The Aristocats was inspired by the true story of a Parisian family of cats, circa 1910, that inherited a fabulous fortune.
The character of Scat Cat was designed to be voiced by Louis Armstrong. The character's look was modeled after Armstrong - the way he played his trumpet, his roly-poly physique, right down to the prominent gap between his teeth. However, Armstrong was unable to record a single line due to illness. His replacement, Scatman Crothers, was directed to "Pretend you're Satchmo."
This was the last animated feature to be approved by Walt Disney and the studio's first animated feature to be entirely completed after his death. It should be noted, however, that Disney had spent time working on the story for Les Aventures de Bernard et Bianca (1977) (released seven years later) around the time Le Livre de la jungle (1967) entered production.
The Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman) talked Maurice Chevalier out of retirement to sing the title song. It was his last work before his death in 1972.
The characters of Toulouse and Berlioz are named after two famous French artists - painter and illustrator Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and composer Hector Berlioz.