The Aristocats is not one of the most brilliantly animated Disney cartoons, nor does it have a particularly amazing storyline. However it will always remain one of my favourites because of its memorable characters, great songs and a villain that you can dislike and feel very sorry for at the same time.
I am of course talking about Edgar, the butler of an elderly aristocrat who tells him that after all his many years of faithful service, she is going to give all her money to... her cats. (Well, perhaps to say that she told him is misleading... but he did somehow manage to hear it...) It is perhaps understandable then that Duchess and her three Kittens - Marie, Toulouse, Berlioz - become the objects of his loathing. The hard-done-by but undoubtedly slightly evil Edgar decides to do away with the cats, and thus get the inheritance himself. But as it happens, the pampered house pets manage to find themselves an ally in the form of wandering scamp Thomas O'Malley, who with his friends will help them defeat the Butler who's turned to the Dark Side...
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, who also directed such animated classic as The Jungle Book, One Hundred and One Dalmations and Sword in the Stone, The Aristocats rises above the workmanlike animation (not that it's actually bad, but it's not among the best of Disney's golden era) and somewhat lacklustre plot by giving us kittens that are cute but not overpoweringly so and a number of characters that we remember long after the film's finished. Duchess is a typical boring female stereotypical character, it's true, but Eva Gabor lends her such a gorgeous voice that I can forgive her that. I really like Phil Harris and his voice acting certainly lends a likeable warmth and roguish charm to Thomas O'Malley, and his character's introductory song (Abraham Delacey, Guiseepe Casey, Thomas O'Malley... O'Malley, the Alley Cat) is quite memorable in itself.
There are geese visiting from England (Abigail and Amelia Gabble, voiced by Monica Evans and Carole Shelley), dogs who can't decide which one is the leader (Napoleon and Lafayette, voiced by Pat Buttram and George Lindsey), and a group of jazz cats among the many memorable animals you'll meet in The Aristocats. The leader of the jazz cats is "Scat Cat" who is voiced, appropriately enough, by Scatman Crothers. The most memorable song of the movie, "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat", is courtesy of Scat Cat and his gang. They do of course have an important part to play in the plot, too. Disney veteran (voice of, among others, Winnie the Pooh) Sterling Holloway voices Roquefort, a mouse who always seems rather agitated. Roddy Maude-Roxby voices the evil / unfortunate / mistreated Edgar to good effect, and as the kittens Dean Clark, Liz English and Gary Dublin are suitably cute, not over-doing it to the point of being nauseating.
While the plot scampers along merrily enough, there is a lot of humour and some great songs along the way. I can't say The Aristocats is an amazing film so I'm giving it 4 stars not 5, but it's a really nice film (okay, not nice to Edgar... his predicament at the end does seem excessively cruel!) and it'll have you smiling all the way, probably singing along at times too. It's definitely one for cat lovers, and I'm sure children will still love it, despite there being no special effects as such. It remains a firm favourite of mine and I think it has one of the best musical soundtracks of the old Disney movies. (Again, perhaps not one of the best, but personally still a favourite.
Quotes
Abigail Gabble: Amelia, if I walk any further, I'll get flat feet. Amelia Gabble: Abigail, we were born with flat feet.
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Napoleon: Now the squeaking has stopped. Lafayette: I still say it was a little ol' cricket bug. Napoleon: Wait a minute. I'm the leader. I decide what it was. [pause] Napoleon: It was a little ol' cricket bug.
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Lafayette: Okay, let's charge! Napoleon: Wait a minute. I'm the leader! I'm the one that says when we go. [pause] Napoleon: Here we go. Charge!
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Abigail Gabble: Your husband is very charming and very handsome. Thomas O'Malley: Well, actually, I'm not exactly her husband. Amelia Gabble: Exactly? Either you are or you're not. Thomas O'Malley: All right. I'm not. Abigail Gabble, Amelia Gabble: Oh? Amelia Gabble: How scandalous. Abigail Gabble: Indeed Amelia Gabble: He's quite positively a reprobate. Abigail Gabble: A rogue. Amelia Gabble: His eyes are too close together. Abigail Gabble: Very shifty, too. Amelia Gabble: And did you notice that crooked smile? Abigail Gabble: His chin is very weak, too. Amelia Gabble: Obviously a philanderer who triffles with unsuspecting women's hearts. Marie: How romantic.
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Marie: Ladies don't start fights, but they can finish them!
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Duchess: Oh, darling. That's only a little frog, my love. Berlioz the Kitten: But he had a mouth like a "hippolotamus."
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