Walt Disney Studio’s 20th animated feature film The Aristocats marked the beginning of the Bronze Age for the Studios (or the Disney Dark Ages as it is also referred to, but I like to try to keep positive). The Bronze Age began after Walt Disney passed away and ended with Oliver and Company in 1988, leading into the Disney Renaissance. The Bronze Age is typically known for being a time when the animated films were not succeeding financially or critically. The Disney Studios was struggling on direction without the guidance of Walt and they stepped back from producing traditional fairy tales. But I will admit, two of my favourite Disney films come from this era, Robin Hood and The Rescuers.
Premiered on: December 11, 1970 at the Mann Village Theatre, Westwood, Los Angeles
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Produced by: Winston Hibler and Wolfgang Reitherman
Based on: “The Aristocats” script written by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe
Sequels: none
Cast:
Eva Gabor – Duchess (speaking voice)
Robie Lester – Duchess (singing voice)
Phil Harris – Thomas O’Malley
Gary Dubin – Toulouse
Liz English – Marie
Dean Clark – Berlioz
Sterling Holloway – Roquefort
Roddy Maude-Roxby – Edgar
Scatman Crothers – Scat Cat
Paul Winchell – Shun Gun
Tim Hudson – Hit Cat
Vito Scotti – Peppo
Thurl Ravenscroft – Billy Boss*
Pat Buttram – Napoleon
George Lindsey – Lafayette
Hermione Baddeley – Madame Adelaide Bonfamille
Charles Lane – Georges Hautecourt
Nancy Kulp – Frou-Frou
Monica Evans – Abigail Gabble
Carole Shelley – Amelia Gabble
Bill Thompson – Uncle Waldo
Directing Animators:
Milt Kahl
Ollie Johnston
Frank Thomas
John Lounsbery
Music by:
George Bruns
Richard Sherman
Robert Sherman
Terry Gilkyson
Floyd Huddleston
Al Rinker
Songs:
“The Aristocats”
“Scales and Arpeggios”
“Thomas O’Malley Cat”
“Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat”
Academy Awards: none
*Billy Boss or Billy Bass? His name conflicts throughout different resources. He is simply called Russian Cat in the official D23: A – Z encyclopedia.
The Story:
The film starts with opening credits to the song “The Aristocats” and the background animation is of Duchess and her kittens. The cats are showcasing their talents and the painting that Toulouse is working on turns into the actual Parisian landscape. The scene zooms in on a carriage that is being pulled by Frou-Frou the horse and is being driven by Edgar the butler. It is carrying Madame Adelaide Bonfamille, Duchess, and the kittens. A caption reads “Paris 1910.”
Toulouse bothers Edgar while he is trying to drive and Berlioz rides on Frou-Frou’s hat. When they arrive home, Madame gives Frou-Frou a treat and Duchess makes sure that Berlioz thanks the horse for letting him ride on her hat. Madame calls for all the cats to go inside and as they head in, Madame tells Edgar that she is expecting her attorney, Georges Hautecourt.
Georges drives up in his backfiring car and is singing “Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay.” He trips and comments that he is not as spry as when he was 80. Edgar lets Georges inside and offers that they take the elevator. But Georges is determined to not only take the stairs, but to race Edgar to the top. He thinks that elevators are for old people. Edgar tries his best to help Georges up the stairs but he ends up carrying Georges on his back.
Madame is upstairs and getting herself ready. She tells Duchess that they must both look their best for Georges because he is their oldest and dearest friend. There is a knock on the door and it is Edgar, who is completely out of breath. He announces Georges and Georges enters and kissed Duchess’s tail, thinking that it is Madame’s hand. Berlioz starts up the gramophone and Georges and Madame start to reminisce about how they met at one of her grand premieres from when she was an opera singer. The pair dance and the kittens play amongst their feet. But then Berlioz trips onto the gramophone and the music stops. Madame then reminds Georges that she has asked him there on a very important legal matter. Georges gets excited because he thinks that Madame wants him to sue someone but Madame corrects him because she actually wants to make her will. Georges asks who the beneficiaries will be and Madame goes on to say that she has no living relatives and that she wants her cats to be well cared for.
The scene shows that Edgar is in the next room, ironing his pants, and he is listening to Georges and Madame through a pipe in the wall. Madame says that no one can take better care of her cats than Edgar and Georges thinks that she means that she is going to leave all her assets to Edgar. Edgar gets a big grin on his face and becomes very giddy at the thought, but then Madame says that she is actually going to leave everything to her cats. The cats will be first and then when they pass on, Edgar will be next in line. Edgar starts to freak out at the math of the cats living their nine lives! He comes to the conclusion that he will be gone before the cats. Edger decides that the cats should be gone first and that he will think of a way to get rid of them. There are a million reasons why he should and all of them are dollars.
