The Aristocats (1970)

One of my all time favorites.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Enjoyable for what it is, "The AristoCrats" simply for me brings back memories of seeing it when it first came out. I recalled the rather pretentious butler, Edgar, the kindly madame (who still looked like Cinderella's step-mother even if she was sweet), the fatherless kittens of "Duchess" and all the other assorted animals who came in and out of the slight story-two pranksterish country hounds, two overly helpful but ultimately bossy geese, a suspicious horse, a lovable mouse, and of course the various alley cats of all backgrounds who had a penchant for Le Jazz Hot. Seen 46 years later, it took me back to the small neighborhood theater that my parents dropped my siblings and I off at for 90 minutes while they went grocery shopping, and the line-up of Disney re-releases, this one being in first run and the others accompanying it as part of a children's matinée theater festival.Sweet sounding Eva Gabor is the lovable and classy Duchess whose three kittens look as if they could all have had different dads. Where the father is never is explained, and when Phil Harris joins their group after nasty Edgar dumps the cat family in the French countryside, it is obvious that Gabor has romance on her mind with this new potential Popsicle. Edgar has overheard Madame indicate that her money will go to her cats with him as executor, and in order to get his hands on her money faster decides to dispose of the cat family. With his tiny little hat popping off his huge, fat head every time his motorcycle has a back-fire, Edgar takes them out of Paris, looses them thanks to the chasing of the hound dogs, and must return when he realizes that there is evidence which could expose his plot. By this time, the cats are on their way back to Paris with the help of the very Irish Harris, and they meet up with his pals, led by Scatman Crothers' "Scat Cat" who leads a bunch of alley cats in the big musical number "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat".Going from pooh bear to tiny house mouse, Sterling Holloway is a lovable little rodent who is good friends with the classy felines and goes out of his way to find them and expose the nasty Edgar. He even risks being eaten, and that makes him perhaps the most endearing of all the non-cat animals. "Beverly Hillbillies" co-star Nancy Kulp's voice is recognizable as the horse whom Edgar naively confesses his scheme to, and there are other familiar voices as well. Disney as a studio would continue to make animated films over the next decade, and other than just being moderate hits, nothing of great importance would come along until they decided to musicalize some children's classics. But as Disney's last personally supervised animated film, "The AristoCats" was a footnote after 33 years of feature films that the master had his finger on. Every great Disney film needs a great villain, and in the case of the pompous Edgar, he's more of a comic buffoon than a truly evil human. He certainly gets his come-uppance, but he's basically just a gay version of Cruella de Vil from "101 Dalmations" and not really all that threatening when compared to the Wicked Queen, Wicked Stepmother, Malificent or later scary villains like Ursula, Jafar and Hades. This probably plays better for children than it does adults, being rather silly and juvenile in spots, but does have a few adult references that might go over the heads of pre-teen children yet be picked up instantly by grown-ups. It was great going down memory lane again with one of the few Disney animated films that I saw during its initial run, but I believe that this won't be on my repeat viewing list.

