Production Year: 1970 - Family - Director: Wolfgang Reitherman - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Stirling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, Paul Winchell more
Set in 1910, this Disney animated classic offers plenty of adventure, humor and music (especially performances by Chevalier). After high-society cat Duchess (Gabor) and her three... more
feline adventure, with plenty of zest and some terrific tunes too. Arriving in the wake ofThe Jungle Book, its not vintage Disney, but it still sets itself a hig...
feline adventure, with plenty of zest and some terrific tunes too. Arriving in the wake ofThe Jungle Book, its not vintage Disney, but it still sets itself a hig...
adventure colourful characters and jazzy music your family will find absolutely irresistible! The enchanting tale begins in Paris when a kind and eccentric mi...
The Aristocats [DVD] [1970]
Duchess and her three kittens are enjoying the high life with their devoted human mistress ... more
until the wicked butler Edgar, with his eyes on a big inheritance, decides to dope them and get them out of the picture. How can these fragile creatures cope in ...
The Aristocats - CD
The Aristocats Scales And Arpeggios Thomas O'Malley Cat Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat Pretty ... more
Melody/My Paree Cats Love Theme The Butler Sneak Nine Lives The Goose Steps High Windmill/The Butler Speak Blues After Her/Cat Fight My Paree/Chords In Blue Nice Melody Two Dogs And A Cycle Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat (Reprise)
A review by dave27 on The Aristocats (DVD) April 10th, 2001
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Indifferent to it
Story
Very ordinary
Characters / Performances
Satisfactory
Special Effects
Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?
Unmemorable
Advantages:
The song, O'Malley, Edgar
Disadvantages:
Quite dull and unmemorable
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
The Aristocats is one of Walt Disney's feature length animated films which he seemed to trot out regularly once a year. It was quite popular when it came out in the very early 1970's but it hasn't aged too well and isn't one of the great man's best works, save for two things: the sharp, multinational feline hero with attitude, Thomas O'Malley, an adaptation of Balloo the Bear from 1969's The Jungle Book and voiced by the same actor, the wonderful Phil Harris, and that memorable musical interlude, the brilliant, Everybody Wants To Be A Cat, undoubtedly the high moment of the whole film.
The story is set in Paris and deals with a lady who lives alone with her butler, the evil, but very believable Edgar, and her family of cats. Duchess, the mother, has been strangely deserted (come on, it is a kid's film) with her three kittens. The woman decides to make a will and leaves all her wealth to the cats in the event of her death. If the cats should die, then the money reverts to the grasping butler. And there we've got the entire plot in a nutshell.
Edgar is clearly furious at the train of events and very annoyed that his years of service are to be so readily cast aside in favour of a few, flea bitten animals. He resolves to dispose of the said felines, drugs them and steals them away in the night. Unfortunately, his plans are disrupted as he comes across two really flea bitten mongrels who give him a fairly hard time. In the confusion and tussling, the cats' basket falls into the stream.
Everyone remembers the dogs and the light relief battling with Edgra, his motorbike, the haystack, his bowler and brolly, don’t they?
Luckily the cats are found by the wandering outlaw hero, O'Malley, who sets them on their way back home, to Edgar's intense annoyment. His second attempt to sort them out eventually results in him being hoisted by his own petard and packed away in the case he has labelled up for despatch to far off Timbuktu.
Okay, that's the story, and there's painfully little else to the film. The scene featuring the musical number, the aforementioned Everybody Wants To Be A Cat is, as already stated, a wonderful highlight, but leaves everything else in this slight little piece in the shade.
Not one of Disney's masterpieces, it's solid enough, but nothing special.
