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Rating:  - Everybody Wants To Be A Cat
Plot in a nutshell - Duchess (voice of Eva Gabor) is the well polished single mother cat of three little kittens. When their owner, the wealthy elderly woman known as Madame Adelaide, realizes that her time is running out she decides to write up her will, leaving everything she has to her cats, which will then go to her butler Edgar when the cats pass on. Edgar overhears this and is deeply offended by the idea that the cats would get everything before him, and plots to destroy Duchess and her kittens; he drops sleeping pills in their supper one night and then leaves them stranded in the French countryside. Out of their element, Duchess and her kittens befriend a street smart stray cat known as Thomas O'Malley (voice of Phil Harris who did the voice of the big bear Balloo in the Jungle Book); after making a pass at Duchess, unaware that she is a single mother, O'Malley decides to escort them back home, with Duchess genuinely falling for O'Malley as the usual codependent surrogate family bond develops; chaos and mayhem ensues, culminating in a violent clash between O'Malley, his brother cats from the streets and Edgar. Also features appearances by British geese, American southern hound dogs (what they were doing in France is anyone's guess), a mouse who sounds a lot like the rabbit from "Alice In Wonderland" (he was in fact voiced by the same guy who voiced Winnie the Pooh) and a horse.
Sometimes slow paced but still enjoyable Disney venture. Features the memorable "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat" musical piece sung by the late Scatman Crothers (better known to 1980s fans as the voice of Jazz on Transformers). Of course, if this was being made now, it would probably be a dark social commentary on class division represented by the divide between well bred & well fed Duchess and the street born O'Malley.
Rating:  - "A lady does not start fights, but she can finish though."
I love cats. Well, most cats at least. I'm not too fond of scary looking cats that come in my yard. Anyway, I have one named Abner that looks just like the dark gray kitten in the movie. This film is about cats and there are several adorable scenes. I especially love the scenes at the beginning when the cats are at home painting and singing and playing the piano. They're so adorable! It doesn't matter that they're animated.
Their owner is making out her will and her butler Edgar overhears that he will be her beneficiary only AFTER her cats are dead. After some math, he realizes he'll be dead before he gets a cent, so he decides to dispose of the kitties by dropping them off someplace far from home. If he had been smart, he would have waited for the Missus to die then just spend the cats' money considering he would likely be the one responsible for the cats anyway. But why should I let something like logic get in the way of movie storytelling? Anyway, I refuse to see Edgar as the bad guy. I would be ticked too if I had to defer to animals.
Unfortunately, the scenes after this development are not as good. Don't tell me that because it's a cartoon I should see no flaws in it. We get treated to scenes of two annoying dogs and two annoying geese (I can't believe I can't tell a goose from a swan). The story is thin, and O'Malley the alley cat is not interesting in the least. The best thing about the movie are the three kittens. And of course, the song: "Ev'rybody, ev'rybody, ev'rybody wants to be a cat!"
Rating: - Disney Classic without the violence.
You don't really realize how violent the Disney classics are until you want to watch one of them with a toddler. In most of the movies, one of the main characters is orphaned and/or some violent act occurs in the beginning of the story. We'd rather not have our young children exposed to these frightening scenes so we have not shown very many of the Disney movies to our young daughters yet.
The Aristocrats on the other hand is a great story for youngsters. Although the butler does give the cats something to make them sleep and he tries to take them away, it is done so hysterically that it isn't the least bit frightening. The whole movie is charming. My toddlers love it!
Rating: - loved as a kid and again as an adult
I had The Aristocats book when I was a little girl and it came along with a record that read the story to you. I played it over and over and am surprised I didn't wear it out. The movie is fantastic! Great for young and old alike. The characters are well thought out and the story very entertaining. A must for any Disney lover's collection.
Rating: - Superb classic animation
For Disney lovers or simply animation fans, this is a superb movie, as well as to any cinema admirer.
The movie itself is very charming, and it has comedy and fun in the right proportion, including the magic romance beteween the sofisticated cat lady high class Duchess and the O'Malley street smart cat. The kittens come along with their inocence and childhood.
Do not wait much to get this wonderful movie in your dvd collection.
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