The Aristocats

Director: Milt Kahl, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman Milt Kahl, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman,

Overview

The Aristocats was the first Disney Studios animated feature to be produced after Walt Disney's death. A wealthy woman leaves her vast fortune to her four cats: the well-bred Duchess and her kittens, Berlioz, Toulouse, and Marie. Jealous butler Edgar, eager to get his mitts on the cats' legacy, abandons the felines in the French countryside. The four lost kitties are aided in their efforts to return home by the raffish country pussycats Thomas O'Malley and Scat Cat. In keeping with a tradition launched by The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats is top-heavy with celebrity voices, including Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Scatman Crothers, Hermione Baddeley, and the ineluctable Sterling Holloway. Assembled by the "nine old men" then in charge of animation, The Aristocats was a commercial success, essentially proving that Disney animated features could succeed without the involvement of the company's founder.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/21/2012
UPC:	0786936820591
Original Release:	1970
Rating:	G
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Time:	1:18:00
Sales rank:	13,772

Special Features

Disney virtual kittens; Virtual kitten DVD-ROM; The Aristocrats fun with language games; The great cat family (excerpt); The Sherman brothers; The Aristocats scrapbook; Deleted song

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Phil Harris	Thomas O'Malley
Eva Gabor	Duchess
Sterling Holloway	Roquefort
Scatman Crothers	Scat Cat
Vito Scotti	Italian Cat
Thurl Ravenscroft	Russian Cat
Dean Clark	Berlioz
George Lindsey	Lafayette
Bill Thompson	Uncle Waldo
Maurice Chevalier	Title Song
Tim Hudson	English Cat
Roddy Maude-Roxby	Butler,Edgar
Hermione Baddeley	Madame Adelaide Bonfamille
Pat Buttram	Napoleon
Gary Dubin	Toulouse
Liz English	Marie
Monica Evans	Abigail Gabble
Nancy Kulp	Frou Frou
Charles Lane	Georges Hautecourt
Carole Shelley	Amelia Gabble
Paul Winchell	Chinese Cat

Technical Credits

Larry Clemmons

Eric Cleworth

Vance Gerry

Ken Anderson

Tom McGowan

Tom Rowe

Julius Svendsen

Frank Thomas

Ralph Wright

Milt Kahl	Director,Animator
John Lounsbery	Director,Animator
Wolfgang Reitherman	Director,Producer
Tom Acosta	Editor
George Bruns	Score Composer
Larry Clemmons	Screenwriter
Eric Cleworth	Animator,Screenwriter
Basil Davidovich	Consultant/advisor
Vance Gerry	Screenwriter
Terry Gilkyson	Score Composer,Songwriter
Don Griffith	Consultant/advisor
Ed Hansen	Asst. Director
Fred Hellmich	Animator
Winston Hibler	Producer
Floyd Huddleston	Score Composer,Songwriter
Ollie Johnston	Animator
Ken Anderson	Producer,Production Designer,Screenwriter
Hal King	Animator
Eric Larson	Animator
Dick Lucas	Animator,Special Effects
Daniel MacManus	Animator,Special Effects
Tom McGowan	Screenwriter
Dave Michener	Animator
Al Rinker	Score Composer,Songwriter
Sylvia Roemer	Consultant/advisor
Tom Rowe	Screenwriter
Walter Sheets	Musical Direction/Supervision
Richard M. Sherman	Score Composer,Songwriter
Robert B. Sherman	Score Composer,Songwriter
Alt Stanchfield	Animator
Julius Svendsen	Animator,Screenwriter
Frank Thomas	Animator,Screenwriter
Ralph Wright	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Aristocats
1. Opening Credits/"The Aristocats" [:15]
2. Madame's Lawyer Arrives [2:17]
3. Madame Makes a Will [1:22]
4. "Scales and Arpeggios" [3:28]
5. A Cat Napping! [4:59]
6. A Rude Awakening For Duchess and the Kittens [:49]
7. 'Thomas O'Malley Cat"|00:01:40|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|}|
8. O'Maley's Plan [2:05]
9. Edgare Reveals His Secret to Frou Frou [5:01]
10. A Narrow Escape For the Kittens [4:20]
11. Introductions to Keep Things Proper [:09]
12. Roquefort Attempts to Tail Edgar [2:32]
13. Edgar Tries to Retrieve His Hat and Umbrella [3:31]
14. On the Rooftops of Paris [2:58]
15. "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" [2:47]
16. Settling Down For the Night [3:59]
17. Home at Least [5:46]
18. Roquefort Runs For Help [1:02]
19. Edgar Has Another Evil Plan [6:32]
20. A New Addition to the Family [2:31]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Aristocats
   Play
   Scene Selection
   Bonus Features
      Deleted Song - "She Never Felt Alone"
      Music & More
         Play All
         "The Aritocrats"
         "Scales and Arpeggios"
         "Thomas O'Malley Cat"
         "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat"
         Play Film With Lyrics Onscreen - On
         Play Film With Lyrics Onscreen - Off
      Games & Activities
         Disney Virtual Kitten
         The Aristocrats Fun With Language Game
      Backstage Disney
         Sherman Brothers - The Aristocrats of Disney Songs
         The Aristocrats Scrapbook
         The Great Cat Family (Excerpt) Original Air Date September 19, 1956
      Bonus Short - Bath Day
   Set Up
      Audio Options
         English
         French
         Spanish
      Subtitles
         English For the Hearing Impaired
         None
   Sneak Peeks

Editorial Reviews

Disney's 20th animated feature is even more of a jazzy romp than The Jungle Book, and once again, the voice cast makes as much of an impression as the animation. Phil Harris (essentially reprising his free-spirited Baloo character) is alley-wise cat Thomas O'Malley, who comes to the rescue of Parisian-bred feline Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her three kittens after they are dumped in the countryside by a scheming butler out to steal their rightful inheritance. The musical highlight is the stylized tour de force "Everybody Wants To Be a Cat." As in "101 Dalmatians," The Aristocats boasts a menagerie of memorable animal characters, including bohemian Scat Cat (Scatman Crothers), the veddy British geese Agatha and Abigail, and hound dogs Napoleon and Lafayette (Pat Buttram and George "Goober" Lindsay). Not vintage Disney, but still a breed apart, The Aristocats will enjoy more than nine lives in this pristine, re-mastered edition. Only the most finicky viewers will resist its considerable charms.

Barnes & Noble - Donald Liebenson

Shortly after Walt Disney's death, his studio released The Aristocats, near the beginning of a period of decline for Disney Studios. It's a cheery, straightforward entertainment vehicle that, like many of the most successful Disney films, centers on animals. In this case, it's a family of disinherited cats fighting to regain their rightful fortune from a conniving butler. Something of a feline French road movie, The Aristocats features Maurice Chevalier singing the title song and Eva Gabor as the prissy pussy Duchess. No less than four directors are credited on this collaborative effort, a perennial favorite in the second tier of Disney successes.

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