The Aristocats (CLASSIC FILM REVIEW)
The Disney movie follows a Parisian cat and her three kittens as they are kidnapped and left in an estranged location and struggle to adventure home. Along the way they familiarise themselves with stray alley cat Thomas O’Malley who helps teach these indoor felines the ropes of an outdoor lifestyle.
FUN FACT: According to IMBD, “The Aristocats was inspired by the true story of a Parisian family of cats, circa 1910, that inherited a fabulous fortune”, and yet here I am- a human, waiting for my next student loan to grace my bank account!
If you’re an avid reader of my reviews you’ll be pleased to know that I am actually familiar with this classic and it is in fact, one of my favourite Disney movies ever! I know it may come as a surprise but when it comes to talking animals having a little sing song, nothing can get past me!
Who’s your favourite kitten? Berlioz, Marie, or Toulouse? I feel like if it’s Marie you’re lying, and I don’t tolerate such nonsense. I personally believe the carbon copy of her mother ‘Duchess’, kitten, had far too many opinions for someone with a bright pink bow and high chance of staining. My favourite has to be Toulouse for his weak attempts at impersonating O’Malley and funny actions of puffing up and hissing to prove how tough it is. The word ‘Toulouse’ is a city in France on the Garonne River. Perhaps this justifies why the Parisian cats were disposed of next to a river stream… or maybe I’m reaching?
Let’s talk about our favourite songs from the movie. Mine is 100% “Everybody Wants to be a Cat”, where they venture to ‘Scat Cats abode’ in an abandoned building. There in nothing better than watching a bunch of cats blow trumpets and play the drums on the streets of Paris to the inheritors of a fortune. You won’t find quality content like this watching ‘Cats the Movie.’ I love that in this scene we begin to see the ‘snobby’ cats loosen up and enjoy the foreign presence of other animals of their species. We see Duchess and Thomas share a dance and a look of admiration or two; you can really tell that the tabby cats flirty attempts are beginning to break Duchess’ hard exterior. How does a cat get told “your eyes are like sapphires sparkling so bright. They make the morning radiant and light.” And I get left on read?
We can’t forget some of the movies most iconic characters like Abigail and Amelia, the sassiest geese of the 70’s and their drunk uncle Waldo, and Roquefort, the tiny mouse who works his little whiskers off attempting to save the missing cats. Who would’ve thought cats and mice could be friends? It’s almost as if this were a Disney movie!
What I love about this animation is that it’s so easy to watch coming in at approximately one hour and eighteen minutes long. It’s fairly simple to understand, and the blatant jealously from the greedy butler, Edgar can be easily detected by a young audience. Unlike in many other animated movies, Edgar is a simple yet suitable villain for this movie. His character isn’t eccentric like, for instance: Ursula, of ‘The Little Mermaid’, or Captain Hook of ‘Peter Pan’. Edgar is an ordinary, boring man, who spends his life catering to everyone else’s needs and just wanted a bit of a pay-out. I almost feel sad for him! All the effort that he puts into Madame Adelaide’s hectic lifestyle, not to mention the fact that she’s aging and requires vast amounts of attention due to her lack of family or friends and she chose to leave her money to a bunch of cats that could potentially use a stack of cash as a litter box! Now that I think of it, I don’t even blame the poor man for ridding of the cats so the inheritance can be his!
What blows my mind, is that the movie is set In Paris, France and I can count on one hand how many characters actually possessed a French accent! Duchess had a French accent, yet her owner and kittens did not. O’Malley was American, Edgar was very English, and Roquefort just sounded like he wanted to cry. Another fun fact, the mouses actor played the voice of Winnie the Pooh several times and Kaa the Snake in ‘The Jungle Book’! it’s a very small world we live in, honestly!
What I appreciate about this movie is that at 52 years old, The Aristocats is still very much relevant in the world of Disney, and kids today still appreciate it, just like I did. The quality is impeccable for its time, and I wouldn’t think twice about it if I were to watch it another 100 times. It can be enjoyed dearly on Disney Plus and is perhaps one of the most iconic classic Disney animations of the twentieth and twenty first century. I certainly will be sharing this movie with my children when the time comes and their kids and so on. This movie will never die!
4.2/5!
Comments
Post a Comment