The Aristocats

Released 28th December 1970, The Aristocats follows Duchess and her kittens as they try to return to their Madame. With the obvious wordplay in the title being a hint, The Aristocats bases itself in ideas of status and the lavish lifestyle of the rich, and the subsequent alienation to the lower classes. The film manages to adapt these themes into a format which illustrates the necessary points yet remains accessible to younger audiences. Ironically however, there are some outdated stereotypes used for many characters in the film which modern audiences would likely find offensive although, in my opinion, the English ones are completely accurate and comical.

Everyone does a good enough job with their voice roles; Liz English, Dean Clark and Gary Dubin are innocent enough as the kittens Marie, Beriloz and Toulouse. Roddy Maude-Roxby is remarkable as the beleaguered butler Edgar; his vocal quality elicits the aura of his downcast, energised mannerisms on screen; much like Pat Buttram and George Lindsey as Napoleon and Lafyette, the comic-relief dogs. Phil Harris brings a great suaveness to Thomas O’Malley which makes him extremely likeable to the audience from his singing to anecdotes. Eva Gabor is also worth noting for her imperious manner of voice to emulate her status and lifestyle. Regardless, my main qualm with the cast, minus the stereotypes, is that everyone sounds very American despite the film being set in Paris. It feels like nit-picking but, for how well realised Paris is in it’s animation, the voices really suck the audience out of the film.

On the note of the animation, Disney delivered on their revolutionary animation which remained unparalleled until Studio Ghibli later arose in the late 70s. There is a very cartoonish sense to everything, but the energy is matched by the voice actors and soundtrack, so it doesn’t detract from the experience. Every piece of music enhances the film; from leitmotifs to musical numbers, there is a strong sense of atmosphere at every point of the narrative. Overall, The Aristocats is an accessible film with easy to digest narrative beats and energy.