Another one from the alphabetical run through Disney Plus, "The Aristocats" is one that I do have a little bit of history with, in the sense I'd seen it a few times before, but remembered almost nothing about the plot. I found that, despite aging references, this was a lot of fun.
Retired singer Madame Adelaide Bonfamille (Hermoine Baddeley) plans to leave her house and fortune to her cat Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her three kittens Berlioz (Dean Clark), Marie (Liz English) and Toulouse (Gary Dublin). This is very disappointing for her Butler, Edgar (Roddy Maude-Roxby) who had hoped to inherit the estate and indeed would, should something happen to the cats. Driven by greed, Edgar snatches the felines and releases them into the French countryside, confident that he's seen the last of them - but with the aid of streetwise alley cat O'Malley (Phil Harris) the family head back to the city.
Whilst I don't have the love in my heart that I have for other Disney productions, I did feel like there was plenty to enjoy about "The Aristocats". I liked the animation. There's a rough, sketchy hand drawn style to the film that made up for in dynamism what it lacked in polish. The vocal performances are good, with a lot of classic Disney voice actors being utilised. Phil Harris, obviously, and Eva Gabor, who would return for "The Rescuers". George Lindsey and Pat Buttram would reappear in various other films, as would Bill Thompson, whose career with Disney went back as far as "Pinocchio". Two people leaving though would be the Sherman brothers, as the film marks the last animated Disney feature they would work on for 30 years. They left on a positive note though, convincing Maurice Chevalier to come out of retirement to sing the title song, and the whole cast to perform on the Jazzy and memorable "Ev'rybody Wants to be a Cat".
Indeed, it's the Jazz references that age the film now, but that energy and ethos prop up a story that is perhaps a little undercooked and lacking in some more interesting beats. Compared to some of the other films in Disney's history, it's certainly not top of the tree, but as I'm finding these films are a mixed bag and so far, "The Aristocats" is one of the more watchable ones.
Retired singer Madame Adelaide Bonfamille (Hermoine Baddeley) plans to leave her house and fortune to her cat Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her three kittens Berlioz (Dean Clark), Marie (Liz English) and Toulouse (Gary Dublin). This is very disappointing for her Butler, Edgar (Roddy Maude-Roxby) who had hoped to inherit the estate and indeed would, should something happen to the cats. Driven by greed, Edgar snatches the felines and releases them into the French countryside, confident that he's seen the last of them - but with the aid of streetwise alley cat O'Malley (Phil Harris) the family head back to the city.
Whilst I don't have the love in my heart that I have for other Disney productions, I did feel like there was plenty to enjoy about "The Aristocats". I liked the animation. There's a rough, sketchy hand drawn style to the film that made up for in dynamism what it lacked in polish. The vocal performances are good, with a lot of classic Disney voice actors being utilised. Phil Harris, obviously, and Eva Gabor, who would return for "The Rescuers". George Lindsey and Pat Buttram would reappear in various other films, as would Bill Thompson, whose career with Disney went back as far as "Pinocchio". Two people leaving though would be the Sherman brothers, as the film marks the last animated Disney feature they would work on for 30 years. They left on a positive note though, convincing Maurice Chevalier to come out of retirement to sing the title song, and the whole cast to perform on the Jazzy and memorable "Ev'rybody Wants to be a Cat".
Indeed, it's the Jazz references that age the film now, but that energy and ethos prop up a story that is perhaps a little undercooked and lacking in some more interesting beats. Compared to some of the other films in Disney's history, it's certainly not top of the tree, but as I'm finding these films are a mixed bag and so far, "The Aristocats" is one of the more watchable ones.