Movie #20 of The Disney Discussion
The Aristocats (1970)
Featuring the voice talents of Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Liz English, Dean Clark, Gary Dubin, Sterling Holloway, and Scatman Crothers
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
Summary (in 150 words or less):
Paris. 1910. The feline Duchess and her three kittens Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse are stolen from the home of their owner Madame Bonfamille by Madame's butler Edward. The reason -- Madame is leaving her estate to her cats as opposed to Edward when she dies and this doesn't sit well with the loyal servant. Left for dead in the countryside of France, Marie and her offspring try to find their way home, meeting unusual characters along the way including Thomas O'Malley, a slick smooth-talking alley cat who grows to care for the lost felines on their journey to Paris.
Facts and Figures
Let the Discussion Begin...
The Aristocats is the Walt Disney Company's twentieth full-length animated feature film and was released on December 24, 1970.
This was the first animated film to be produced after Walt Disney's death and although he approved the initial production, Mr. Disney was not involved in the filmmaking process.
Made for $4 million, The Aristocats proved quite successful. With its multiple releases over the years, the film has made $55 million.
Made for $4 million, The Aristocats proved quite successful. With its multiple releases over the years, the film has made $55 million.
I'm sure that at some point in time in my youth I watched The Aristocats. However, I didn't remember a darn thing about it. It wasn't a movie staple in my household, having never owned a VHS of it and the film not really ever airing on television. So, it was rather refreshing to be able to come to The Aristocats with a blank slate. And I must say I was pleasantly surprised.
Here's the funny thing about The Aristocats. As you read this discussion below, you're going to notice that I start off nearly every topic talking about how so-and-so wasn't exactly top notch or overly impressive. While it's true that there isn't a single aspect of the film that is fantastic, everything that the flick brings to the table works. Despite not excelling in any one area, the film doesn't disappoint in any one area either, and because of this I found The Aristocats to be successful overall.
Admittedly, the film's story isn't all that impressive. In fact, when you look at the summary above, you'd be correct in thinking that it's a bit like a rehash of 101 Dalmatians. Still, somehow, the tale seems fresh. Granted, there's very little depth here. Characters aren't really fleshed out in any great manner which leads one to feel that the story's lacking a little heart and soul.
That being said, the sly humor and the quaint voice acting help elevate this to a level above its animal counterparts Lady and the Tramp and the aforementioned 101 Dalmatians. Yes, while both those films gave their main characters a little more backbone, I found that their stories lagged a bit. The story behind The Aristocats -- as simple as it may be -- manages to not drag.
I think a large part of the story's success is due to the vocal talent the Disney team culled together for this piece. Eva Gabor as Duchess is charming and her three kittens voiced by Liz English, Dean Clark, and Gary Dubin are undoubtedly cute in their vocalizations. The animators certainly placed their focus on these four characters in the film as all exude their own individual personality traits which are quite fun to watch.
After a successful turn as Baloo in The Jungle Book, Phil Harris was brought back to play Thomas O'Malley. Harris is essentially playing the same exact role he did in The Jungle Book -- a loose, lackadaisical, mellow guy who eventually begins to care for the creatures he's watching over and decides to help them on their path. While there certainly wasn't a reinvention of the wheel, Thomas O'Malley as a character works, so I'm willing to let the similarities slide.
On the human side of things, I found that the small amount of time we got to spend with Madame Bonfamille and Edward the butler was quite successful. Although neither are drawn very well -- in fact, Madame is one of the worst drawn Disney characters thus far with blurry pencil lines making up her figure -- their scenes more than adequately set the story rolling. Edward is by no means an evil genius and he's likely one of the least villainous villains we'll see in this journey, but his bumbling nature allowed the story to take a different turn from its similarities in 101 Dalmatians where Cruella's virulent hatred towards dogs took center stage.
As far as music goes, The Aristocats isn't particularly well known for its songs. Its title track, sung by Maurice Chevalier is pleasant enough, but its set to pencil-lined drawings which aren't all that interesting (and were perhaps a harbinger of things to come as far as Madame's poorly drawn design was concerned). In addition to the title track, Disney regulars The Sherman Brothers also wrote the ditty "Scales and Arpeggios," but it's really a throwaway number that while cute doesn't add much to the tale.
The showstopping number -- and the showstopping scene in the film -- comes with about ten minutes left to go in the form of "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" penned by Floyd Huddleston and Al Rinker. As Duchess and her brethren return to Paris, O'Malley takes them to a swinging jazz joint where cats from around the world sing about why it's so great to be a feline. As psychedelic colors take over the scene, we're treated to a fantastic jazz number that makes me wonder why the scene isn't more well known in the annals of Disney songs.
Random Thoughts
- There's a dirtiness/grittiness to the animation. The humans are full of pencil or pen-like lines that seem "unfinished."
- Not only do we get drunken geese (something we'd never see today in a Disney film), but we also are treated to a Chinese cat singing lyrics like "Shanghai, Hong Kong, egg foo yong / Fortune cookie always wrong." I miss the days where we didn't have to worry about political correctness...instead, I find myself pointing things out like this in many of these discussions.
- "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" is a nicely rousing, very colorful number. Definitely one of the more underrated musical numbers in the Disney Pantheon of films.
- The two dogs that make an appearance in this film seem like exact replicas of dogs we've seen in Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians -- they weren't needed at all and their scenes really should have been nixed.
Final Analysis
(Does It Belong in the Revered Disney Pantheon and How Does It Stack Up to Past Films?)
As I've mentioned, The Aristocats doesn't ever overachieve in any aspect of filmmaking. It cruises along, hitting everything it needs to in order to be deemed a success. While nothing is mind-blowing, everything works well enough to make this an enjoyable romp. Color me surprised to place this one above my rankings of Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians as The Aristocats takes a surprise place in the Disney Animated Pantheon.
The RyMickey Rating: B
Join us next Wednesday for Robin Hood, the twenty-first film in The Disney Discussion.
***Robin Hood is streaming on Netflix so join in on the discussion!***
***Robin Hood is streaming on Netflix so join in on the discussion!***
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