The next scene shows the kittens racing towards their cat door but they get stuck as all three try to go through at the same time. Marie thinks that she should be first because she is a lady but her brothers just think that she is nothing but a sister. Then they go racing into the living room and play fight and tickle each other on the rug. Toulouse accidentally drops a candle on Marie’s head and she yells for their mother. Duchess comes in and scolds the kittens for not being lady and gentlemen like. They tell Duchess that they were only practicing their fighting and clawing but Duchess says that Aristocats do not practice such things. And that they should be working on their self-improvement. Toulouse goes off to paint and the other cats go to watch. Toulouse paints Edgar and all of the other cats laugh at this, including Duchess who then corrects herself and says that Edgar takes very good care of them all.
In the kitchen, Edgar is making his Crème de la Crème à la Edgar with sleeping pills mixed in. He starts singing to himself about his future riches to the tune of “Rock-a-Bye Baby.”
Duchess tells Marie and Berlioz that they must start their music lessons now. They are going to practice their scales and arpeggios and Berlioz plays the piano as Marie sings “Scales and Arpeggios.” Duchess joins in the singing with Marie, while Toulouse joins in on the piano and gets paint everywhere. Edgar comes in with the Crème de la Crème à la Edgar and accidently tells the cats to “sleep well, I mean eat well of course.” The cats start to drink up the cream and Roquefort the mouse comes by with a cracker. Duchess offers that he joins them and he dunks his cracker into Berlioz’s dish. The cream is so delicious that Roquefort quickly eats up the whole cracker. The mouse leaves to go get another cracker but starts to get so sleepy that he does not even make it inside his mouse hole before falling asleep. The kittens and Duchess start to yawn and nod off as well.
At nighttime, Edgar pokes he head out of the cat door to see if anyone is around. There is spy sounding music playing. He sneaks out of the house with a covered basket and backs into a tree. He thinks that the branch is a gun pointed at him and he starts to freak out. He realizes his mistake but is still very jumpy. He puts the basket down in the sidecar and checks on the sleeping cats inside. Edgar takes off down the streets of Paris with his backfiring motorcycle, actively avoiding the police station. The butler ends up in the countryside.
On a farm, Napoleon the bloodhound hears the motorcycle approaching and wakes up Lafayette the Bassett hound. Napoleon wants to chase the motorcycle but Lafayette complains that they have already bit six tires, and chased four motorcars, a bicycle, and a scooter. Napoleon ignores Lafayette’s complaining and says that the vehicle approaching is a two cylinder, chain drive motorcycle with one squeaky wheel. Napoleon tells Lafayette to sound the attack and the Bassett hound says to “charge.” But Napoleon trips Lafayette and tells the other dog that he is the leader so he will say when to charge. Napoleon waits a second before declaring that now they can go. The two dogs start barking and chasing after Edgar. Edgar ends up off road and loses the basket down by a creek. The dogs somehow end up in the sidecar and they attack Edgar right out of the motorcycle. Napoleon drives the motorcycle with Lafayette in the sidecar but they crash and the sidecar breaks off. After much chaos, Edgar is able to get his motorcycle back and takes off, but the dogs are left with Edgar’s hat, umbrella, and the sidecar.
A lightning storm starts and the scene zooms in on the basket down by the creek. Duchess, who has fallen out of the basket, wakes up to the thunder and wonders where she is. She starts to look for the kittens and finds Marie stuck in a small tree. Marie thinks that she has had a nightmare and has fallen out of bed. Then they hear Berlioz shouting. The poor kitten is in the creek and is very cold and wet. He gets scared by a bullfrog and goes running towards his mother. Then they shout and look for Toulouse, who is still in the basket and is wondering what all the yelling is about. He tells the others about his funny dream about riding and bouncing along with Edgar, and then he hears the frog and realizes that it was not a dream and that Edgar did this to them. The rest of his family does not believe that it was Edger though. The thunder scares them all and they crawl into the basket. The cats think that the situation looks hopeless and they think that poor Madame is going to be so worried when she finds them gone.
The scene changes to show Madame asleep in her bed. She wakes up to the storm and realizes that Duchess and the kittens are gone! She is worried and terrified and goes running through the house looking for them. Roquefort overhears that the cats are gone and is very worried as well. He decides to go out and look for them. He puts on his little raincoat and hat, and heads out into the storm.