The songs come from the Academy Award winning Sherman brothers who wrote the music for Mary Poppins, and undoubtedly they’re one of the strongest bits about The Aristocats, even though there are so few of them. The stereotypical Frenchman, Maurice Chevalier, sang the title song, but I say again, it’s THAT SONG which we will remember –
Everybody wants to be a cat Because a cat's the only cat Who knows where it's at Tell me! Everybody's pickin' up on that feline beat 'Cause everything else is obsolete Strictly high-button shoes. A square with a horn Makes you wish you weren't born Everytime he plays. But with a square in the act You can set music back To the caveman days
Mmmmm… such memories, now if only they could have matched that high spot throughout, then we might have been talking something very special indeed. As it is, you get the standard Disney story of an incredible journey (viz Jungle Book, 101 Dalmations, Pinocchio, et al), with the normal adventures en route, the standard bad guys, the standard happy ending, the standard animation, the standard characters, really the standard EVERYTHING.
Oh well…
Everybody Everybody Everybody Wants to be a cat Hallelujah (Repeat to lengthy fade)
Advantages: An All Round Fantastic FAMILY film Disadvantages: There are none
...you can see is on the Disney film, ‘The Aristocats’. A classis by all means and well worth being wrote about. The famous Walt Disney Corporation, the pneumonia behind which everyone knows, makes it. They make fantastic children’s cartoons and are one of the biggest corporations in the world. Not forgetting you can visit them for a holiday too! But back to this fantastic film…
The Aristocats was made back in 1970 and the writing credits were from ... ...Roddy Maude-Roxby .... Edgar, the Butler (voice) Bill Thompson (I) .... Uncle Waldo (Goose) (voice) rest of cast listed alphabetically Robie Lester .... Duchess (uncredited) (singing voice) Pete Renoudet .... French Milkman/Le Petit Cafe Cook (uncredited) (voice)
What’s it about I hear you asking? Well, shame on you if you have no idea as it’s a classic but still I shall digress. It’s about a Beautiful cat named Duchess who has 3 kittens (Berlioz, ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Fantastic family viewing. Disadvantages: None.
...one child. Apart from the joy children bring to your life there are other benefits. Having spoilt my son rotten by buying him practically all the Disney videos I could lay my hands on (as much for my entertainment as his) I now find that the outlay is so much less for my daughter. We get to enjoy all the videos over and over again at no extra cost.
One of her favourites (and mine) at the moment is a film which was first released in 1970 - The Aristocats. ... ...it is suitable viewing for the whole family (like all of Disney's animations). The graphics in this film are amazing, especially when you take into account when it was made. You are provided with a sample of this on the video cover which depicts the main characters - Duchess, the beautiful white cat and her 3 cute kittens (Berlioz, Toulouse and Marie) and O'Malley, the street-wise alley cat on a pink and purple background. It also shows part of O'Malley's ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Timeless viewing. Can be enjoyed over and over again. Disadvantages: None to my mind.
Aristocats is probably the best Walt Disney animation, although maybe I'm biased because I love cats so. According to the blurb this was the last animated movie to get the nod from Walt Disney himself, so that shows you how old it is. (1970 if you want exact dates.) But old is good in this case as this is an all-time classic. What makes it so good as well is that it transcends the age barrier. This is a movie you can watch when you're older and enjoy ... ...cats and when they die, the money goes to her butler. Edgar, the butler learns of this and decides that the cats have got to go. So he catnaps them and leaves them outside the city of Paris, their home. Alone and bewildered Duchess and kittens try to make sense of their new situation. Cue for the entry of "Abraham De Lacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley, O'Malley the alley cat." (Sad I know, but I just love it.) He promises them a ride into Paris ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Great for all the family Disadvantages: None, it's all brilliant!
