ACED Magazine

From Walt Disney studios comes the much anticipated DVD special edition release of The Aristocats. Released in theatres in 1970, The Aristocats was among the last of the films to be given the much venerated "classic Disney” label and Disney"s very own stamp of approval. Like 101 Dalmatians and Lady and the Tramp before it, The Aristocats follows lovable domestic pets through a perilous adventure. This time it"s the felines who get a chance to strut their stuff as only Disney could do in glorious two dimensional animated style.

Set in 1910 in Paris, France; the film introduces Duchess and her three kittens: Marie, Berlioz and Toulouse who live in the mansion of retired opera singer Adelaide Bonfamille. When Adelaide's otherwise emblematic butler Edgar overhears she is leaving everything to him -- but only after her cats die -- he devises a plan to kidnap and eventually keep the inheritance to himself.

Everything goes according to plan until two dogs -- country hicks Napoleon and Lafayette -- intercept the butler’s kidnapping attempt in a rather extravagant comedy action set piece. After deciding as to which dog will bite the tires and which one will bite the butler, a hilarious chase ensues. The execution of the scene and its timing and imaginative fervor is carried out as only Disney studios could manage. No single entity ever did this better.

As the sorry Edgar scrambles off, Duchess and her brood are left to fend for themselves deep in the French countryside as they trek their way back to their beloved owner. They happen upon an alley cat with some serious abandonment issues and a nifty introductory song named Abraham de Lacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O’Malley (“the alley cat”). Immediately smitten with each other, O’Malley aids the beautiful Duchess and her brood back to Paris as the inevitable romance heats up.

The cheerful O’Malley, complete with the amusingly expressive stock expressions common to Disney characters, is voiced by Phil Harris fresh from The Jungle Book. It all adds to the familiarity of the surroundings and story, but this being a Disney film means that while they knew how to milk a scene for maximum effect, they never let things get out of character for a cheap laugh or let a gimmicky device ruin a dramatic mood or scene.

As Disney films go on the quality meter, The Aristocats plays somewhere in the middle ground between its most mediocre disappointments and it’s most exalted masterpieces. On the quality scale of standard animation films (with possible exception of Pixar) this is an exceptionally above-average animated feature. The film has very few detractors among animated buffs and is highly worthwhile entertainment especially for children.

Since there’s no such thing as a Disney animated flick without a plethora of lovable minor characters, this entry has more than its share. There are the prim and proper English geese sisters, Abigail and Amelia, who disastrously try to help O’Malley when he gets into a spot of trouble, and of course a loyal mouse named Roquefort (Sterling Holloway) who comes to the aid at the most perfect times.

There are only a few musical numbers, but the film doesn’t need anymore than it has which serves to keep the momentum going. It has a juicy opening but the real showstopper is “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat” in which the gang meets up with a jazz band of scat cats in a Paris flat. The voice talents are all perfectly cast and it reminds us that children in animated films never cease to charm or touch.

The biggest complaint, and only real flaw that the film warrants, is it’s villain: Edgar. He is, as villains go, a bit of a flat tire. He’s hardly the menace of the Queen in Snow White or Scar in the Lion King. Perhaps the studio grew tired of repeating the same evil character, but instead of substituting an equally loathsome character they went for a relatively harmless, comedic boob instead.

A villain more by accident than by design, Edgar would be a minor character in any of the more classic fare but here he is given the full “what if” treatment. Cruella DeVil, Scar and Madame Medusa are terrifying not just because they threaten lovable animals, but because they are equally menacing to humans as well.

Minor complaints aside, The Aristocats makes a solid mark in feature animated history and time has been relatively kind to it. There would be no Cars or Finding Nemo without The Aristocats. Oodles of fun.

This Reviewer's Rating: 4.0 / 5

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