Cats Don't Dance (1997) (2024)

Cast _*InterestingFacts _*Interviewwith Mark Dindal _*ProductionDetails

Directedby: Mark Dindal
Written by: Mark Dindal (story),Robert Lence
Music by: Steve Goldstein(songs), Randy Newman

Released on: March 26, 1997
Running Time: 75 minutes

Budget: $32 million
U.S. Opening Weekend: $1.212 million over1,252 screens
Box-Office: $3.6 million in the U.S.

CAST

Danny... Scott Bakula
Sawyer... Jasmine Guy (speaking), Natalie Cole (singing)
Darla Dimple... Ashley Peldon (speaking), Lindsay Ridgeway (singing)
Tillie Hippo... Kathy Najimy
Francis... Betty Lou Gerson

INTERESTINGFACTS

Cats Don't Dance was nominated for 7 Annies and received 2 awards:for Best Animated Feature and Best Individual Achievement: Music in a Feature/HomeVideo Production (Randy Newman).

The end credits read: "No animals were harmed in making this film.Although, a few had to be erased and redrawn."

Movie legend Gene Kelly was a consultant for the dance sequences.

Betty Lou Gerson (Francis)is better known as the voice of Cruella de Vil in 101Dalmatians.

INTERVIEWWITH DIRECTOR MARK DINDAL

AnimationWorld Network sat down with Mark Dindal in November 2000, three yearsafter the release Cats Don't Dance. The director looked back athis movie...

Q: It all start while you were working at Disney.

MarkDindal: At that time they weren't making the number of movies theyare now. That was when Jeffrey Katzenberg was at Disney, and his tastewas for things that were much more 'real' and literal. We pitched a coupleof things, and had the 'gong shows' as they called them. We tried to pitchan adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda. There was something withdragons that was on a more serious note, and then there was a comic versionof that as well.

All of the ideas I was working on had more of a cartoon sensibilitythan where he wanted to go at the time. So it didn't seem like I was amatch and I ended up leaving and trying to make something happen -- elsewhere.This was in '92. It was one of those things where it wasn't under the bestcirc*mstances that I left. When I look back, I think, 'Why did you go aboutit that way?' I would know how to handle it a lot better now then I didat that time.

I needed to go, I felt I had to go, and I sort of wrestled my way outand ended up at Turner on Cats Don't Dance. I wish it hadn't happenedthat way, but the lessons I learned by having gone out and now coming backto Disney, I don't know that I would've had this perspective that I haveany other way; at the end it was valuable for me.

Q: Lessons in company politics, or relationships...

Mark Dindal: In just sort of everything. The way to makea movie, the way to understand what the artists need, what the managementis trying to deal with -- just having more of a global awareness of thewhole animation industry. So you're not wrapped up in the one little thingthat you're doing and throwing a fit and not realizing why things are.Even when you find out why things are it can be frustrating, but that'sjust sort of life on Planet Earth. In the end it ended up being a goodthing. I wouldn't want to go through it again, but I think I'm smarterfor having done it that way.

Q: The snappiness of the action, the quick cutting and posing remindedme of [WB animation director Bob] Clampett.

Mark Dindal: Yeah, we looked at those -- I liked the heightenedreality that they achieved in those cartoons. One thing we're always tryingto do is increase the productivity of the animators without making it obviousto the audience that you had to cut corners. Something that ChuckJones was very clever with was putting a lot of attitude and a lotof entertainment on the screen. When you actually studied those cartoonsyou'd see how long he would actually hold things. The style in which thecharacters would move would still be very entertaining, but they were farmore economically animated than in a feature production.

Q: Was it smooth sailing once you took the story in this direction?

Mark Dindal: The person that was in charge of the Turner animationdivision changed several times. There may have been at least five differentpeople over the course of the production, and with each person came a newtake on how we should do the story... That tended to slow the process down.

Q: Was this during pre-production?

Mark Dindal: Oh no, we were right in the middle of it.

Q: It looks pretty seamless.

Mark Dindal: It was rocky going. There were some drastic suggestions,like changing it from the '40s era to 1950s rock & roll, pretty muchin the middle of the movie. It's pretty hard to try and keep what you havefinished so far, and then suddenly transition into a different period oftime or introduce a different character or have a completely differentending that doesn't seem to fit the beginning you have.

