It’s part of a specific sub-genre of films—alongside Harriet the Spy and The Secret Garden—that treated children and teenagers like they were capable of solving adult problems. Patti Randall isn't a superhero; she’s just a smart girl who refuses to be ignored by the adults in her life. That resonated then, and it still resonates now, even if the "FBI agent being outsmarted by a cat" trope is a bit tired.
How to Revisit the Edgefield Mystery
If you're planning a rewatch or introducing it to a new generation, keep these things in mind:
- Check the Aspect Ratio: On some streaming platforms, the film is cropped to 4:3, which cuts off some of the visual gags. Look for the widescreen version if possible.
- Contextualize the Humor: The 90s were the peak of "slapstick violence." Characters take hits and falls that would be considered extreme in a modern PG movie.
- The Soundtrack: Pay attention to the score by Lalo Schifrin. Yes, the guy who did Mission: Impossible. He brings a level of tension to the "investigation" scenes that the script doesn't always earn.
- Spot the Cameos: Look out for Michael McKean and Bess Meyer. The cast is a "who's who" of character actors who went on to much bigger things.
The best way to experience this movie is to treat it as a time capsule. It represents a specific moment in Disney history where they were trying to be edgy and traditional at the same time. It’s weird, it’s uneven, and it’s occasionally annoying, but it has more personality than most of the polished, corporate remakes we see today. Grab some popcorn, find your cat, and dive back into the strange world of 1997 suburban espionage.