The Aristocats
Encyclopedia
The Aristocats is a 1970 American animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions in 1970 and stars Eva Gabor
and Phil Harris
, with Roddy Maude-Roxby
as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story. The twentieth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and revolves around a family of aristocrat
ic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler
has kidnapped them to gain his mistress' fortune which was meant to go to them. It was originally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution
on December 11, 1970. The title is a pun
on the word aristocrats.
The film is noted for being the last film to be approved by Walt Disney
himself, as he died in late 1966, before the film was released. It garnered positive reviews and was a box office success. Disney Studios began production of a sequel, The Aristocats II, in December 2005, set to release in 2007, but production was cancelled in early 2006.
s, Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse, live in the mansion
of retired opera
singer Madame Adelaide Bonfamille, along with her English butler Edgar. She early on settles her will
with her lawyer Georges Hautecourt, an aged, eccentric old friend of hers, stating that she wishes for her fortune to be left to her cats, who will retain it until their deaths, upon which her fortune will revert to Edgar. Edgar hears this from his own room and is unwilling to wait for the cats to die naturally before he inherits Madame Adelaide's fortune, and plots to remove the cats from a position of inheritance.
He sedates the cats by putting sleeping pills into the cats' food and then heads out into the countryside to drown them in a creek. However, two hound
dogs, named Napoleon
and Lafayette, attack him. Edgar escapes, leaving behind his umbrella
, hat
, the cats' bed-basket
, and the sidecar
of his motorcycle. The cats are unharmed, but stranded in the countryside, while Madame Adelaide, Roquefort the mouse, and Frou-Frou the horse discover their absence. In the morning, Duchess meets an alley cat named Thomas O'Malley, who offers to guide her and the kittens to Paris.
They have a struggle returning to the city, briefly hitchhiking
on the back of a milk cart before being chased off by the driver. Marie subsequently falls into a river and is saved by O'Malley. They then meet a pair of English geese, Amelia and Abigail Gabble, who are on a tour of France. The group head off, marching like geese, until they reach Paris and come across the girls' drunken Uncle Waldo. Abigail and Amelia then depart to take Waldo home.
Travelling across the rooftops of the city, the cats meet Scat Cat
and his band, close friends to O'Malley, who perform the song Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat. After the band has departed and the kittens lie in bed, O'Malley and Duchess spend the evening on a nearby rooftop and talk, while the kittens listen at a windowsill. The subject of their conversation is the question of whether Duchess may stay and marry Thomas. Eventually, she turns him down, largely out of loyalty to Madame Adelaide. Edgar, meanwhile, retrieves his sidecar, umbrella, and hat from Napoleon and Layafette with some difficulty, knowing that it's the only evidence that could incriminate him.
The cats make it back to the mansion, whereupon O'Malley departs sadly. Edgar sees Duchess and Kittens coming and captures them, places them in a sack and briefly hides them in an oven. The cats tell Roquefort to pursue O'Malley and get help. He does so, whereupon O'Malley races back to the mansion, ordering Roquefort to find Scat Cat and his gang. Edgar places the cats in a trunk which he plans to send to Timbuktu
, Africa. O'Malley, Scat Cat and his gang, and Frou-Frou all fight Edgar, while Roquefort frees Duchess and the kittens. In the end, Edgar is tipped into the trunk, locked inside, and sent to Timbuktu himself.
Madame Adelaide's will is rewritten to exclude Edgar and include O'Malley. She starts a charity foundation providing a home for all of Paris' stray cats. The grand opening thereof, to which most of the major characters come, features Scat Cat's band, who perform a reprise of Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat.
" worked on it, including the Disney crew that had been working 25 years on average.
series on April 24, 1996 and DVD on April 4, 2000 in the Gold Classic Collection
line. The Aristocats had its Gold Collection disc quietly discontinued in 2006. A new single-disc Special Edition DVD (previously announced as a 2-Disc set) was released on February 5, 2008.
with an average rating of 6/10. While this is rather low for a Disney animated feature, it still classifies it as "fresh". Of the reviews, 12 gave it fresh and only 6 gave it rotten.