Q: Were the end posters showing the film's characters starring inmodern-day films a result of last minute tinkering from on high?

Mark Dindal: We had all the characters done up in classic movies--tous they were so much more fun. They were films like Casablanca,that everyone knew. I think Singin' in the Rain was the only onethat made it into the film. It was funnier to see these guys having takenthose roles, as opposed to Grumpy Old Men or Twister, butthat was one of those 'how to survive' decisions. The films we ended upusing were all Warner Bros. or Turner titles. If we used others, we would'vehad to pay fees for the rights to use them. At that point there was justenough money left to finish it in color.

Q: Well, you said you wanted to work in black and white... Was providing[Darla's evil, gargantuan butler] Max's voice yourself a director's perk?

Mark Dindal: I recorded a temporary scratch track for Max, whichwe intended to replace with a professional actor later on. When we ranout of money at the end of production, my voice wound up staying in thefilm.

Q: Gene Kelly is credited with the film's choreography. Did he havean active role in its production?

Mark Dindal: We probably saw him three or four times. I thinkwe first met him a little more than a year before he died. It wasn't likehe would demonstrate steps or anything -- we talked more about the philosophyof approaching musicals and what they were originally thinking back whenmusicals were being made all the time.

It was interesting, because he said, 'Now we're in a very analyticalage, because there's so many books to read and films to watch.' I got asimilar response from Ward Kimball when I asked him the same question.But at that time there wasn't the history we have now, so they were justtrying things. They basically said, 'We would try stuff, and if it workedwe kept it and if it didn't we would try something else.'

Q: Was there anything that just didn't work in Cats Don't Dance?

Mark Dindal: Oh, yeah, but I can't remember anything in particular...andon New Groove too. Again, that's part of the process that you have to gothrough en route to the final product. It made the people without the experienceat Turner nervous, because obviously money's going out the door and you'renot seeing any results. At Disney they realize there's gonna be a certainamount of that. They're not stupid, they're not just gonna let things goout the door endlessly, but they realize that's part of it.

Q: An investment, sure.

Mark Dindal: And that it will pay off. If you've never done itbefore, you think, 'Oh my gosh, the meter's running and this guy's notdriving at all.'

Q: Do you think it was Turner's lack of experience in animation,or the Turner merger into Time Warner that deprived Cats Don't Danceof a bigger opening?

Mark Dindal: Well, when we were at Turner I certainly got thefeeling that it was going to be a major launch, that it was a bigger fishfor them. I was much more encouraged with what they were talking aboutdoing, how they were going to position it.

At the time they had successfully launched quite a few things with effectivead campaigns. But when the film went to Warner Bros. everybody felt itwas going to become a smaller fish and it would get lost; I was tryingto remain optimistic that it wouldn't happen.

I think very objectively they looked at it and decided there wouldn'tbe a market for it. It wasn't something they responded to, they didn'tthink people would eat it up.

All the good reviews we got came too late to have a positive effect.The first responses from test screenings were very rough because the filmwas still very rough -- a lot of sequences were still only pencil tests.I don't know if most audiences can look at this black and white coloringbook they see on the screen and imagine what it's going to look like whenit's finished.

So the test screenings didn't go very well. All of it just pointed tonot throwing too much money at the film. But after it was released therewere quite a few reviews that were very favorable. It would've helped hadthey come out earlier.

Q: Was Cats Don't Dance a labor of love?

Mark Dindal: It had to be because it went through so much 'changingof the guard.' We had so many problems in making it, and this went on fora little over five years. That was a long time to be hanging with that,and so -- it was a labor of love. All of us really liked it. We wantedto make a movie that wasn't just an 'edgy cartoon' and they kept pushingthat. It was a family movie, and not Beavis & Butthead. I don't havethe taste, I don't have the desire, to do that -- this is what I'd liketo do.

You remember The Ed Sullivan Show where they had the plate spinner?I remember as a kid thinking one of the most exciting things on TV waswatching that guy. At times during Cats Don't Dance I felt justlike him; we would have several 'plates' going and then they would allstart wobbling at the same time.