The next morning is bright and sunny. Duchess is sleeping outside of the basket and is awaken by someone singing. She sees Thomas O’Malley strutting along the creek and he is singing “Thomas O’Malley Cat.” Thomas spies Duchess and is instantly smitten with her. He comes closer to her and keeps singing his song. The kittens wake up and are very excited that an alley cat is there. They watch from inside the basket. After he is done singing, Duchess introduces herself and Thomas just showers her with flattery. Duchess explains that she is in trouble and that she must get back to Paris as soon as possible. Thomas says that he can fly her there on a magic carpet, and they will be side by side with the stars as their guide. Marie then appears because she thinks this is absolutely romantic and her brothers appear as well. Thomas is very surprised to see the kittens and is not as enthusiastic about going on a magic carpet ride with the kittens along. Duchess says that she understands and the Aristocats leave. As they head off, Toulouse shows Thomas his alley cat skills and Thomas warms up to him. The alley cat then changes his mind and calls after Duchess. He says that he promised a magic carpet ride and that is what they are all going to get. He shows them where the magic carpet is going to stop for passengers and then tells them to hide in the nearby bushes as he climbs up a tree. A milk truck appears down the road and then when it is close, Thomas jumps onto the hood and scares the driver. The upset driver has to get out of the truck to crank it up again and Thomas tells the others to jump in the back and it will take them to Paris.
Thomas stays behind and waves good bye and as Marie is waving, she falls out of the back of the truck. Thomas rescues her and jumps back into the truck and decides to join them on their journey. He says that he will show them the time of their lives when they get to Paris but Duchess says that Madame will be missing them so they must get back to her. She says that Madame will be all alone in that big mansion and the scene shows Madame looking very sad in her mansion.
Inside the stable, Frou-Frou asks Roquefort how his search went. The mouse said that it did not go well and they think that it is a sad day for all of them. But then Edgar comes into the stable and is very cheerful. He asks Frou-Frou if she can keep a secret and then replies to himself that of course she can. Edger then shows Frou-Frou how he had made the newspapers headline “Mysterious Catnapper Abducts Family of Cats.” Roquefort and Frou-Frou now know that he is the catnapper and Edger continues to brag about his perfect crime. He suddenly remembers that during his perfect crime he left his hat and umbrella at the scene and that he must go back there that night.
Back at the milk truck traveling through the countryside, Thomas offers the kittens breakfast but says that first they must conduct a magic spell. He makes the kittens wiggle their noses, tickle the chins, and then close their eyes and cross their hearts. And presto, breakfast! Thomas flips open a can that is labelled “cream” and the kittens enjoy their breakfast. Then the driver sees the cats in the rearview mirror and chases them out of the truck. They run into a nearby shed. The cats wait till the truck is gone and then they continue on their journey back home. They come across a train bridge that they need to cross and the kittens want to play train. Toulouse and Berlioz make Marie be the caboose. Then a real train comes and they must hide under the trestles. But Marie falls down into the water below and Thomas jumps in to save her. Duchess and the boys run down to the bank beside the flowing river. Thomas is able to pass Marie to Duchess but is not able to get out of the river himself.
Two geese appear and spot Thomas in the water and they think how strange it is that a cat is trying to learn how to swim. They decide to help by getting in the water and teaching him. Thomas is holding onto a willow tree branch in the water and is trying to get back to shore. He is very annoyed with the geese and ends up letting go of the branch. Thomas starts to drown and the geese just tell him not to worry about form because that will come later. But then he is under for so long that they realize that he is in trouble and go “bottoms up!”
Duchess and the kittens appear just as the two geese are pulling Thomas out of the water. Duchess thanks the geese and they introduce themselves as Amelia and Abigail Gabble. They are twin sisters who are on a walking tour of France for a holiday. They tell Duchess that her husband is very charming and handsome, but Duchess corrects them in that Thomas is not her husband. The two geese then start to criticize Thomas. Duchess stops them and explains that Thomas is a dear friend of theirs who is helping them get to Paris. Amelia and Abigail are heading to Paris themselves and suggest that they all go together. They take over the small group and line everyone up with Thomas in the back. They tell the cats to “think goose.” And they all start waddling to Paris. Amelia and Abigail tell the cats about their Uncle Waldo, whom they are going to meet at Le Petit Café.
The next scene is of Le Petit Café and Uncle Waldo gets kicked out of the kitchen for chasing the chef who was about to cook the goose. Uncle Waldo is drunk and has the hiccups. Amelia, Abigail, and the cats meet up with Uncle Waldo and he tells them his sad story about almost being cooked and how he is now missing his tail feathers. He shows them the menu which reads “Prime Country Goose.” Uncle Waldo is very loud and his nieces try to shush him. They say that they must get going and the three geese leave while laughing very hard.
