Les Aristochats

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.

The Aristocats is one of my favorite animated movies, but the comparisons between this movie and past Disney classics are reasonable. The dog napping plot of One Hundred and One Dalmatians is adapted to fit the catnapping plot of The Aristocats. O'Malley and Duchess are reconstructions of Lady and the Tramp at heart. But, as long as the end result is just as enjoyable as the past movies, why complain? No matter how the success was achieved, as long as it was achieved.

The plot is simple. Madame Adelaide Bonfamille is an old millionaires spinster in Paris, 1910. The only other people in her lonely life are her cat, Duchess, and her kittens, Toulouse, Marie and Berlioz, as well as the faithful butler, Edgar. When Madame's lawyer, Georges, comes over to make Madame's will, Edgar overhears her plans. She wants to leave all her belongings to her cats, and at the end of their lifespan, the vast sums of money will go to Edgar. Quite unreasonably, Edgar is infuriated, and drugs and catnaps the kittens and dumps them in the French countryside, miles from home. There they find Thomas O'Malley, an alley cat who helps them back home, mainly because of Duchess.

The characterization of O'Malley certainly doesn't seem to have been a problem. Voiced by Phil Harris (Baloo from The Jungle Book), he also acts like the lovable bear and even looks just like you would imagine Baloo to look like, were he transmogrified into a cat. His bunch of jazz cats, led by Scat Cat, are some of the more effective Disney cameo-players. My favorite was the long-haired, blonde English Cat (besides Scat Cat, the rest have no names but clearly distinct nationalities). Roquefort the house-mouse and Frou-Frou the horse have brief roles, but shine in these glimpses. Edgar isn't really the real Disney villain in that he is not evil...he is simply impatient. He is not cruel from the start--his only sin is impatience. If he hadn't known about the will, he would've taken care of the cats as if nothing had happened. One sees his point in a way--what would those cats DO with the money? Madame could have given her estate to Edgar, and the butler would never have abandoned the cats had they not been privileged more than himself. So I like Edgar, in some ways.

The story is a mix of other Disney classics. Besides Fantasia--which had NO plot--this was Disney's first shot at writing an original story for an animated feature, and even so they had to take shortcuts. Here are the main plot elements repeated: 1) Villain-pet naps-animals-for-personal-gain from One Hundred and One Dalmatians. 2) Pampered-pet-learns-of-life-on-streets-through-streetwise-friend from Lady and the Tramp. It also borrows a little bit from Chuck Jones and Abe Levitow's Gay Purr-ee (1962). The plot is berated for being too shallow, but I don't see how it can be with so many elements of faultless classics. Again, as in the first paragraph: If the audience enjoys a story, it doesn't matter how the story developed.

The animation, so often blasted for being lazy and flawed, can never be seen the same way by everyone. It's solely a matter of opinion. The animation isn't bad, like television cartoons: it's a different style, radically different from, say, Sleeping Beauty. If that great fairy tale were portrayed by such animation, it would be the greatest failure in history; the same way, the sketchy, loose, carefree style of The Aristocats is perfect to tell that kind of story with those characters. Sleeping Beauty needed to be immaculate, as near to photography as could be; The Aristocats is the most cartoony of Disney animated features.

The Aristocats will always have an advantage over many films in my book. It was one of the few movies my dad saw in theater, so I was exposed to it more than several other movies. Besides that, it has always been one of Disney's more enjoyable features, more fun than most. It doesn't aim for the realism and drama of Bambi. It's just wholesome entertainment.

9/10

Animated version about a family of beloved Aristocats filled with humor , action , musical numbers , entertainment and fun . 1910 Paris , retired opera star Adelaide Bonfamille enjoys her wealthy life in her Paris villa with cat Duchess (voice by Eva Gabor) and three kitten : pianist Berlioz (Dean Clark voice) , painter Toulouse (Gary Dubin) sanctimonious Marie . When the loyal butler learns that Madame is planning to give her entire fortune to them he attempts to take them . As the butler Edgar overhears her will leaves everything to the cats until their death, he abducts to eliminate them . However, his plans are ruined when a pair of dogs named Lafayette and Napoleon give chase . Edgar abandons the cats in a field before heading back to Paris. With the help of a smooth talking tomcat (voice by Phil Harris) felines set to inherit a fortune from their owner try to make it back home after a jealous butler kidnaps them and leaves them in the country .

This amusing cartoon has great animated sequences well staged with stylish and vitality , adventure , romance , outstanding final and results to be pretty entertaining . There are great songs , enjoyable action sequences in countryside , including amusing ending confrontation at the climax of the film . An imaginative and jolly Disney adaptation being inspired by the true story of a Parisian family of cats, circa 1910, that inherited a fabulous fortune , including brilliant drawings and catching score by George Bruns .This was originally intended as a two-part, live-action installment of the TV series Disneyland (1954). Originally there was meant to be a direct-to-video sequel titled AristoCats II , it was intended for a 2007 release, but production got canceled back in 2006. The funny characters fascinating Visual Style and Humor in one of Disney's best of the 70s . 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 The rescuers (1977) , released seven years later , around the time Jungle Book (1967) entered production. This agreeable animation movie contains a lively and enjoyable musical score by George Bruns .

motion picture was well directed by Wolfgang Reitherman helped by Eric Larson , in fact this was the last film in which Larson worked as a supervising animator ; from then on he concentrated on training the younger animators that came to the studio during the seventies and eighties a good craftsman from Disney factory . Director Reitherman often animated fast action sequences or dances , and known for "re-using" animation from older films and placing them in newer films . He co-directed several Disney movies such as Aristocats , Jungle Book , 101 Dalmatians , Peter Pan , Cinderella , Dumbo , among others .

The Aristocats is a hilarious and heartwarming Disney delight that gets a bad wrap. Maybe I'm bias because I watched this movie so much as a kid, but even as I re-watch it not, I realize just how care-free and fun this movie is. The plot of the movie shows just that. This movie is about an aristocrat who puts her cats as her inherits in her will before her butler. Right off the bat, we see how hilariously odd this occurrence is, which makes the audience digest the movie in a lighter-tone. What I'm trying to say is that the movie knew exactly what tone to set and how to. I find this movie much more entertaining than many older Disney movies, most likely because it nailed its comedy. It seemed to focus on using random occurrences and out of the ordinary situations to make the audience laugh ie: the dogs attacking Edgar, O Mally jumping on the "Magic Carpet", and the entirety of the 'Everybody Wants to be a Cat' sequence. The two dogs attacking Edgar seems to be the highlight of the comedy, not even because they are attacking him, but because they are 2 great characters put together. Their dialogue leaves you on edge and will make you to laugh out loud numerous times. Finally, one of the greatest things about this movie is the music! The soundtrack is so catchy, and entertaining to listen to. It is defiantly a step up from Disney's older slower songs. Everybody Wants to be a Cat is by far one of the greatest Disney songs ever. It is long, catchy, exciting, and layered with sections that give the song dynamics. The lyrics are both funny, and interesting as a cat's perspective on life. To conclude this quite possibly contriversial review, The Aristocats is a funny, delightful, and care-free Disney film that is criminally underrated.

> 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.