The Aristocats

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Much like Dumbo, this is another one that’s cute and fun, even if it’s not one of the better classics.

At its core, the story matches the simplicity of the film overall- a group of cats are set to inherit the fortune of their rich owner, so her butler (who is next in line) attempts to get rid of them. Luckily, they encounter an alley cat named Thomas O’Malley (who has a great introductory song by the way), who helps them get home. Others have pointed out that the plot is essentially 101 Dalmatians crossed with Lady and the Tramp and yeah, overall it is pretty derivative of the animal films which came before it.

This isn’t helped by the fact that the plot is stuffed with filler scenes. The good news is that for the most part it is good filler- all of the sequences that make up the movie as a whole are fairly entertaining, even if they don’t contribute much overall.

Sometimes the scratchier style of animation Disney used at the time works here and at other points it really doesn’t. For example, sometimes a sketchier style matches the overall atmosphere of the film, adding a sense of fun much like The Jungle Book. At other times, it just looks ugly, so the animation is a mixed bag overall.  

The characters are also good - the kittens are cute and O’Malley is a very entertaining character. On the other hand, Edgar is a pretty forgettable villain. I know, my standards for Disney villains are always way too high, but I know Disney could and would do better.  

Really the only vaguely outstanding about this film is the music. Everybody Wants to Be a Cat is of course a classic and the other songs are a lot of fun too.

In general, The Aristocats is not one of Disney’s best classics, but it’s not completely awful either.

Rating

Good guys: Cute kittens and a Tramp-esque hero put the characters for this film at a 5/10

Bad guys: Edgar isn’t irritating by any means, but he’s not exactly Disney’s most memorable villain either, so the villain gets 4/10

Animation: As I said, sometimes the animation style works and at other times it really doesn’t, so overall the animation gets 6/10  

Music: There are a lot of fun tunes in this film, so the music gets 6/10

Plot: Whilst it is derivative and full of filler, it still manages to be entertaining, so overall the plot gets 5/10

Overall Rating: 26/50

Next review: Robin Hood