The next scene is of Roquefort and Frou-Frou peeking out of the stable window. They see that Edgar is coming so Roquefort goes to hide in the broken tail light of Edgar’s motorcycle. They take off and Roquefort gets bounced around so hard that he cannot hold on and the poor mouse goes flying off. Edger heads back to the country side and sneaks around a field in his squeaky shoes, trying to find his missing items.
Napoleon and Lafayette are sleeping in the field with all of Edgar’s items around them, which now includes the basket the cats were in. Edgar spots them and runs to hide. Napoleon wakes up and hears the squeaky shoes. He wakes up Lafayette and tells him that the shoes are oxfords, size 9.5, and that there is a hole in the left sole. Edgar realizes that his shoes are giving him away and takes them off. Lafayette thinks that it was just a little old cricket bug and Napoleon informs Lafayette that he is the leader so he will decide what it was. He waits a moment and then decides that it was a little old cricket bug. The dogs go back to sleep and Edger uses a fishing pole in an attempt to get his hat. The hat drops onto Lafayette’s head and Napoleon wakes up. The bloodhound is mad at Lafayette for taking his hat, because Napoleon is the leader and deserves the hat! Edger tries again to get the hat but Napoleon is still awake and clamps his arms around the hat and goes back to sleep. Edger then tickles Napoleon and is able to grab the hat. Edger then goes for the basket and grabs it while Lafayette is still sleeping in it. Edger tilts the basket up so that Lafayette slips down and into the sidecar with Napoleon. Then Edger grabs the umbrella but it is attached to a horn, which honks. The dogs wake up and notice that their items are gone and they go looking for the culprit. Lafayette steps into Edger’s shoes and the dogs think that someone wearing the shoes is super close. Then Napoleon hears a one wheeled haystack wheeling away and they see that the sidecar is in a haystack. The dogs attack the contraption and end up crashing into a barn, which gives Edger the chance to escape with all of his items.
Back in Paris, the cats are walking along the roofs. Thomas does not think that they can get all the way back to Madame’s that night and the kittens are very tired; the alley cat knows a place nearby where they can spend the night. They arrive at his quiet old penthouse pad but then jazz music starts to blast from inside. Thomas says that Scat Cat and his buddies must have stopped by and suggests finding a different place to stay but Duchess and the kittens are enthusiastic about meeting Scat Cat and about the music. They go inside the attic and meet the other alley cats. Scat Cat starts to sing “Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat.” Duchess and the kittens joined in and Duchess plays a harp solo halfway through the song and Thomas sings a duet with her. Then the alley cats start stomping on the piano and it goes crashes down from floor to floor. All of the alley cats head out of the building while still singing and playing their now-broken instruments.
In the next scene, Duchess is tucking her kittens into bed and they are sleepily singing “Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat.” Duchess and Thomas sit in the window, look outing at Paris and then they crawl up to the roof top as the kittens sneakily follow. Thomas tells Duchess that he thinks that the kittens need a father around and Duchess says that she thinks that his penthouse pad needs a feminine touch. But Duchess knows that they have to go home tomorrow and the kittens are very disappointed to hear this. They think that they almost had a father.
The next morning, the cats are getting close to their home in the “classy neighbourhood” in Paris. The kittens see their mansion and start to race home. Roquefort sees the cats from the window and runs to go greet them. But he stops when he sees Edger, who is smoking a cigar and leaning back with his feet propped up on the piano, enjoying his success. Roquefort ties the butler’s shoelaces together and ends up getting shot with a popping cork from Edger’s celebration.
The kittens try to jump through their cat door but it is locked so they start meowing. Edger hears and tries to get to the door but he trips over his tied shoelaces. Roquefort tries to warn the kittens to go away through the window but they do not understand.
Duchess and Thomas have a heartful goodbye. Edger lets the cats in and pretends to be happy to see them but then catches them in a sack. Roquefort is too late to warn them and Thomas leaves, with no idea of what happened. Madame calls for Edger to open the door because she thinks she had heard her cats. Edger quickly hides the sack in the oven and then pretends to look for the cats outside. Madame then thinks that it must have been her mind playing tricks on her. The cats tell Roquefort through the oven door about Thomas and that Roquefort needs to go get the alley cat.