In the end we got it all to come together. And again, I think it wasa valuable experience -- it contributed to the great appreciation I havenow for the way the process works at Disney.

Q: They're more supportive here?

Mark Dindal: Yeah, they're aware of the process and they trustthe process. They know what to expect it to look like, what'll work andnot work, because they've been through it.

Q: What happened after Cats Don't Dance? Did Time Warner closedown the Turner animation unit?

Mark Dindal: They didn't close it down, but it just seemed toall of us there that the future was really uncertain. I had had enoughof trying to push a movie through under those circ*mstances. Then I gota call from a friend at Disney, Randy Fullmer. We had known each otherfor quite a while, 10 years or so since we worked together on LittleMermaid. He was going to produce Grooveand he gave me a call to come back over to Disney.

I felt I had gotten all of the 'roaming' out of my system, and had reallylearned a lot of valuable things, and I was really ready at that time tocome back to a place that had a history and understood the process of animation.

Q: When was this call?

Mark Dindal: That was the beginning of '97, when we were finishingCDD.I finished and then two months later I started at Disney. I didn't takemuch time off--Groove was something they were already working on.I just got on--I felt like it was an opportunity I didn't want to passup.

PRODUCTIONDETAILS

DEVELOPMENT

"I've always been drawn to American themes inmy movies," says producer David Kirschner, who first made his mark on Hollywoodby writing the animated hit An AmericanTail. "In the 1930s it was almost impossible for anyonewho looked different from the mainstream or had an accent to succeeed inHollywood, and those who did found themselves largely typecast. Wewanted to refer to that struggle for recognition in this story, using theanimal characters as a metaphor."

The original idea for Cats Don't Dancecame from stories about a group of semi-wild cats who have, for decades,populated the back lot of Warner Bros. Studios. The cats live behindthe building facades where such immortal films as "Casablanca," "East ofEden" and "The Music Man" were filmed, and are fed by stagehands who admirethe independence and feline appeal of their four-legged "neighbors."

When the cat-based story was presented to Kirschnerand his partner, Paul Gertz, they knew that it could achieve even moreresonance by intertwining itself with the images of classic Hollywood song-and-dancemusicals.

"`Family films' are the most satisfying kind tomake, because you're talking to such a broad audience," acknowledges Kirschner."But we felt that the references to the Golden Era musicals would be appealingto everyone; I never get tired of seeing those wonderful moments in `Singin'In The Rain.' That was the feeling we wanted to capture in animation."

Kirschner contacted Mark Dindal, a talented younganimator whom Kirschner had first met several years before, when Dindal,who had supervised animation effects on Disney's TheLittle Mermaid, was working on The Rocketeer, and Kirschnerwas CEO of Hanna-Barbera Studios. Recalls Dindal, "A year after Imet David Kirschner I received a phone call at seven o'clock in the morningfrom him. I thought it was a prank, but it wasn't; he wanted me todirect Cats Don't Dance."

Dindal was excited to make the leap from his previousanimation work to directing an entire film. Furthermore, he and Kirschnerwanted to explore different color palettes and styles that would take advantageof the explosion of technology and its effect on animation.

The project was joined at this time by Brian McEntee,a gifted art director whose previous credits included the art directionfor Beauty and the Beast andTheBrave Little Toaster, two critically-lauded and popular animated hits.McEntee brought great enthusiasm for the project and many ideas for boththe look and the execution of the film into the mix. Says Dindal,"Brian had supervised the computer animation in the ballroom scene of Beautyand the Beast. He knew that we could use those same techniques,as well as traditional hand-painted cels and other state-of-the art software,to give this film a rich, multi-dimensional look."

Joining the team of filmmakers at this point weretwo artists whose work would have a very specific effect upon the completedfilm. Composer and songwriter Randy Newman, whose recent work includessoundtracks for James and the GiantPeach, Toy Story and the live-actionMichael,came on board to create six songs for the film. And ancing-acting-filmmakinglegend Gene Kelly became a consultant on the dance sequences.

SaysPaul Gertz, "We watched dozens of old movie musicals to get the tone ofour story right -- the rhythms of speech, body language and story conventions.And in the process of watching all these fabulous dance numbers, it occurredto us that we could at least ask Gene Kelly if he would give us some adviceon the creation of our own dances. To our delight, he was so takenby what the story suggested that he committed immediately."

