The Aristocats [DVD]

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One day, while preparing her will with elderly lawyer Georges Hautecourt, Madame declares that her vast fortune will be first left to her cats, then revert to Edgar once they all pass away. Edgar overhears this through a speaking tube and, after erroneously calculating that he will die before he can inherit, plots to eliminate the cats. He sedates them by putting sleeping pills in a dish of cream, then drives them on his motorcycle out to the countryside in a basket. There, he is ambushed by two hounds named Napoleon and Lafayette, losing his hat, sidecar, umbrella, shoes, and the basket before escaping. The cats are left stranded in the countryside, while Madame Adelaide, Roquefort the mouse, and Frou-Frou the horse discover their absence. Hill, Jim (April 3, 2001). "The Greatest Performances You Never Got to Hear". The Laughing Place . Retrieved June 13, 2016. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune felt the film's "artwork and story do not compare to the truly great Disney films Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi and Dumbo but there is enough juvenile humor to keep the children in their seats for the 78 minutes." [49] For its 1987 re-release, animation historian Charles Solomon expressed criticism for its episodic plot, anachronisms, and borrowed plot elements from earlier Disney animated features, but nevertheless wrote "[b]ut even at their least original, the Disney artists provide better animation--and more entertainment--than the recent animated features hawking The Care Bears, Rainbow Brite and Transformers." [50] Writing in his book The Disney Films, Disney historian and film critic Leonard Maltin wrote that "[t]he worst that one could say of The AristoCats is that it is unmemorable. It's smoothly executed, of course, and enjoyable, but neither its superficial story nor its characters have any resonance." [51] Additionally, in his book Of Mice and Magic, Maltin criticized the film for re-using Phil Harris to replicate The Jungle Book 's Baloo, dismissing the character Thomas O'Malley as "essentially the same character, dictated by the same voice personality." [52]

Pearson, Howard (December 8, 1980). "An encore purr-formance for 'The Aristocats' ". Deseret News. p.4C . Retrieved June 13, 2016– via Google News Archive. King, Susan (February 11, 2000). "The Pair Who Write Songs for Nannies and Pooh Bears". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 13, 2016. Liz English as Marie – the middle kitten and the only girl. She is often imperious, sassy or snobbish towards her brothers but is her mother's special companion, and like her, she is an accomplished singer. She is named after the queen of France Marie Antoinette. Walt Disney Home Video Debuts the "Gold Classic Collection" ". The Laughing Place . Retrieved June 10, 2016. Kroll, Justin (January 20, 2022). "Live-Action 'Aristocats' Pic In Development At Disney". Deadline . Retrieved January 20, 2022.Nancy Kulp as Frou-Frou – Madame Adelaide’s Palomino carriage horse and Roquefort's companion, who subdues Edgar. Ruth Buzzi provided her singing voice.

It was released on VHS in Europe on January 1, 1990, and in the UK in 1995. It was first released on VHS in North America on April 24, 1996, as part of the Masterpiece Collection. AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original on July 16, 2011 . Retrieved August 19, 2016. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link) Siskel, Gene (January 1, 1971). "Movie Review: 'The Aristocats' ". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 21 . Retrieved August 24, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

Walt Disney Records Announce The Final Four Releases In The Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection Series: "Lady And The Tramp", "Pocahontas", "The Aristocats", And "Disneyland" " (Press release). Burbank, California. PRNewswire. August 21, 2015 . Retrieved August 22, 2015.

Phil Harris as J. Thomas O'Malley (full name: Abraham de Lacy Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley) – a feral cat who befriends Duchess and her kittens, becoming a father figure and a step-father to the kittens and falling in love with Duchess. For cultural reasons, the Italian dubbing of the film changes him to “Romeo, er mejo der Colosseo” ("The best [cat] of the Colosseum" in Romanesco dialect), an Italian cat from Rome speaking with a strong Roman accent; the reason for this change is that alley cats were well-known for frequenting the Colosseum at the time. Scott, Vernon (February 17, 1971). "News from Hollywood". The Logansport Press. p.6 . Retrieved January 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com.Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1971). "The Aristocats Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved June 13, 2016– via RogerEbert.com. Another deleted song was for Thomas O'Malley titled "My Way's The Highway", but the filmmakers had Terry Gilkyson compose the eponymous song "Thomas O'Malley Cat". Gilkyson explained, "It was the same song, but they orchestrated it twice. They used the simpler one, because they may have thought the other too elaborate or too hot. It was a jazz version with a full orchestra." [23] Paul Winchell as Shun Gon – a Chinese cat in Scat Cat's gang. He plays both the piano and drums made from pots. Rome, Emily (August 21, 2012). " 'The Aristocats' on Blu-ray: Songwriter Richard Sherman reflects on the Disney classic and working with Walt". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved June 10, 2016. Dean Clark as Berlioz – the youngest kitten. He is somewhat timid and shy and is a talented pianist. He is named after the French composer Hector Berlioz.

Love Story' named year's top money-maker". Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. January 17, 1972. p.2 . Retrieved June 13, 2016– via Google News Archive. a b c Hill, Jim (August 21, 2012). "Would Walt's version of "The Aristocats" have been a bigger hit for Disney Studios?". Jim Hill Media . Retrieved June 13, 2016.Johnson, Jimmy (2014). "Roy Completes Walt Disney's Dream". Inside the Whimsy Works: My Life with Walt Disney Productions. University Press of Mississippi. pp.172–173. ISBN 978-1-617-03930-0 . Retrieved June 17, 2017– via Google Books. In 1962, The Aristocats project began as an original script for a two-part live-action episode for Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, developed by writers Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe and producer Harry Tytle. Following two years of re-writes, Walt Disney suggested the project would be more suitable for an animated film, and placed the project in turnaround as The Jungle Book (1967) advanced into production. When The Jungle Book was nearly complete, Disney appointed Ken Anderson to develop preliminary work on The Aristocats, making it the last film project to be approved by Disney personally before his death in December 1966. Longtime Disney collaborators Robert and Richard Sherman composed multiple songs for the film, though only two made it in the finished product. Scatman Crothers as Scat Cat – O’Malley's best friend and leader of a gang of jazz-playing alley cats. Scat Cat plays the trumpet. Sterling Holloway as Roquefort – a house mouse and a friend of the cats who assists in the expulsion of Edgar.