NOTE: This film was recommended to me by Lizz Rutter for "Steve Pulaski Sees It." Disney's The Aristocats is such a charming, almost compelling story that I wished the narrative didn't need to interrupt itself so sporadically with jazz-fueled musical numbers amongst not only cats, but dogs and a variety of other animals. The musical interjections, that push this Disney film over the edge into being a full-blown musical like most of their films in this respective era, unfortunately disrupts the magic these feline characters manage to conjure up when they are just trying to sift their way through their poor circumstance.The result, as one can expect, is a film that you say "aww" to over a dozen times and a film that has you either tapping your foot or rocking your legs in melodic harmony with the music. The Aristocats is a simplistic story, concerning a wealthy woman named Madame Adelaide (voiced by Hermione Baddeley) in 1910 Paris that has just signed a will granting her lavish estate to her cat Dutchess (Eva Gabor) and her three kittens. This move greatly upsets her jealous, hot-headed English butler Edgar (Roddy Maude-Roxby), who has slaved away at serving Madame Adelaide for years and has ostensibly gotten nothing in return. As a result, Edgar conjures up a plan to get rid of the cats so when Adelaide dies, he can inherit the estate. He rounds up the four cats and throws them into the street, where the four homebody felines must learn to survive in order to be reconnected with their Madame.On the long, rainy, and uncertain road back home, Duchess meets a gentle feral cat named Thomas O'Malley (Phil Harris), who has been living off the land for many years. O'Malley is kind to Duchess, as he recognizes their predicament, but most important to note is how well he responds to her kittens, playing with them and assisting them whenever they need it. Both him and Duchess strike up an affable relationship as the gang tries to get back home, but not without a few musical numbers slowing them down along the way.The Aristocats, in a strange way, could almost be seen as a parable for single parent-dating or "getting back out there," especially for a woman who has children, which is no easy process. The film showcases such a challenge with admirable conviction and a willingness to have long stretches without musical numbers or any kind of distractions in order to allow this relationship to build. For an animated film in the modern day, even some of the best ones stamped with the Disney or Disney Pixar approval can't help but feel a bit scatterbrained in some sense, stepping over their toes to try and cover all the bases in subplots, character relations, and cause-and-effect relationships that are questionably worthy of being a focus in said film.The Aristocats was birthed in a time when animation took a more relaxed and reserved approach, which is why we could see Duchess, O'Malley, and Duchess's kittens do everything from hop aboard a train to meet two snobby swans in a river below a bridge. This kind of fluid, real-time focus on the characters makes the process and narrative development all the more natural. Of course, the film cuts back to Madame Adelaide desperately trying to find her cats, along with Edgar's conniving plan to make sure the furry beasts will never come home, and the jazzy musical numbers occasionally get in the way of a film that's already extremely short (a mere seventy-eight minutes). However, nothing truly distracts from The Aristocats being simple, effervescent entertainment with a plethora of fun characters, a timely moral, and, okay, some pretty catchy jazz numbers as well.Voiced by: Edna Gabor, Phil Harris, Hermione Baddeley, and Roddy Maude-Roxby. Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman.

First saw the movie in 1972 when it was released in French Canada (the Parisian french version fits very well, with France's voice celebrities Roger Carel and Claude Bertrand among the cast...). I enjoyed it then... and still today enjoyed it so fully...Greedy butler Edgar tries to get rid of her mistress' cats to have their inheritance, however, a clever mouse, two dogs, English Goose sisters, a horse and a charming alley cat with his band of jazz cats save the day for Duchess and her kittens.Great Disney fare for all. And if you love cats, you'll fall in love with Paris and the French countryside settings. And enjoy the gags and the songs...Everybody wants to be a cat here... You'll love it !

The movie The Aristocats is great movie. Its the theme is mostly adventure. There is the mom Duchess with her three little children Marie, Toulouse, and Berlioz. Edgar the butler, makes them fall asleep with some medicine. Then proceeds to take them away but in the process drops them trying to escape some dogs. The basket of cats falls near a stream by the bridge. Once awoken they hid in the basket, while it rains. I'm the morning they meet Thomas O'Malley. He agreed to help them get to Paris. Other than helping them, Tomas saved the children a few times from being left behind, drowned, or falling off of something. When they were getting close to Paris they started liking each other more. Duchess was sad she could not bring him but Madame would be worried. My analysis is that this is an perfect example of how good is at work in this greedy world. It also gives an example of that a very kind person would help. But in real life there are very few people that would do that. Most people would be like the butler and throw the kittens out just so they could inherit some money. It an example of the trials of life. The cats have to go thought some complicated stuff to get to Paris but they also make some great memories. I really think this is a good movie it has a lot of hidden messages that different people will get out of it. It's so kind how some they meat would help them and show them parts of the world they haven't seen