The film was nominated for AFI's 10 Top 10
in the "Animation" genre.
On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic
, this includes "Thomas O'Malley Cat" on the purple disc and "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" on the orange disc. On Disney's Greatest Hits
, this includes "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" on the red disc.
the title was translated to Gli Aristogatti. Most of the characters maintained their original names but Thomas O'Malley that was renamed Romeo, Er mejo der Colosseo ("The best of Colosseum" in Romanesco
), and changed its origin from Ireland to Italy.
Eva Gabor
Eva Gabor was a Hungarian-born socialite and actress. She was widely known for her role on Green Acres as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character, Oliver Wendell Douglas, Duchess in the 1970 Disney film The Aristocats, and Miss Bianca in Disney's The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under...
and Phil Harris
Phil Harris
Harris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
, with Roddy Maude-Roxby
Roddy Maude-Roxby
Roddy Maude-Roxby is an English actor.Maude-Roxby has appeared in numerous films, such as The Aristocats, Unconditional Love, and Clint Eastwood's White Hunter, Black Heart, playing the British Partner Thompson....
as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story. The twentieth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and revolves around a family of aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
ic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
has kidnapped them to gain his mistress' fortune which was meant to go to them. It was originally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution
Buena Vista Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is a motion picture and television feature distribution company owned by Disney Enterprises, Inc. Buena Vista International was the international distribution arm, Buena Vista Home Entertainment was the firm's video and DVD distribution arm, and Buena Vista...
on December 11, 1970. The title is a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on the word aristocrats.
The film is noted for being the last film to be approved by Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
himself, as he died in late 1966, before the film was released. It garnered positive reviews and was a box office success. Disney Studios began production of a sequel, The Aristocats II, in December 2005, set to release in 2007, but production was cancelled in early 2006.
Plot
In Paris, France, in 1910, a mother cat named Duchess and her three kittenKitten
A kitten is a juvenile domesticated cat.The young of big cats are called cubs rather than kittens. Either term may be used for the young of smaller wild felids such as ocelots, caracals, and lynx, but "kitten" is usually more common for these species....
s, Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse, live in the mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
of retired opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer Madame Adelaide Bonfamille, along with her English butler Edgar. She early on settles her will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
with her lawyer Georges Hautecourt, an aged, eccentric old friend of hers, stating that she wishes for her fortune to be left to her cats, who will retain it until their deaths, upon which her fortune will revert to Edgar. Edgar hears this from his own room and is unwilling to wait for the cats to die naturally before he inherits Madame Adelaide's fortune, and plots to remove the cats from a position of inheritance.
He sedates the cats by putting sleeping pills into the cats' food and then heads out into the countryside to drown them in a creek. However, two hound
Hound
A hound is a type of dog that assists hunters by tracking or chasing the animal being hunted. It can be contrasted with the gun dog, which assists hunters by identifying the location of prey, and with the retriever, which recovers shot quarry...
dogs, named Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and Lafayette, attack him. Edgar escapes, leaving behind his umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
, hat
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
, the cats' bed-basket
Basket
A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibres, which can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehair, baleen, or metal wire can be used. Baskets are...
, and the sidecar
Sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle.-History:A sidecar appeared in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper Motor Cycling. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was...
of his motorcycle. The cats are unharmed, but stranded in the countryside, while Madame Adelaide, Roquefort the mouse, and Frou-Frou the horse discover their absence. In the morning, Duchess meets an alley cat named Thomas O'Malley, who offers to guide her and the kittens to Paris.
They have a struggle returning to the city, briefly hitchhiking
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
on the back of a milk cart before being chased off by the driver. Marie subsequently falls into a river and is saved by O'Malley. They then meet a pair of English geese, Amelia and Abigail Gabble, who are on a tour of France. The group head off, marching like geese, until they reach Paris and come across the girls' drunken Uncle Waldo. Abigail and Amelia then depart to take Waldo home.