"It was really amazing," says Mark Dindal."We went to Gene Kelly's house one day to talk about the film. Hewas, at this time, in frail health, but he was charming and very interestedin our work. We sat outside and talked about certain sequences inGene's own movies and how they had been choreographed, and he could rememberevery little detail -- what was done, how it was decided, what was consideredand rejected, how it had turned out. He was a truly unique artist."

David Kirschner voiced much the same feeling aboutworking with Randy Newman. "Randy is part of a musical dynasty that'shad a big influence on Hollywood. His uncles and brother are alsofilm composers of great note, and Randy himself is a joy to work with.He brings the best of the past and present together in his songs."

In addition to Randy Newman's songs, the productionbrought in Steve Goldstein to compose the score for the movie. Goldsteinhad a fine sense of comedy, classic movie history, and animation, includingin his resume such projects as "When the Lion Roars," a history of MGMmusicals; the award-winning special "In Search of Dr. Seuss," and the musicalarrangments for "The Birdcage." Says Dindal, "We heard lots of tapes,of course, and many of them were fine, but I played Steve's in my car onthe way home, and by the time I arrived at my house, I called Paul Gertzand said, `This is the guy.'"

CASTING

At this point, the core team of filmmakers wasassembled and it was time to begin casting the roles. As is the traditionin animation, the voice actors are videotaped as they record the voicesof their characters; this enables the animators to use specific body languagefrom each of the actors to lend dimension to their characterizations.

ScottBakula, best known to audiences as the star of the hit television series"Quantum Leap," was cast as Danny. Explains Paul Gertz, "People willbe very surprised when they hear Danny and realize that it's Scott's voicedoing all that singing. Scott had had a successful career starringon Broadway before he began working in television and film. He'sa very experienced singer and dancer, and he was a natural choice for Danny."

Sawyer, Danny's verbal sparring partner and, eventually,his lady love, is voiced by Jasmine Guy, who became known to televisionviewers as snooty Whitley Gilbert on the hit series "A Different World."Sawyer's singing voice is provided by recording diva Natalie Cole."There was something special about working with Natalie, who's a wonderfultalent on her own, and whose father, Nat, was a part of Hollywood's fabulouspast," says Kirschner. "Somehow I think it shows up in her interpretationof the music; there is a classic charm and romance to it."

Other character voices were provided by such talentsas George Kennedy, Hal Holbrook, Rene Auberjonois, John Rhys-Davies, KathyNajimy, Betty Lou Gerson (the voice of the animated Cruella DeVil) andDon Knotts. "Many of these actors have worked in animation before,and many others have done radio drama, which has trained them in usingevery expressive nuance in their voices," says Kirschner. "We wantedeach character to be an individual -- to sound as if they looked, movedand acted a certain way."

The scheming star Darla Dimple was voiced by nine-year-oldAshley Peldon, who has herself been acting since her toddler days and ismost recently seen in the acclaimed live-action drama "The Crucible."

The voice casting of the cute penguin Pudge isits own version of the classic Hollywood story, recalls Mark Dindal."A ggroup of animators was eating lunch together in an outdoor cafe oneday and a little boy came over to ask us for directions. Someoneanswered him and he walked away. At that same moment, another animatorblurted, `That's Pudge exactly!,' and we all realized it was true.

"So we rushed after him and asked if he'd everacted -- which he hadn't -- and if he'd like to -- which he would -- andthe rest is moviemaking history. Little Matthew Harried became aterrific voice for Pudge."

ANIMATION

DavidKirschner, Paul Gertz and Mark Dindal wanted to bring in the most giftedanimators they could find. At the time they began production on "CatsDon't Dance," the feature animation divisions recently established at severalmajor studios did not exist -- instead, there were just a lot of artistswho wanted to express themselves beyond the artistic conventions of mainstreamanimation. The filmmakers took advantage of this bounty.

Jay Jackson and Bob Scott became Directing Animatorsfor Danny. They have something in common with Danny, Jackson jokinglyexplains. "We're naive Midwesterners who came to Hollywood to make it bigin movies."

