We have a real treat in store for you today as we are taking a look at the 1970 Disney classic, The Aristocats. This is an absolute gem and it is one of those movies that I have never heard someone who has seen it say they dislike it. The thing is, while I really like this movie, I do not think it would crack my Disney top 10!
How to Download The Aristocats
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you’re interested in more Disney animated films from the ’70s, check out also our reviews of Robin Hood (1973) and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977).
The Movie Review
One of the things that I love about the movie is the 1910 Parisian setting. Disney has captured what I imagine Paris during this time would have been like. It makes for a very eye-catching movie and the most recent Blu-Ray release of this (which is about ten years old as I write this) has a new transfer that looks great!
The story of the movie is about this old retired opera singer called Madame Adelaide Bonfamille who lives with her cat, Duchess, and Duchesses kittens, Toulouse, Marie, and Berlioz. Duchess and her kittens live a life of luxury and are very cultured and they have a fantastic life.
Madame Adelaide Bonfamille is organizing her affairs and getting her will in order. She decides that she is going to leave her fortune to her butler Edgar, but the catch is, it is left to the cats first! Edgar is sure that he will die before the cats do so he will never see a penny of this huge estate.
This leads Edgar to come up with a cunning and evil plan. Edgar decides to kidnap the cats and dump them out in the wild so he can get the inheritance quicker. His plan is ruined though as he gets into trouble and ends up having to leave the cats stranded, along with a bunch of evidence that ties him to this kidnapping!
Duchess and the kittens are of course scared about being out in the wild. These are cats that have never had to face the dangers of the outside world, but they are in luck. They come across the path of a streetwise cat called, Thomas O’Malley and he agrees to help Duchess and her kittens get back to Paris.
There is of course danger along the way as the cats get used to this outside world and it is a great deal of fun. I also like the parts of the movie with Edgar as he tries to cover his tracks! This is just such a fun movie, with some truly classic Disney songs that we all know and love.
While I am a huge fan of the soundtrack, we do have to talk about the racist scene that this movie has with the Scat Cats! Granted times were different back then, but man it is hard to imagine that people were not offended by this even back in 1970! Still, apart from this, we have a very wholesome and fun story.
I have a hard time imagining that anyone who has an interest in Disney has not seen The Aristocats by now. However, if you have not, be sure to check this out as it has aged well…. Well apart from the racist Asian cat that is! Hopefully, this will be one that gets a 4K transfer from Disney at some point as I would love to add that to my collection.