Travelling across the rooftops of the city, the cats meet Scat Cat
Scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
and his band, close friends to O'Malley, who perform the song Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat. After the band has departed and the kittens lie in bed, O'Malley and Duchess spend the evening on a nearby rooftop and talk, while the kittens listen at a windowsill. The subject of their conversation is the question of whether Duchess may stay and marry Thomas. Eventually, she turns him down, largely out of loyalty to Madame Adelaide. Edgar, meanwhile, retrieves his sidecar, umbrella, and hat from Napoleon and Layafette with some difficulty, knowing that it's the only evidence that could incriminate him.
The cats make it back to the mansion, whereupon O'Malley departs sadly. Edgar sees Duchess and Kittens coming and captures them, places them in a sack and briefly hides them in an oven. The cats tell Roquefort to pursue O'Malley and get help. He does so, whereupon O'Malley races back to the mansion, ordering Roquefort to find Scat Cat and his gang. Edgar places the cats in a trunk which he plans to send to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
, Africa. O'Malley, Scat Cat and his gang, and Frou-Frou all fight Edgar, while Roquefort frees Duchess and the kittens. In the end, Edgar is tipped into the trunk, locked inside, and sent to Timbuktu himself.
Madame Adelaide's will is rewritten to exclude Edgar and include O'Malley. She starts a charity foundation providing a home for all of Paris' stray cats. The grand opening thereof, to which most of the major characters come, features Scat Cat's band, who perform a reprise of Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat.
Production
This film was the last one to be approved by Walt Disney himself, and the first one produced after his death in 1966. The film took four years to produce, at a budget of $4,000,000. Five of Disney's legendary "Nine Old MenDisney's Nine Old Men
Disney's Nine Old Men were the core animators at The Walt Disney Company who created some of Disney's most famous works, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs onward to The Rescuers. Walt Disney jokingly called this group of animators his "Nine Old Men," referring to Robert S...
" worked on it, including the Disney crew that had been working 25 years on average.
Cast
- Phil HarrisPhil HarrisHarris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
as Thomas O'Malley (full name: Abraham de Lacy Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat) - The main protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. A friendly alley cat who finds Duchess and her kittens stranded in the woods and befriends them, becoming a father figure to the kittens and falling in love with Duchess. - Eva GaborEva GaborEva Gabor was a Hungarian-born socialite and actress. She was widely known for her role on Green Acres as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character, Oliver Wendell Douglas, Duchess in the 1970 Disney film The Aristocats, and Miss Bianca in Disney's The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under...
as Duchess the White Cat - Madame Adelaide's cat and mother of three kittens. She is the deuteragonistDeuteragonistIn literature, the deuteragonist is the second most important character, after the protagonist and before the tritagonist. The deuteragonist may switch from being with or against the protagonist depending on the deuteragonist's own conflict/plot.-History:Greek drama began with simply one actor,...
who falls in love with Thomas and is forced to choose her life at home or a life with Thomas. Robie LesterRobie LesterRobie Lester was an American Grammy-nominated voice actress and singer.-Early years:Lester was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in northern Ontario, Canada. After a few years in Detroit, she joined the US Army Air Corps before attending UCLA with a major in music...
provided her singing voice. - Roddy Maude-RoxbyRoddy Maude-RoxbyRoddy Maude-Roxby is an English actor.Maude-Roxby has appeared in numerous films, such as The Aristocats, Unconditional Love, and Clint Eastwood's White Hunter, Black Heart, playing the British Partner Thompson....
as Edgar - Madame Adelaide's butler and the main antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of the film. He hopes to get rid of the cats in order to inherit Adelaide's fortune. - Scatman CrothersScatman CrothersBenjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
as Scat Cat - Thomas's best friend and leader of a group of music-loving alley cats. Plays the trumpet. - Gary DubinGary DubinGary Dubin is an actor who portrayed Punky Lazaar, a friend of Danny's on The Partridge Family. He also voiced Toulouse in the UK version of The Aristocats in 1970 and played a person who was eaten by the shark in Jaws 2.He has also acted in many other projects as well...
as Toulouse - the oldest kitten, he aspires to meet a tough alley cat and adores Thomas as a father figure. He acts very tough at times and often gets into Marie's and Berlioz's nerves. - Liz English as Marie - the middle kitten. Not only is she very bossy at times, but she also believes that by being female, she is the best of the three kittens. She, like Toulouse, grows to love Thomas like a father.
