Movie Review: The Aristocats

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Great humor and fun music

Cons: Flat characters

The Bottom Line:

Not a masterpiece

But still plenty of fun with

Some swinging music

The Butler Did It (No, That Isn't a Spoiler)

In some ways, The Aristocats is a transition film. While greenlit by Walt Disney as the company's 20th animated feature, it was the first one really worked on after his death. As a result, it doesn't have his magic touch. Still, there are some funny moments and it is a mostly enjoyable film.

Madame Adelaide Bonfamille (Hermione Baddeley) is a wealthy former actress living in Paris in 1910. Since she has no family, she has come to view her cat Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her kittens as her family. In fact, she has decided to leave her wealth to the cats as long as they live, then it will go to her butler Edgar (Roddy Maude-Roxby).

Edgar doesn't like the idea of having to wait, however, so he schemes to catnap the cats. After mixing sleeping pills into their favorite treat, he takes them into the country.

The cats aren't so easily gotten rid of, however. Teaming up with Thomas O'Malley (Phil Harris), they set out to return to Paris. Will they make it? What will Edgar do if they show up again?

The film definitely has its flaws. The characters are rather flat (and I don't just mean the animation), so we never get a chance to connect with them. And they introduce some characters for no apparent reason (I'm looking right at the geese here.) At times, it feels like the movie is just going through the motions.

But some of those motions are incredibly fun. The romance between Duchess and O'Malley is sweet, and the way the kittens watch it is fun. And I love the scenes between Edgar and the country dogs who keep chasing him, especially the one dog that can identify anything by the sound it makes. ("That sounds like a one wheeled haystack.") The ending is clever with lots of laughs.

Then there's the music. This is definitely a jazz influenced movie. Jazz is a constant in the soundtrack even though most of the songs don't use it. The exception is the show stopper "Everybody Wants to be a Cat." And the psychedelic colors and animation make that such a fun song.

Disney animation during the 70's and early 80's featured a distinctive style, and you can see a perfect example of it here. The characters have added black and white lines making them look more like pencil sketches. Most of the backgrounds look like paintings instead of real locations. This is most noticeable on some of the outdoor close ups. While not as gorgeous to watch as some of the modern films, this style is fun to look at as well.

A new DVD version of the film has just been released (Feb. 2008). This is the first time the film has been given the wide screen and full surround treatment. It's also been restored, so it looks and sounds great. Disney has touted the "virtual kitten" game where you get to earn hearts by taking care of a kitten. I blew right by that and went straight to the movie related extras. Most of them were rather light and worth skipping. The one I truly enjoyed was the deleted song. "She Never Felt Alone" was originally written by staff writers Richard and Robert Sherman. They've dug the song and the storyboards that went with it out of the archives and Richard introduces the song to us. Frankly, I'm sorry it got cut since I really like it. Not listed anywhere (but not hidden either) is a bonus short. It features Figaro (the cat from Pinocchio. I never knew Disney did any shorts with him.) Anyway, it's a fun few minute story as Figaro deals with an mean ally cat after getting a bath from Minnie Mouse.

The Aristocats isn't one of the Disney movies I pull out regularly. It doesn't have the charm of many of them. It does have some good moments, however, and the kids will love the more slap stick scenes.