The AristoCats (1970)

Director:

Wolfgang Reitherman

Writers:

Larry Clemmons (story) and
Vance Gerry (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Music

Tagline:

Meet the cats who know where it's at...for fun, music and adventure!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Butler | Cat | Mouse | 1910s | Dog

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

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)
Carole Shelley	...	Amelia (voice)
Charles Lane	...	Lawyer (voice)
Hermione Baddeley	...	Madame (voice)
Roddy Maude-Roxby	...	Butler (voice)
Bill Thompson	...	Uncle Waldo (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ruth Buzzi	...	Frou-Frou (singing voice) (uncredited)
Robie Lester	...	Duchess (singing voice) (uncredited)
Peter Renaday	...	Milkman / Le Petit Cafe Cook (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Wolfgang Reitherman

Writing credits
Larry Clemmons		(story) and
Vance Gerry		(story) &
Ken Anderson		(story) and
Frank Thomas		(story) &
Eric Cleworth		(story) and
Julius Svendsen		(story) &
Ralph Wright		(story)
Tom McGowan		(based on a story by) &
Tom Rowe		(based on a story by)

Produced by
Winston Hibler	....	producer
Wolfgang Reitherman	....	producer

Original Music by
George Bruns

Film Editing by
Tom Acosta

Production Design by
Ken Anderson

Production Management
Don A. Duckwall	....	production manager (as Don Duckwall)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dan Alguire	....	assistant director
Edward Hansen	....	assistant director (as Ed Hansen)

Sound Department
Robert O. Cook	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Dick N. Lucas	....	effects animator (as Dick Lucas)
Dan MacManus	....	effects animator

Animation Department
Eric Cleworth	....	character animator
Basil Davidovich	....	layout artist
Al Dempster	....	background artist
Don Griffith	....	layout artist
Fred Hellmich	....	character animator
Ralph Hulett	....	background artist
Ollie Johnston	....	directing animator
Milt Kahl	....	directing animator
Hal King	....	character animator
Eric Larson	....	character animator
Bill Layne	....	background artist
John Lounsbery	....	directing animator
David Michener	....	character animator (as Dave Michener)
Sylvia Roemer	....	layout artist
Walt Stanchfield	....	character animator
Julius Svendsen	....	character animator
Frank Thomas	....	directing animator
John Emerson	....	layout artist (uncredited)

Music Department
Evelyn Kennedy	....	music editor
Walter Sheets	....	orchestrator
Edmundo Santos	....	lyrics: Spanish version (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

• Buena Vista Distribution Company (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1987) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Buena Vista International Finland (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Gaumont Buena Vista International (GBVI) (1994) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Suomi-Filmi (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Walt Disney Productions (1971) (France) (theatrical)
• Abril Vídeo (1997) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• Gativideo (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (special edition)

Also Known As:

"Los aristogatos" - USA (Spanish title) (imdb display title)

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Iceland:L | Sweden:Btl (uncut) (1994) | UK:U | USA:G (Approved No. 22634) | West Germany:o.Al. | Portugal:M/6 | New Zealand:G | Netherlands:AL | South Africa:A | Peru:PT | Sweden:Btl (cut) (1971) | Singapore:G

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman), whose father wrote the big Chevaliar hit "Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight", talked Maurice Chevalier out of retirement to sing the title song.

Goofs:

Continuity: The color of the ribbon on the cats' basket is normally blue, but as Edgar makes his second escape from the dogs with it, it is pink.

Quotes:

Edgar:[his last words] You're going to Timbuktu if it's the last thing I do.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Disney Family Album: Wolfgang Reitherman (#1.10)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

Thomas O'Malley Cat

A great underrated Disney classic.

Set in Paris in the year 1910, a retired old rich opera singer decides to give her fortune away to her beautiful cat Duchess ( voiced by Eva Gabor) and her kittens, but the jealous butler Edgar comes up with a plan as he kidnaps the cats and leaves them in the countryside. Luckily for them with the help of a streetwise and independent tomcat named Thomas O'Malley ( voiced by Phil Harris) helps them get home especially meeting some of his good friends like the swinging' Scat Cat ( voiced by Scatman Crothers) and try to foil Edgar's plans.

Very entertaining and edgy post-Walt Disney's death animated movie with a couple of nice jazzy tunes like the memorable "Everybody wants to be a cat", good voice acting and some terrific animation for it's time even in these times of computer animation. Not one of the greatest Disney animated movies but a cult Disney animated fave and one of the few gems of it's day that works well, highly recommended.