The AristoCats (1970)

With the help of a smooth talking tomcat, a family of Parisian felines set to inherit a fortune from their owner try to make it back home after a jealous butler kidnaps them and leaves them in the country.

Director:

Wolfgang Reitherman

Writers:

Larry Clemmons (story), Vance Gerry (story),

Stars:

Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Sterling Holloway

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phil Harris	...	O'Malley (voice)
Eva Gabor	...	Duchess (voice)
Sterling Holloway	...	Roquefort (voice)
Scatman Crothers	...	Scat Cat (voice)
Paul Winchell	...	Chinese Cat (voice)
Lord Tim Hudson	...	English Cat (voice)
Vito Scotti	...	Italian Cat (voice)
Thurl Ravenscroft	...	Russian Cat (voice)
Dean Clark	...	Berlioz (voice)
Liz English	...	Marie (voice)
Gary Dubin	...	Toulouse (voice)
Nancy Kulp	...	Frou-Frou (voice)
Pat Buttram	...	Napoleon (voice)
George Lindsey	...	Lafayette (voice)
Monica Evans	...	Abigail (voice)

Storyline

Retired madame Adelaide Bonfamille enjoys the good life in her Paris villa with even classier cat Duchess and three kittens: pianist Berlioz, painter Toulouse and sanctimonious Marie. When loyal butler Edgar overhears her will leaves everything to the cats until their death, he drugs and kidnaps them. However retired army dogs make his sidecar capsize on the country. Crafty stray cat Thomas O'Malley takes them under his wing back to Paris. Edgar tries to cover his tracks and catch them at return, but more animals turn on him, from the cart horse Frou-Frou to the tame mouse Roquefort and O'Malley's jazz friends.

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Plot Keywords:

butler | cat | mouse | 1910s | dog | 

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Taglines:

A tune-filled animated extravaganza.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Music

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney DVD [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 December 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los aristogatos

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 9,320,000 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The goose sisters, Abigail and Amelia, are voiced by Carole Shelley and Monica Evans, who played the equally-chatty Pigeon sisters, Cecily and Gwendolyn, in the movie, TV series, and original Broadway production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. (They also provide the voices of Maid Marian and Lady Cluck in Disney's Robin Hood).

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Goofs

The milk van that the cats catch a ride on is a Fordson BB, witch didn't go in to production until the late 1920's, and the film takes place in 1910.

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Quotes

Edgar: Morning, Frou-Frou, my pretty steed.
[whispers]
Edgar: Can you keep a secret?
[out loud]
Edgar: Of course you can.
[chuckles]
Edgar: I've some news straight from the horse's mouth. If you'll pardon the expression, of course.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the final reprise of "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" Lafayette says, "Hey, Napoleon. That sounds like the end". Napoleon responds, "Wait a minute. I'm the leader, I'll say when it's the end". The title "The End" bumps into Napoleon's head and he says, "It's the end". The title then throbs to the music. During the final fade out we hear Toulouse say "Oh, yeah."

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Connections

Referenced in Glee: Rumours (2011)

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Soundtracks

"She Never Felt Alone"
Words and Music by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Performed by Robie Lester

User Reviews

Superb Visual Style and Humor in one of Disney's best!

Complaints from previous commentators that "the pencil marks show" in the animated art shows that they miss the point entirely. The visual style is deliberately similar to what was used in '101 Dalmatians' with the characters having a deliberately sketchy look--an art style used to great effect in this and several other Disney movies. Far from being "weak animation", this is one of the very best works produced by the Disney artists. The color is superb, the humor is constant and the mere fact that the storyline bears a resemblance to the 'Dalmatians' plot does nothing to weaken the film. Upon release, it was an enormous success and has made even more money in subsequent theatrical revivals. Viewers who make comments about the art work, don't seem to realize that the "sketchy" look was what the artists sought--it has nothing whatsoever to do with careless art work. All the voices are extremely well done--Eva Gabor as the Duchess and Phil Harris as Thomas O'Malley are perfect. The slapstick comedy involving the bumbling butler and the dogs is priceless! This is another great Disney film that children and adults can enjoy equally.