Jackson studied at the Kansas City Art Instituteand began his career with animated commercials and educational films. Hespent 10 years at Disney, first as a rough in-betweener on TheFox and the Hound, then as an animator for TheBlack Cauldron, Mickey'sChristmas Carol, The GreatMouse Detective, Oliver andCompany and The Little Mermaid.

Although he grew up near Detroit, Bob Scott movedwest to study animation at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).He worked for DIC and Marvel Productions, and has animation credits onthe short Roger Rabbit's Tummy Trouble and the features FernGully,The Last Rainforest and The Pagemaster.

Lennie K. Graves, Directing Animator for Sawyer,owes a lot to his older brother, Livie, who recognized Lennie's imagination,humor and drawing ability when they were growing up in New York.One day while they were watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon together, Livie blurtedout, "That's what you should do!"

Lennie studied animation at Manhattan's Schoolof Visual Arts, and then headed to California, portfolio in hand.Two days later, he had a job with DePatie-Freling as a breakdowner.The company folded three months later, but not before Graves had movedup to assistant animator status. His talents quickly led him to ajob animating Filmation's television shows, and eventually to a positionat Disney, where he was an animator on The Prince and the Pauper,Beautyand the Beast, and supervising and directing animator on Bebe'sKids.

Gravesdescribes Sawyer as the film's "most difficult character, more subtle,restrained and graceful." Although she was designed around a flowingline, Graves tried to keep her from becoming a female stereotype.Graves has broken a stereotype in his own life, as one of only a few African-Americansin the animation field.

Frans Vischer, Directing Animator for Darla Dimpleand Max the Butler, was born in Holland, where as a child he laboriouslycopied sketches from "Donald Duck Magazine." He was 11 when his familymoved to San Jose, California. Unable to speak English on his firstday of school, he used the universal language of cartoons to communicatehis need to visit the washroom by handing his teacher a hastily-drawn sketch.

Vischer's mother sent some of his sketches toDisney, which led to several visits to the studio and encouragement fromDisney
executives, including the appropriately namedproduction head, Don Duckwall. A few years later, Vischer met legendaryWarner Bros. animator Chuck Jones, who urged him to apply to CalArts.

Vischer became an in-betweener for Mickey'sChristmas Carol and The BlackCauldron, then later worked on George Lucas' Ewoks' Adventureas an animator. Vischer was also an animator on the groundbreakingWhoFramed Roger Rabbit? in 1987 and its subsequent short film, RogerRabbit's Tummy Trouble.

When he joined Cats Don't Dance in 1993,Vischer fleshed out the basic design of Darla Dimple, transforming herinto a "caricature of cute." For Max the Butler, Vischer drew a "broad,absurd character" patterned after Erich Von Stroheim's portrayal of GloriaSwanson's butler in "Sunset Boulevard."

Directing Animators Jill Culton and Kevin Johnsonteam up for six characters -- T.W. the Turtle, Woolie the Mammoth, Cranstonthe Goat, Francis the Fish, Tillie the Hippo and Pudge the Penguin.After graduating from CalArts, Culton worked as a storyboard artist onToyStory.

ForJohnson, animation brought a welcome career change from his job as a juniorhigh school art teacher. His training at CalArts led to work on suchprojects as The Pagemaster.

Stevan Wahl, Supervising Animator for Flaniganthe Director, got his big break when Art Director Brian McEntee hired himfor layout on Brave Little Toaster. That led to jobs on "RoverDangerfield," "Bebe's Kids" and "Betty Boop."

Chad Stewart, Supervising Animator for FarleyWink the Agent, has worked on layout for "The Simpsons" and animation for"Family Dog" and The Pagemaster.

Says Mark Dindal, "We had a really outstandinggroup of talented people working on this movie, overseeing about 25 animatorsduring a four-and-a-half-year period. All told, with support staffincluded, we had about 250 people working on the animation for CatsDon't Dance. I think that, due to what is now possible in digitallycreating backdrops and using computer software for the ink-and-paint process,we could create images that could not have been done with twice this manypeople in pre-computer days."

Dindal describes the process as "a complete teamsport. You get the best ideas when you have the right group of people withthe right chemistry working together and building on each other's ideasas you go."