Roquefort catches up with Thomas and tells him what has happened. Thomas tells the mouse to go get Scat Cat and his alley cats but Roquefort is scared to do so. Thomas tells him that he will need the help and to just say that O’Malley sent him. Roquefort stumbles upon the alley cats and they think it is hilarious that a mouse was sent to them for help by another cat. Poor Roquefort cannot remember what Thomas O’Malley’s name is and Scat Cat gives him three strikes and then asks the mouse if he has any last words. Roquefort blurts out “Why did I listen to that O’Malley cat?” Scat Cat and the other alley cats now know that Roquefort is telling the truth and they run off towards Madame’s. They all run past a café and a patron pours out his wine after seeing what looks like a mouse chase a bunch of cats.
At the stable, Edger locks the cats into a trunk and says that they are being shipped to Timbuktu. He starts to push the trunk out to the road but then Thomas pounces on him. Frou-Frou helps out and blocks the trunk and Edger chases Thomas around and tries to stab him with a pitchfork. He corners Thomas and traps him with the pitchfork and then the stable doors open and the alley cats come bursting in. They attack Edger and Roquefort goes right to the trunk and tries to unlock the lock. He yells at everyone to be quiet so he can hear the lock clicks and then he is able to unlock the trunk. Thomas tells Duchess and her kittens to jump out but Edger quickly closes the lid, trapping them all inside. But then the alley cats attack back and the trunk opens. The cats jump out and Edger gets trapped inside. The trunk is then pushed out front and the delivery truck comes and picks it up for delivery to Timbuktu.
In the finale scene, Madame is taking a family portrait of her cats, which now includes Thomas. He has a fancy new collar. Georges is there and is updating Madame’s will. He takes out one butler. Madame thinks that if Edger had known about the will, he would not have left. The cats then run downstairs because Madame has a surprise there. Music starts to play and Georges comments that it sounds like swinging cats! Madame says that is what it is! This is the start of her new foundation, a home for all of the alley cats of Paris! The cats start singing a reprise of “Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat” and even Frou-Frou, Uncle Waldo, Amelia, Abigail, Napoleon, and Lafayette join in. Lafayette then comments that it must be the end and Napoleon informs him that he is the leader so he will say when it is the end. Text reading “The End” flies into Napoleon and he says that it is now the end.
Trivia
- It is rumoured that there was a true story about a family of cats that received a large inheritance in Paris in 1910, but I could not find any solid evidence to be completely convinced. Take this piece of trivia with a grain of salt.
- Toulouse is the oldest kitten, then Marie, and then Berlioz is the youngest.
- When Edger checks on the cats in the basket to make sure they are still sleeping, Toulouse opens his eyes just slightly. Toulouse is then the one who dreams about their catnapping, thinking it was Edger, but in reality he did witness the crime.
- Originally a fourth kitten named Waterloo was written for the film, but the Studios thought there were too many characters and he was taken out.
- Some of the deleted and/or rejected songs written for them film were: “She Never Felt Alone,” “Le Jazz Hot,” “Pourquoi?” and “My Way’s the Highway.”
- The Aristocats again showed the voice talents and which characters they played in the opening credits, which was uncommon during this time.
- The Sherman Brothers thought that famous French singer Maurice Chevalier would be perfect to sing the title song. However, he had already retired and it took some convincing on the Sherman Brothers part to get him to sing. Maurice Chevalier was not a new face to the Disney studios as he had acted in live action films such as In Search of the Castaways and Monkeys, Go Home!
- Toulouse was designed to look like a little Thomas O’Malley and he has the desire to be an alley cat. He was named after painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
- Marie was designed to look like a little Duchess and she has the desire to become a proper lady like her mother. She was possibly named after the queen Marie Antoinette, but this has not been confirmed.
- Berlioz was designed to look like a little Scat Cat and he also loves music. He was named after composer Hector Berlioz.
- In the originally script, there was a maid named Elvira who was going to be in cahoots with Edger. She was taken out to simplify the script and to have only one villain. Elvira was going to be voiced by Elsa Lanchester who had acted in a number of live action Disney films. She was in Mary Poppins as Katie Nanna, Black Beard’s Ghost, Rascal, and That Darn Cat!
Representation in the Disney Parks:
There is very little representation of The Aristocats in the Disney Parks.
Toulouse, Marie, and Berlioz are meet and greet characters at Tokyo Disneyland and sometimes they can be found at Disneyland Paris. A quick service restaurant in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World is called AristoCrêpes, a play on Aristocats.
Check out the other films of Disney’s Bronze Age:
I’m always a little bummed that the Aristocats don’t get much love in Disney World! I remember when Marie used to be a common meet and greet character in Epcot’s France pavilion. Now I only see her out occasionally during the RunDisney events.