- Dean Clark as Berlioz - the youngest kitten. He is somewhat timid and shy. Like Toulouse and Marie, he grows to love Thomas like a father.
- Sterling HollowaySterling HollowaySterling Price Holloway, Jr. was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television programs. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company...
as Roquefort the Mouse - a friend of the cats. He attempts to find them after they are catnapped, but is unsuccessful. - Paul WinchellPaul WinchellPaul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
as Shun Gon the Chinese Cat - a member of Scat Cat's gang. Plays the piano and drums that are made out of pots. - Lord Tim HudsonLord Tim HudsonLord' Tim Hudson , was an English DJ in Los Angeles for KFWB during the 1960s, and was the manager of The Seeds and The Lollipop Shoppe...
as Hit Cat the English Cat - a member of Scat Cat's gang. Plays acoustic guitar. - Vito ScottiVito ScottiVito Scotti was a veteran character actor who played many roles, primarily from the late-1940s to the mid-1990s. He was known as a man of a thousand faces, for his ability to assume so many divergent roles in more than 200 screen roles, in a nearly 50 year career. He was known for his resourceful...
as Peppo the Italian Cat - a member of Scat Cat's gang. Plays the accordion. - Thurl RavenscroftThurl RavenscroftThurl Arthur Ravenscroft was an American voice actor and singer best known as the deep voice behind Tony the Tiger's "They're grrreat!" in Frosted Flakes television commercials for more than five decades. Ravenscroft was also known, however uncredited, as the vocalist for the song "You're a Mean...
as Billy Boss the Russian Cat - a member of Scat Cat's gang. Plays cello bass guitar. - Pat ButtramPat ButtramMaxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram was an American actor, known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the TV series Green Acres. He had a distinctive voice which, in his own words, "... never quite made it through puberty"...
as Napoleon the BloodhoundBloodhoundThe Bloodhound is a large breed of dog which, while originally bred to hunt deer and wild boar, was later bred specifically to track human beings. It is a scenthound, tracking by smell, as opposed to a sighthound, which tracks using vision. It is famed for its ability to discern human odors even...
- a farm dog who attacks Edgar when he intrudes in the farm, unknowingly saving the lives of Duchess and her kittens. Napoleon insists, whenever cohort Lafayette makes a suggestion, that he is in charge – then proceeds to adopt Lafayette's suggestion as his own. - George LindseyGeorge LindseyGeorge Lindsey is an American character actor, best known for his role as "Goober Pyle" on The Andy Griffith Show, as well as for his tenure on Hee-Haw.-Early life and career :...
as Lafayette the Basset HoundBasset HoundThe Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits and hare by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound....
- a farm dog and Napoleon's companion. He sometimes proves to be smarter than Napoleon, despite Napoleon staunchly insisting that he is the leader of the farm dogs. - Hermione BaddeleyHermione BaddeleyHermione Baddeley was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here...
as Madame Adelaide Bonfamille - a former opera singer and owner of Duchess and her kittens. - Charles LaneCharles Lane (actor)Charles Gerstle Levison , better known as Charles Lane, was an American character actor seen in many movies and TV shows, and at the time of his death may have been the oldest living professional American actor. Lane appeared in many Frank Capra films, including You Can't Take It With You , Mr...
