Gli Aristogatti

No. I'm not kidding with this one. He was a guest reviewer for Entertainment Weekly and gave this movie positive marks. And who can blame him? This is a charming, upbeat, and rather funny Disney movie. Who doesn't love kittens? The music in Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat is jamming. It makes me want to snap my fingers or something. Only years later when Cats Don't Dance came out have I seen a movie that was that musically fun. What Aristocats lacks in animation and story, it makes up for in charm. Plus, everything moves at a relaxed pace, and even the villain isn't all that scary. It's perfect for the younger set while not being so sappy that adults can't like it. If Snoop was here, I'm sure he would say the same thing. Yeah. Dig those CRAZY cats, man.

This is NOT the masterpiece that is Snow White, Cinderella, or Bambi, but it IS a very sweet, enjoyable, romantic, well-done Disney animated feature.

There are, of course, lessons included herein for the kiddies, and some very appropriate kiddie-cheek, but there is plenty herein for the adults, as well.

While this is somewhat of a regurgitation of the Classic Disney RomCom Adventure, it still holds some elements, which solely belong to the AristoCats. O'Malley is the "tramp" and Dutchess is the "lady," but Dutchess has several kittens and they are all trying to get home.

Phil Harris is our tomcat O'Malley. You may recognize his voice, as he also furnished the voice of Baloo the Bear in the Jungle Book, and Little John in Disney's Robin Hood. Eva Gabor lends her silky sweet voice to Dutchess.

Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, who directed, or worked on, every Disney animated film worth mentioning until his death in 1985.

This is among my very favorite of the Disney animated feature films, and belongs in any Disney collection. The 2-Disk Special Edition Is Due Out This Summer (2007).

This rates an 8.4/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Complaints from previous commentators that "the pencil marks show" in the animated art shows that they miss the point entirely. The visual style is deliberately similar to what was used in '101 Dalmatians' with the characters having a deliberately sketchy look--an art style used to great effect in this and several other Disney movies. Far from being "weak animation", this is one of the very best works produced by the Disney artists. The color is superb, the humor is constant and the mere fact that the storyline bears a resemblance to the 'Dalmatians' plot does nothing to weaken the film. Upon release, it was an enormous success and has made even more money in subsequent theatrical revivals. Viewers who make comments about the art work, don't seem to realize that the "sketchy" look was what the artists sought--it has nothing whatsoever to do with careless art work. All the voices are extremely well done--Eva Gabor as the Duchess and Phil Harris as Thomas O'Malley are perfect. The slapstick comedy involving the bumbling butler and the dogs is priceless! This is another great Disney film that children and adults can enjoy equally.

> Kids will love this movie, just as they should. But, actually I thought it was cool! The characters and the music (ScatCat rocks) are fantastic to listen to, and the soundtrack is to be recommended.

An old lady makes her beloved cats the owner of her money, in her will. Her clumsy butler, Edgar, finds this idea very stupid and annoying. And a problem, since he was certain that the money would go to him. So, wise as he is, he decides to get the cats out of the picture, so he can get all the cash. Of course. He grabs them in a rainy night and throw them away in a swamp way outside the city in France.

Can't be missing in your Disney-collection.

The 20th animated Disney classic is often criticized by many people as "mediocre" or poor in quality, but it is a good movie.

Despite being extremely underrated, it is one of the funniest Disney classics. It is full of hilarious (some of them, hysterical) moments.

Edgar, the greedy butler, is the villain but a perfect comic relief. He's one of my favorite Disney villains because he is so funny.

Every scene with Edgar and the two stupid hound dogs Napoleon and Lafayette chasing him are among the most hilarious you'll ever see, especially the one when Edgar drives his motorcycle into the river and around the bridge, with the dogs chasing him. That is hysterical!

But the classic humor doesn't just come from Edgar or the hound dogs. Other characters have their moments as well.

About the quality subject, it isn't perfect, but remains on a high level. Even after Walt Disney's death those artists knew how to keep faithful to Walt's spirit and "The Aristocats" is one of those examples. They no longer make them like this!

As usual, legendary Disney actors voice the characters. In this case, we have Phil Harris, Sterling Holloway, Paul Winchell, Eva Gabor and Pat Buttram.

The characters are generally cool: Thomas O'Malley, Duchess and her 3 kittens, the mouse Roquefort, the alley cats, the English geese, the hound dogs and the horse. The human characters are included as well: the eccentric and kind retired Opera singer Madame Adelaide Bonfamille, the comic Madame's old lawyer Georges Hautecourt and Edgar himself!

About the soundtrack, it has some nice and catchy songs such as Thomas O'Malley's theme (but I can't remember its name), "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" and "The Aristocats" (sung by Maurice Chevalier), for example.

This movie takes place in Paris (France), in the year of 1910. A classic, often underestimated and forgotten, but worthy.