That Darn Cat is a 1997 American mystery comedy film starring Christina Ricci and Doug E. Doug. It is a remake of the 1965 film That Darn Cat!, which in turn was based on the book Undercover Cat by Gordon and Mildred Gordon. It is directed by British TV veteran Bob Spiers (most famous for Fawlty Towers, as well as Spice World) and written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, best known for Ed Wood and the first two Problem Child films.
Plot[]
A pair of bumbling kidnappers break into the house of the president with the intention of kidnapping his wife and holding her for ransom. Things don't go according to plan when they mistakenly kidnap house maid Lizzie instead.
Patti Randal is a bored and angry teen who is sick of her quiet and boring town of Edgefield, Massachusetts just 60 miles from Boston. She wishes for more adventure and excitement to come to her boring town. She gets her wish when her pet cat DC walks into the kidnappers hideout during his nightly prowl where Lizzie gives him a watch with HELL scribbled on it. She intended to fully write "HELP" on it, but had to nix on finishing and quickly put it on DC in such way to avoid being caught when the kidnapper's phone rings near her.
Patti sees the watch the next morning and immediately puts it together that the watch was from Lizzie and was meant to say HELP. Nobody believes Patti, causing her to doctor the evidence by turning the last L on the watch into a P. She goes to Boston and pleads her case to Agent Zeke Kelso at the FBI and he believes her.
Zeke's captain allows Zeke and his agent to tail DC during his prowl in hopes of being led to the kidnappers and Lizzie. The operation goes nowhere, causing Zeke to be taken off the case. Zeke and Patti continue investigating anyway, which leads to nothing but dead ends and eventually ends with them being arrested. Patti's manipulation of the watch evidence gets exposed shortly thereafter.
Patti is punished by her parents for her actions. She is so distraught she decides to run away and leave town. Through having met someone at the train station who is leaving for the same reasons as her, and through a personal conversation, she eventually comes to her senses and decides not to board the next train out of town. Patti sees DC digging through the town garden on her walk back from the train station. DC takes off and Patti chases him, where he leads her to the kidnappers hideout where they find Lizzie bound and gagged with duct tape.
Patti calls Zeke to let him know she has found Lizzie but Zeke, still upset with Patti doesn't want to hear it. This causes Patti and DC to enter the kidnappers hideout. Patti attempts to rescue Lizzie, but she fails and in the process gets herself and DC captured as the kidnappers show up and surprise her.
Zeke decides to re-open the case after he gets a call from Patti's parents asking if he has seen her since she went missing. Zeke investigates and follows a trail that leads him to the kidnappers where he finds Lizzie, Patti, and DC bound and gagged (Lizzie and Patti tied to chairs with their mouths duct taped, while DC sat in a litter box trapped inside a burlap sack with black cloth over his eyes).
Zeke exposes the identities of the kidnappers as the seemingly harmless Ma and Pa. Ma and Pa kidnapped Lizzie because they partied away all their cash in Monte Carlo and the Riviera, plus they were also bored out of their skulls. Zeke manages to free Patti and DC while Ma and Pa escape with Lizzie in their possession. A final chase ensues as Zeke, Patti, and DC attempt to catch Ma and Pa and rescue Lizzie. During the chase, Spike the dog escapes after his fence breaks down and runs at the cat show, which causes all the cats to run out. DC joins them and run up top the roofs of each building, DC and the cats jump off and landed on Ma and Pa's car causing them to crash.
Ma and Pa are arrested, Lizzie is reunited with the President and his Wife, Patti and DC are nominated as heroes, Patti is reunited with her parents. After everything is back to normal, Dusty and Rollo the 2 rival car repairmen are now working together, Melvin and Lu end up together. Patti has also become Zeke's partner, DC has married the cat he saw in the window earlier, and they both have kittens. Causing Zeke to sneeze and both walk to DC and his family.
Cast[]
- Christina Ricci as Patti Randall
- Doug E. Doug as Agent Zeke Kelso
- Dean Jones as Mr. Flint
- Elvis as D.C. the cat
- George Dzundza as FBI Capt. Boetticher
- Peter Boyle as Pa
- Michael McKean as Peter Randall
- Bess Armstrong as Judy Randall
- Dyan Cannon as Mrs. Flint
- John Ratzenberger as Dusty, a Mechanic.
- Megan Cavanagh as Lu the Butcher.
- Estelle Parsons as Old Lady McCracken
- Rebecca Schull as Ma
- Tom Wilson as Melvin, a Patrol Man.
- Brian Haley as Marvin, a Patrol Man.
- Mark Christopher Lawrence as Rollo, a Mechanic who constantly provokes Dusty
- Rebecca Koon as Lizzie, the Flints' Maid
- Wilbur Fitzgerald as Scientist
Theatrical Trailer[]
Disney's That Darn Cat (1997)