The Aristocats
Vivid animation, lovable characters and swingin’ music are waiting for you in Disney’s animated Classic, THE ARISTOCATS! When an eccentric millionairess wills her entire estate to her pet cats, her greedy butler abandons them in the French countryside so that he can inherit the money himself. That’s when the endearing family of cats, Duchess and her three adorable kittens’ embark on an adventure-filled journey back to Paris with a ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Funny with some of the best songs! Disadvantages: None
The Aristocats, at the age of 14 I was asked to do a presentation in English opn anything, I did on this on film because I thought it was that good! This film is set in Paris and is about three kittens called Marie, Toulouse and Berlioz who live with their mother duchess who are owned by a very old, rich woman. The butler discovers that all the money is to be left to the cats and tries to get rid of them because he wants the money. From here the ... ...meet Thomas O'Malley who is the hero of the story. Does he save them, watch the film to find out…
At a young age I loves this film so much and saw it as often as I was allowed, as a teenager I watch this film quite often and still love it. This film is great, one of the best and keeps the watcher interested throughout. I really enjoyed this film and thought the voices done were great and that the story line was good. Some Disney films are just the ...
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Advantages: A perfect gift for classic disney collectors Disadvantages: none
...used to be on every Easter, the more i watched it growing up, the more i understood each part of the film. My grandad used to read fables to me and teach me morals in the story, and i made that connection with this film. Each seperate journey Alice takes through the rabitt hole she discovers a different world and there is always a moral to learn. Somewhat educating as well as plain weird, if you look into the way each tale is portrayed this film is really clever.
#Aristocats
Finally, Aristocats. Disney's 20th full length animated feature was released in 1970 and took almost five years to make. It was unfortunately, the last Film Walt Disney approved before he passed away1966 and was almost released under Buena Vista productions. Aproximate running time: 79 minutes.
This is so different to any other disney animation. We follow...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Cute, nice characters and involves lot of animals Disadvantages: Some scenes may be upsetting for young children
...he does some really cute stuff but, there is one scene that even now I found quite upsetting and I imagine if a small child watched this they would be upset too!
I will say though that the film is good and definitely another to add to the classic Disney list. If you like the Disney films and haven't seen this then I would recommend it especially for those of you that love your animals as this is great as the dog Copper is just so cute and Tod is so mischievous!
As I mentioned I got my DVD in a pack of two with The Aristocats included - this cost £19.99 so not too bad but I would shop around on the net and the high street to find the best deal....
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Consumer Advice: Contains no material likely to offend or harm
Video Category: Feature Film
Country Of Origin: United States of America
Plot: When Madame Adelaide Bonfamille, the eccentric millionairess, passes away, she leaves her fortune to her cat, Duchess and her three kittens. Unfortunately Edgar her greedy butler has other ideas and catnaps Duchess and her kittens, takes them to the countryside and abandons them. There they meet Thomas O'Malley, the alley cat, and he offers to help them to return home...
DVD Description
Set in 1910, this Disney animated classic offers plenty of adventure, humor and music (especially performances by Chevalier). After high-society cat Duchess (Gabor) and her three kittens inherit a fortune from their mistress, a greedy butler plots to get rid of them--and collect the cash himself. The villainous servant kidnaps the entire feline family and takes them far away from their comfortable Paris home. A bunch of animal pals come to the rescue however, and help restore the cats to their proper place. The heroic rescuers include the friendly alley cat Thomas O'Malley, the gallant mouse Roquefort, and the hilarious hounds Lafayette and Napoleon. The last film personally supervised by Walt Disney himself.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES, WALT DISNEY HOME VIDEO; WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINM
Director of Animation: John Lounsbery, Milt Kahl
Composer: George Bruns
Voice: Phil Harris, Scatman Crothers, Eva Gabor, Maurice Chevalier, Roddy Maude-Roxby
Editor: Tom Acosta
Release date: 12/11/2001
No of Discs: 1
Production Designer: Ken Anderson
Music Director: Walter Sheets
Catalogue No: BED 888351
Barcode: 5017188883511
Animation: Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, Milt Kahl
Special Features: Virtual Kitten Game, Fun with Language Game: Name That Instrument, Deleted Song: 'She Never Felt Alone', Featurette about the Sherman Brothers, The Great Cat Family introduced by Walt Disney, Disney Song Selection
Sound: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Portuguese Hungarian Hebrew Greek
Animated: Animated
Professional reviews
Review: Amusing and imaginative and, of course, beautifully animated (Empire, 13/12/2007)
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