He notes that the artists and animators took painsto maintain continuity and freshness despite the time they spent makingthe film. "Animation is a laborious, tedious process," Dindal observes."It's not for those who need instant gratification."

Emphasizes Brian McEntee, "It's important forpeople to realize that the computer doesn't draw or color anything by itself-- everything still has to be created by an artist or programmer.It's just that colors, perspectives and relative sizes of images can bemanipulated in the computer without throwing away the original design --they can be modified simply by choosing another color from the computerpalatte rather than scraping off paint and re-painting, for instance.But the artist's personal style is always there."

Creating the look of the film was like "drawingup blueprints for a universe," McEntee observes. "The biggest challengewas to get all the artists to channel their passions into a shared vision."The result is a colorful portrayal of early Hollywood's Art Deco look.McEntee feels the story is expressed through the "language of colors" ina pale, subtle palette punctuated by zaps of powerful color.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

During the animation on Cats Don't Dance,Randy Newman was creating songs that gently poked fun at the idealism ofthe `30s movie hopeful while capturing the melodic, danceable sound thathas made so many of those songs into classics.

Muses Mark Dindal, "One of the things that stuckin my mind after we spoke with people who'd been part of Hollywood's GoldenAge was the number of times they described an effect or stunt that theyhad never done before. They said, `We just DID it, and if it worked,we left it.'

"We're more analytical about film today -- wehave more history to look back on, and the cost of making movies is sohigh that it leaves less room for experimentation. But we're stilltrying to push the boundaries of the possible, and some of that pioneering,risk-taking outlook is still what makes today's movies great.

"I like to think that we've kind of tipped ourhats to the best of both worlds with Cats Don't Dance -- it's anhomage to the past, but created with the talents of the present and thetechnology of the future. And the message -- giving everyone a chanceto be his or her best by pursuing what they truly love -- is timeless."

VOICE CAST

SCOTT BAKULA (Danny) is probablybest known for his five-year run on the critically acclaimed NBC drama"Quantum Leap," for which he earned a 1992 Golden Globe and received fouradditional Golden Globe nominations, as well as four Emmy award nominations.However, his credits include numerous well-received performances in filmand theater as well.

Bakula was seen in the feature films "Lord ofIllusions," "My Family/Mi Familia," "Color of Night," "A Passion to Kill"and "Necessary Roughness," after making his feature debut in 1990's "SiblingRivalry."

In addition to his starring roles in "QuantumLeap" and the current series "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," Bakula has played arecurring character on the hit comedy series "Murphy Brown," and has starredin telefilms including ABC's "Nowhere to Hide," NBC's "Mercy Mission: TheRescue of Flight 771" and CBS's "The Bachelor's Baby."

He began his career in theater, making his Broadwaydebut as Joe DiMaggio in "Marilyn: An American Fable," and appearing inthe critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of "3 Guys Naked Fromthe Waist Down." After appearing in both the Los Angeles and Bostonproductions of "Nite Club Confidential," Bakula returned to Broadway inthe musical "Romance/Romance," for which he received a 1988 Tony Awardnomination.

Bakula has recorded an album of the songs whichhe performed during his five years on "Quantum Leap."

JASMINE GUY (speaking voiceof Sawyer) is best known to audiences as the snobbish Whitley Gilbert onthe hit television series "A Different World." However, the multi-talentedGuy has performed in many media as an actor, dancer and singer.

Born in Boston and raised in Atlanta, Guy beganher performing career in high school at the Northside School of performingArts in Atlanta. After graduating, she moved to New York with a scholarshipfrom the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and appeared in the Broadway musicals"Leader of the Pack" and the revival of "The Wiz," as well as in the Off-Broadwayproduction of "Beehive."

Guy's feature film credits include Spike Lee's"School Daze," and "Harlem Nights" with Eddie Murphy. On television,she has made guest appearances on such shows as "NYPD Blue," "Touched ByAn Angel" and "Melrose Place," and starred in HBO's "The Boy Who PaintedChrist Black," the CBS miniseries "Alex Hailey's Queen" and the CBS Movieof the Week "Stompin' at the Savoy," directed by Debbie Allen.