as Georges Hautecourt the Lawyer - a senile but lively old man who denies his old age and even refuses to accept Edgar's offer of using the elevator instead of the long staircase, resulting in brief chaos. - Nancy KulpNancy KulpNancy Jane Kulp was an American character actress best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the popular television series The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
as Frou-Frou the Horse - Roquefort's companion and who plays a part in subduing Edgar. Ruth BuzziRuth BuzziRuth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life:...
provided her singing voice. - Monica EvansMonica EvansMonica Evans is an English actress best known for her portrayal of Cecily Pigeon in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. She was in the original Broadway cast for its entire run, then appeared in the film version in 1968, and finally appeared in some episodes of the television series based on the play...
as Abigail Gabble - a goose who finds the cats and tries to help them get home. - Carole ShelleyCarole ShelleyCarole Shelley is an English actress. Among her many stage roles are the character of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked.-Life and career:...
as Amelia Gabble - Abigail's twin sister. - Bill ThompsonBill Thompson (voice actor)Bill Thompson was an American radio actor and voice actor whose career stretched from the 1930s until his death.-Early career:...
as Uncle Waldo - the drunk uncle of Amelia and Abigail. (his final role) - Peter RenadayPeter RenadayPeter Renaday is an American voice actor.-Film:*The Aristocats as the truck driver*Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost as Mr.McKnight-TV series:*Angel as The Beast's Master...
- French Milkman the Driver/Le Petit Cafe Cook/Truck Movers (uncredited) - Maurice ChevalierMaurice ChevalierMaurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
- Singer
Release
The Aristocats was re-released to theaters on December 19, 1980 and April 10, 1987. It was released on VHS in Europe on January 1, 1990. It was first released on VHS in North America in the Masterpiece CollectionWalt Disney Masterpiece Collection
The Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection was a line of VHS videos and Laserdiscs released by Walt Disney Home Video from 1994 to 1999. The Spanish counterparts began selling in 1995. Limited issue DVDs also have the same cover art....
series on April 24, 1996 and DVD on April 4, 2000 in the Gold Classic Collection
Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection
The Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection was a line of videos and DVDs released by The Walt Disney Company which ran from 2000 to 2001. It was preceded by Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, which ran from 1994 to 1999. All titles were released in VHS and DVD formats, except the DVD version of Toy...
line. The Aristocats had its Gold Collection disc quietly discontinued in 2006. A new single-disc Special Edition DVD (previously announced as a 2-Disc set) was released on February 5, 2008.
Reception
Based on 18 reviews, the film has a 67% rating at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
with an average rating of 6/10. While this is rather low for a Disney animated feature, it still classifies it as "fresh". Of the reviews, 12 gave it fresh and only 6 gave it rotten.
The film was nominated for AFI's 10 Top 10
AFI's 10 Top 10
AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
in the "Animation" genre.
Soundtrack
- "The Aristocats" - Maurice ChevalierMaurice ChevalierMaurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
. Ths title song from the film was written by Robert & Richard ShermanSherman BrothersThe Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
at the end of the eight year tenure working for Walt Disney Productions. Actor and singer Maurice ChevalierMaurice ChevalierMaurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
came out of retirement to sing this song for the motion picture's soundtrack, convinced by a demo version where Richard Sherman imitated him. (Robert Sherman also stated that Chevalier's recording is Chevalier imitating Richard Sherman imitating Chevalier.) He recorded it in English as well as in French translation ("Naturellement - les Aristocats!"). It would be his last work before his death in 1972. - "Pourquoi?" - A deleted song sung by Hermione Baddeley as Madame Bonfamille, who sings about her love for the cats while harmonizing with a recording of her own voice on a 78-RPMGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. Marie, voiced by Robie LesterRobie LesterRobie Lester was an American Grammy-nominated voice actress and singer.-Early years:Lester was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in northern Ontario, Canada. After a few years in Detroit, she joined the US Army Air Corps before attending UCLA with a major in music...
, interrupts the song twice by asking her "Purr-quoi?", to which she replies "Because I am with you." The song, introduced by its writer Richard M. ShermanRichard M. ShermanRichard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....
