The Aristocats (1970)

The Aristocats (1970)

6/10

Starring the voices of

Phil Harris

Eva Gabor

Hermione Baddeley

Gary Dubin

Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman

The last project approved before Walt Disney’s death in 1966 was The Aristocats, which was later released in 1970. This animation is in a class of its own, exploring themes of society’s different classes. It tells the tale of a graceful mother cat named Duchess and her three kittens—Berlioz, Marie, and Toulouse—who live in a high-class world but eventually mingle with alley cats.
The Aristocats features the unforgettable song that every viewer easily recalls: “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat.”
The movie is filled with all kinds of characters, and it avoids the cliché of Duchess feeling too superior to mix with the alley cats. Instead, Duchess is welcoming to every cat, especially Thomas O’Malley, a charming alley cat who’s mesmerized by her beauty. Together, they meet O’Malley’s crew, and Duchess and her kittens fit right in, with Duchess showing she’s a true lady through and through. Now you can actually paint Duchess as a naïve cat, who is just experiencing the outside world for the first time.

The Aristocats is an animated romantic adventure musical comedy and Disney’s 20th animated feature film.

Here’s how the story goes: Duchess and her three kittens live with a wealthy retired opera diva named Madame Bonfamille and her English butler, Edgar.
Madame Bonfamille is getting older and decides to write her will, leaving everything she owns to her beloved cats. Edgar, the seemingly loyal butler, has been serving the Madame with the expectation that he’ll inherit her fortune. However, after eavesdropping, he learns of her plan to leave everything to the cats. Determined to get his way, Edgar decides to kidnap the cats and get rid of them.

He successfully kidnaps the cats, but things don’t go as planned when it comes to disposing of them. When the cats wake up alone and lost, they meet Thomas O’Malley, who decides to help them return home to Paris.
The journey back home forms the heart of the movie, as they navigate their way through adventures while trying to reunite with their Madame, who is heartbroken and ill due to their absence.

The story is a beautiful one, based on The Aristocats by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe. The real gems of the movie are the voice casting and the magical jazz tunes.
It was a box office hit upon its release, earning over $191 million cumulatively from its initial run and numerous re-releases over the years.