The Aristocats

The Aristocats is a 1970 American animated musical adventure-romantic comedy movie. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. It is the 20th Disney animated movie. The movie is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe. It is about a family of aristocratic cats. They are kidnapped by their greedy butler, Edgar. Edgar wants to gain the fortune that the cats' owner has left to them in her will. An alley cat named Thomas O'Malley helps them make their way back home. O'Malley also helps them defeat Edgar. In the end, O'Malley becomes a part of the family. The movie was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. It features the voices of Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Phil Harris, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, and Roddy Maude-Roxby.
In 1962, "The Aristocats" began as an original script for a two-part live-action episode of "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color". It was developed by writers Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe and producer Harry Tytle. Following two years of re-writes, Walt Disney said that the project would be better made as an animated movie. The project was placed in turnaround as "The Jungle Book" continued production. When "The Jungle Book" was nearly complete, Disney appointed Ken Anderson to develop preliminary work on "The Aristocats". It was the last movie project to be approved by Walt Disney before his death on December 15, 1966.
"The Aristocats" was released on December 11, 1970. It received positive reception and was a box office success.
Plot.
The movie takes place in Paris in 1910. A mother cat named Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her three kittens, Marie (Liz English), Berlioz (Dean Clark) and Toulouse (Gary Dubin), are going to receive their owner's (Hermione Baddeley) fortune when she dies. But Edgar (Roddy Maude-Roxby), their English butler, does not like this and plans to send the cats away.
He places sleeping tablets in their dinner. At night, he plans on dropping them off in the countryside. Two hound dogs, Napoleon (Pat Buttram) and Lafayette (George Lindsey), attack him, and the cats are now stranded.
In the morning, they meet an alley cat named Thomas O'Malley (Phil Harris). He helps them on their way back home. He even lets them stay at his "pad" (the place where he and his "gang", or friends, stay).
They finally make their way back home, but Edgar re-catches them in a sack and plans to send them to Timbuktu, Africa. O'Malley, Scat Cat (Scatman Crothers) and his gang, Roquefort the Mouse (Sterling Holloway), and Frou-Frou the Horse (Nancy Kulp) all fight Edgar. Roquefort frees Duchess and the kittens. In the end, Edgar is kicked into the trunk, locked inside, and sent to Timbuktu himself. Madame Adelaide's will is re-written to not include Edgar and instead include O'Malley. She also starts a charity foundation. This foundation gives a home to all the cats in Paris.
Release.
Home media.
"The Aristocats" was released on VHS in Europe on January 1, 1990. It was first released on VHS in North America in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection series on April 24, 1996.
In January 2000, Walt Disney Home Video launched the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection, with "The Aristocats" re-released on VHS and DVD on April 4, 2000. The DVD contained the movie in its 1.33:1 aspect ratio and 2.0 Dolby surround sound. The Gold Collection release was quietly discontinued in 2006. A new Special Edition DVD was released on February 5, 2008.
Disney released the movie for the first time on Blu-ray on August 21, 2012. The 2-disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo (both in Blu-ray and DVD packaging) features a new digital transfer and new bonus material. A single disc DVD edition was also released on the same day.
Soundtrack.
"" includes "Thomas O'Malley Cat" on the and "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" on the . "Disney's Greatest Hits" includes "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" on the red disc.