, is featured among the extras in the 2008 Special Edition DVD. - "Scales and Arpeggios" - Liz English, Gary DubinGary DubinGary Dubin is an actor who portrayed Punky Lazaar, a friend of Danny's on The Partridge Family. He also voiced Toulouse in the UK version of The Aristocats in 1970 and played a person who was eaten by the shark in Jaws 2.He has also acted in many other projects as well...
, Dean Clark, Robie LesterRobie LesterRobie Lester was an American Grammy-nominated voice actress and singer.-Early years:Lester was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in northern Ontario, Canada. After a few years in Detroit, she joined the US Army Air Corps before attending UCLA with a major in music...
- - "Thomas O'Malley Cat" - Phil HarrisPhil HarrisHarris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
. - "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" - Phil HarrisPhil HarrisHarris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
, Scatman CrothersScatman CrothersBenjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
, Thurl RavenscroftThurl RavenscroftThurl Arthur Ravenscroft was an American voice actor and singer best known as the deep voice behind Tony the Tiger's "They're grrreat!" in Frosted Flakes television commercials for more than five decades. Ravenscroft was also known, however uncredited, as the vocalist for the song "You're a Mean...
, Vito ScottiVito ScottiVito Scotti was a veteran character actor who played many roles, primarily from the late-1940s to the mid-1990s. He was known as a man of a thousand faces, for his ability to assume so many divergent roles in more than 200 screen roles, in a nearly 50 year career. He was known for his resourceful...
, Paul WinchellPaul WinchellPaul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
. This song is sung by Scatman Crothers as Scat Cat, with all the other members of his polyethnicPolyethnicityPolyethnicity refers to the close proximity of people from different ethnic backgrounds within a country or other specific geographic region. It also relates to the ability and willingness of individuals to identify themselves with multiple ethnicities...
jazz band. It was also released as a now rare 45 rpm single, in a version sung only by Phil Harris, which lacks the cartoon voices of the common release. The soundtrack CD released in 1996 contains an edited version of the song. The lines sung by "Chinese Cat", voiced by Paul Winchell, now seen as politically incorrect, are removed. However, they are still in the song as featured in the DVD release. - "She Never Felt Alone" - Another deleted song, this number features a reprise of "Pourquoi?" sung by Robie Lester on her own with different lyrics, explaining why Madame loves her and the kittens. Lester's piano-and-voice demo is featured among the DVD extras, within the same section as "Pourquoi?".
- "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat (reprise)" - Phil Harris, Scatman Crothers, Thurl Ravenscroft, Vito Scotti, Paul Winchell, Ruth BuzziRuth BuzziRuth Ann Buzzi is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.-Early life:...
, Bill ThompsonBill Thompson (voice actor)Bill Thompson was an American radio actor and voice actor whose career stretched from the 1930s until his death.-Early career:...
. A reprise featuring all of the animal characters in the film.
On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic
Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic
-References:*...
, this includes "Thomas O'Malley Cat" on the purple disc and "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" on the orange disc. On Disney's Greatest Hits
Disney's Greatest Hits
Disney's Greatest Hits is a 3-disc CD-set, released by Walt Disney Records in 2001 and 2002.- Volume 1 - Blue :# Strangers Like Me # Reflection # I Won't Say...
, this includes "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" on the red disc.
Direct-to-video sequel
The Aristocats II was supposed to be a direct-to-video sequel to this film. It was scheduled to be released in 2007, but the production was stopped in 2005.International versions
In ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
the title was translated to Gli Aristogatti. Most of the characters maintained their original names but Thomas O'Malley that was renamed Romeo, Er mejo der Colosseo ("The best of Colosseum" in Romanesco
Romanesco
Romanesco or Romanesque is a regional language or sociolect subsumed within the Italian language spoken in Rome. It is part of the Central Italian dialects and is thus genetically closer to the Tuscan dialect and Standard Italian....
), and changed its origin from Ireland to Italy.