NATALIE COLE (singing voiceof Sawyer) made her professional debut at age 11 in her father Nat KingCole's production of "I'm With You" in Los Angeles. Since then shehas become one of the most popular recording artists and live performersin contemporary music.

In 1975 Cole's debut album, Inseperable, becamean instant gold record, winning two Grammy Awards and spawning the Top10 hit "This Will Be." It was followed in 1976 by Natalie, whichalso went gold; 1977's Unpredictable, which went platinum; and 1979's ILove You So, which went gold. Each of these albums spawned severalhit singles as well.

In 1987 Cole's album Everlasting earned her aGrammy nominations, an NAACP Image Award and a Soul Train Award, and spawnedthree hit singles. Her 1989 album Good To Be Back contained the Top10 hits "Miss You Like Crazy" and "Wild Women Do."

In 1991, Cole released Unforgettable With Love,a tribute to her father and his musical legacy. It sold more than11 million copies, won an unprececented seven Grammy Awards and earnedCole two American Music Awards, three Soul Train Awards and two NAACP ImageAwards. She followed it in 1993 with Take A Look, which went goldand earned her a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal performance. Thatsame year, Cole teamed with Frank Sinatra to record "They Can't Take ThatAway From Me" for his album, Duets. In 1994 Cole recorded Holly andIvy, an album of jazz-inflected Christmas
favorites.

In addition to her recording career, Cole hasappeared in several television series, including "I'll Fly Away" and "TouchedBy An Angel," and in the telefilm "Lily in Winter" and the TNT broadcastof "The Wizard of Oz," performed at Lincoln Center in New York.

FILMMAKERS

MARK DINDAL (Director) caughtthe animation bug at the age of six when his grandmother took him to seeTheSword in the Stone. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Dindal spentmost of his childhood in Syracuse, New York. His father, who dabbledin art as a hobby, taught his young son how to draw.

In 1978, Dindal moved west to attend the CaliforniaInstitute of the Arts in Valencia, California, where he produced a studentfilm on special effects animation. That project landed him a jobat Disney in 1980 as an effects animation artist on TheFox and the Hound. While at Disney, Dindal picked up additionalcredits as special effects animator on TheBlack Cauldron, Mickey'sChristmas Carol, and TheGreat Mouse Detective.

He left Disney in 1985 to freelance in televisionand commercial projects, but returned in 1987 as special effects animatorfor Disney's Oliver and Company.The animated segments in The Rocketeer were directed by Dindal,and he served as visual effects supervisor on the blockbuster film, TheLittle Mermaid.

Dindal's transition into the area of story developmentled to his work on this film project, which marks his debut as a feature
director.

DAVID KIRSCHNER(Producer) is equally at home in the worlds of live action and animatedfilm. He was the creator and executive producer (with Steven Spielberg)of the smash hit animated feature An AmericanTail, as well as the creator, writer and producer of the threeChild'sPlay horror movies, which became cult favorites. More recently,Kirschner created and produced the live-action comedy-thrillerHocus-Pocus,starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy.

A native of Southern California, Kirschner beganhis career as an illustrator for Jim Henson's Muppet and Sesame Streetcharacters. At age 23, Kirschner wrote and illustrated a series ofchildren's books entitled Rose Petal Place. The series, which spawneda total of 16 books, two television specials and more than 1,100 differentproducts, became a huge success.

Kirschner collaborated with Spielberg on AnAmerican Tail in 1986, followed by the Child's Play series.In 1989, he became CEO at Hanna-Barbera, the acclaimed animation studioresponsible for the creation of such time-honored series as "The Flintstones"and "Yogi Bear." During his four years at Hanna-Barbera, Kirschnerlaunched a full slate of animated programs,including the Emmy Award-winningseries "The Addams Family" and the hit miniseries "The Pirates of DarkWater."

He also created and produced a number of innovatetelevision specials, including the Emmy-winning "The Last Halloween" forCBS, which was the first television longform to combine computer-generatedimages and animation with live action; the NBC telefilm "The Dreamer ofOz," about the life of L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizardof Oz, which won both the Christopher Award and the Youth in Film Award;and "The Halloween Tree," written by Ray Bradbury, which won the Emmy Awardfor Best Animated Children's program.

