The Happiest Holiday Show in Town opens today—Christmas Day!". Chicago Tribune. December 25, 1970. Section 2, p. 4 . Retrieved August 24, 2022– via Newspapers.com. Charles Lane as Georges Hautecourt – Madame Adelaide’s eccentric lawyer, who is also her oldest friend. He is extremely lively, despite his advanced age.

This is among my very favorite of the Disney animated feature films, and belongs in any Disney collection. The 2-Disk Special Edition Is Due Out This Summer (2007). The Aristocats return to Madame Adelaide, who, ignorant of the real reason for Edgar's departure, rewrites her will to exclude him. After adopting O'Malley into the family, Madame establishes a charity foundation, housing Paris' stray cats in the mansion. Scat Cat and his gang are the first to move in, and reprise their song so loudly that the two hound dogs can hear it out in the countryside. Music & More holds a bonus that only barely qualifies as such. "Disney Song Selection" gives you the choice to watch the film sequences which showcase four songs: "The Aristocats", "Scales and Arpeggios", "Thomas O'Malley Cat", and "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" with -- get this! -- ordinary subtitles that display the lyrics. With Play All, you get a nearly 11-minute all-musical cut of the film. Yippee!Siskel, Gene (January 1, 1971). "Movie Review: 'The Aristocats' ". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 21 . Retrieved August 24, 2022– via Newspapers.com. Feeling more like a shot from a '60s Peanuts special than a 2008 DVD menu, the main menu nonetheless improves upon the Gold Collection's static selection screens with an infinitely looped little stretch of the jazz club cats making music. Submenus are even simpler, with instrumental jazz selections accompanying more looped animation or still shots within the jazz clubhouse. King, Susan (February 11, 2000). "The Pair Who Write Songs for Nannies and Pooh Bears". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 13, 2016. The Aristocats Fun with Language Game" seeks to teach youngsters English names of various musical instruments through repetition and association. After the objects in a room are identified, the player is tested by having to locate each one. There are three different rooms, each with some different instruments. Education value surely surpasses entertainment, but I don't think too many families will find enough of either to stay interested. And cursor placement is quite spotty. Voice Cast: Phil Harris (Thomas O'Malley), Eva Gabor (Duchess), Sterling Holloway (Roquefort), Scatman Crothers (Scat Cat), Paul Winchell (Chinese Cat), Lord Tim Hudson (English Cat), Vito Scotti (Italian Cat), Thurl Ravenscroft (Russian Cat), Dean Clark (Berlioz), Liz English (Marie), Gary Dubin (Toulouse), Nancy Kulp (Frou-Frou), Pat Buttram (Napoleon), George Lindsey (Lafayette), Monica Evans (Abigail), Carole Shelley (Amelia), Charles Lane (Georges Hautecort), Hermione Baddeley (Madame Bonfamille), Roddy Maude-Roxby (Edgar), Bill Thompson (Uncle Waldo)

Pearson, Howard (December 8, 1980). "An encore purr-formance for 'The Aristocats' ". Deseret News. p.4C . Retrieved June 13, 2016– via Google News Archive. The Aristocats was originally released to theaters on December 24, 1970. The film was released as a double feature with Niok, the Orphan Elephant (1957). [26] It was re-released in theaters in 1980 and 1987. Koenig, David (1997). Mouse Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation & Theme Parks. Irvine, California: Bonaventure Press. ISBN 978-0-964-06051-7. Though not one of Disney's all-time best animated features, The Aristocats is a fun film which deserves a place in most collections. This Special Edition clearly isn't all it could have been and it doesn't meet one's expectations for what was announced as a two-disc set. Supplementally slight though it may be, this new edition still handily surpasses the movie's Gold Collection release in picture, sound, and bonuses. That's reason enough to recommend an upgrade and 16:9 TV owners especially should pounce on this reissue. But owners of the original DVD who consider themselves big Aristocats fans may want to hold onto the old disc for its fullscreen/stereo presentation and few unique goodies. The Aristocats" Movie History". Disney.go.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008 . Retrieved June 13, 2016.Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1971). "The Aristocats Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved June 13, 2016– via RogerEbert.com. The paltry slate of bonus features begins with the deleted song "She Never Felt Alone" (7:54). As the runtime suggests, we get more than just the song here (pieces of which comprise the film's forgettable poetic sequence). Legendary Disney songwriter Richard Sherman discusses the number, plays a little, and introduces the demo of the deleted portion performed by Madame Bonfamille (Hermione Baddeley) and set to artwork. The same treatment is given the second part, performed by Duchess (Robie Lester). One day, while preparing her will with elderly lawyer Georges Hautecourt, Madame declares that her vast fortune will be first left to her cats, then revert to Edgar once they all pass away. Edgar overhears this through a speaking tube and, after erroneously calculating that he will die before he can inherit, plots to eliminate the cats. He sedates them by putting sleeping pills in a dish of cream, then drives them on his motorcycle out to the countryside in a basket. There, he is ambushed by two hounds named Napoleon and Lafayette, losing his hat, sidecar, umbrella, shoes, and the basket before escaping. The cats are left stranded in the countryside, while Madame Adelaide, Roquefort the mouse, and Frou-Frou the horse discover their absence. Ken Anderson spent eighteen months developing the design of the characters. [15] Five of Disney's legendary " Nine Old Men" worked on it, including the Disney crew that had been working 25 years on average. [16] Originally, O'Malley was going to be drawn with stripes to have him resemble a tabby cat, but this was dropped after Reitherman remembered the difficulty in animating Shere Khan in The Jungle Book. [8] Music Bill Thompson as Uncle Waldo – the drunken gander uncle of Abigail and Amelia. This was Thompson's final film role.

Liz English as Marie – the middle kitten and the only girl. She is often imperious, sassy or snobbish towards her brothers but is her mother's special companion, and like her, she is an accomplished singer. She is named after the queen of France Marie Antoinette.

Side guide

There are, of course, lessons included herein for the kiddies, and some very appropriate kiddie-cheek, but there is plenty herein for the adults, as well. Eva Gabor as Duchess – Madame Adelaide's refined and elegant Turkish Angora cat and mother of the three kittens, who believes she is forced to choose between loyalty to Madame and her own attachment to Thomas O'Malley at the end of the film. Robie Lester provided the singing voice for Duchess. Grant, John (1993). The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters. Disney Editions. p.274. ISBN 978-1-562-82904-9. My Dog, The Thief (1969) � Elvis: That's The Way It Is (1970) � The Love Bug (1969) � The Boatniks (1970) Scott, Vernon (February 17, 1971). "News from Hollywood". The Logansport Press. p.6 . Retrieved January 21, 2020– via Newspapers.com.