'The AristoCats (1970)' is, essentially, more of the same from Disney, as generally enjoyable as it is individually unremarkable. Don't get me wrong, it's a good time. The scratchy animation meshes well with its feline characters and the plot does a decent job of keeping you invested in its central adventure. There are a couple of catchy tunes and some fun set-pieces, too. Overall, though, the movie is fairly paint-by-numbers. It follows a group of cats who must get back to their wealthy owner after they're thrown out by a greedy butler. It feels like several earlier Disney features, with only a mild spin on the formula. It does have some slightly intriguing elements, however. For example, the baddie is somewhat meek here, his machinations never quite playing out as planned, and this is an interesting angle for such a character. He puts our heroes in genuine danger and it's enjoyable to see him eventually meet his match, but he seems rather more polite than most of the studio's other foes and, as such, is slightly unmemorable. Another unique aspect is the jazz inflection of the score, which keeps you bopping along with the incredibly colourful music sequences. As can perhaps be expected, there are some unfortunate racial stereotypes. Thankfully, these aren't dwelled upon too much. In the end, the movie is an entertaining and well-animated adventure that doesn't so much stand-out from Disney's repertoire as fit in nicely with some of its better outputs. 7/10
Review of The AristoCats