Kirschner executive produced the box office hitfeature "The Flintstones" and produced the animated musical film OnceUpon a Forest. He then co-wrote and produced the live-action/animatedfantasy The Pagemaster, which became the largest-selling non-Disneyanimated video title in history.

BRIAN MC ENTEE (Art Director)grew up in the Silicon Valley town of Sunnyvale, where he showed an earlyaffinity for art. His parents took him to art museums and showeredhim with stacks of drawing paper and art kits for Christmas.

In 1978, McEntee entered California Instituteof the Arts (CalArts) where he set his sights on a fine arts major.Urged to try the school's impressive animation curriculum, he initiallyfound the process "tedious, awful, boring and time-consuming." Nonetheless,after shooting his first animation project on video, McEntee began to seethe potential of what he perceived as "an amazing art form."

After two years at CalArts, McEntee was hiredat Disney, where he served as an in-betweener on TheFox and the Hound and worked on the layout for the seven-minuteshort, Fun with Mr. Future. Afterwards, McEntee pursuedcommercials, television and other projects, including art direction, storydevelopment and layout for The Brave Little Toaster.

McEntee's list of Disney credits includes a stintin layout design and story development for TheGreat Mouse Detective in 1986 and art direction for the DisneyWorld Health Pavilion "Cranium Command" segment and for the enormouslysuccessful Beauty and the Beast.

Executive producer DAVID STEINBERGdrew his way into the animation industry as an artist on Don Bluth's 1982feature, The Secret of NIMH beforegraduating to assistant director on Steven Spielberg's AnAmerican Tail and The LandBefore Time.

After helping to develop AllDogs Go to Heaven in Dublin with Bluth, Steinberg returned to LosAngeles to direct animation for several short projects, including the innovativetheme-park attraction "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera."

Steinberg served as production manager on thefeature "Rover Dangerfield" before joining Turner Pictures in 1992 to co-producethe animation for The Pagemaster.

Composer/Songwriter RANDYNEWMAN is best known for his whimsical and usually ironic lyrics on songslike "Short People" and "I Love LA." that have earned him critical accoladesfor more than two decades.

Born into the quintessential musical family--bothhis uncles, Alfred and Lionel, were film composers--Newman himself wasa writer for a Los Angeles music publishing company by the age of 17.

His motion picture compositions have earned praisefor nearly every feature film project in which he has been involved.He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards for his songs and scoreson "Ragtime" (Best Song and Best Score); "The Natural" (Best Score); "Parenthood"(Best Song); "Avalon" (Best Score); "The Paper" (Best Song); and ToyStory (Best Song and Best Score). He also earned a GrammyAward for his soundtrack recording to "The Natural," Grammy nominationsfor his scores to "Avalon" and "Awakenings," and a Golden Globe nominationand Chicago Film Critics Award for his "Toy Story" score.

His other feature scoring credits include "TheThree Amigos" and "Overboard." Newman also wrote the theme and songsfor the innovative television series "Cop Rock."

Among his recordings are "Twelve Songs," "RandyNewman Live," "Trouble in Paradise," "The Natural," "Sail Away," "Ragtime,""Good Ol' Boys," "Little Criminals" and "Born Again."

In September, 1995, Newman premiered his opera"Faust" in La Jolla to critical praise before moving it to Chicago's prestigiousGoodman Theatre in the fall of 1996. A Broadway run is planned for"Faust" this year.

Composer STEVEN GOLDSTEINrecently served as the orchestral arranger on the comedy hit "The Birdcage."His music can also be heard in the films "The Breakfast Club" and "Joevs. the Volcano," and in the Emmy Award-winning series "MGM: When the LionRoars" and the telefilm "In Search of Dr. Seuss," which was nominated fora Cable ACE Award.

A graduate of California In stitute of the Arts,Goldstein has worked with a variety of recording artists including DollyParton, Frank Zappa, Diana Ross, The Motels (with whom he wrote the TopTen hit "Suddenly Last Summer"), Smokey Robinson, Leonard Cohen and KimCarnes (for whom he arranged the smash hit "Bette Davis Eyes").

Goldstein was Music Director for the 1995's America'sCup festivities and led the orchestra for the Los Angeles Olympic Festival.