My Review of The Aristocats · 6:49pm May 12th, 2022
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing Disney's The Aristocats from 1970! This is yet another one of those childhood movies that always stood out to me as a kid and which I still cherish to this very day. As a lover of cats, this movie has a special place in my heart. I could never forget the splendid character growth, intriguing storytelling, and a fun adventurous story it presented. It may have some animation flaws and some forgettable moments, but it has so many funny and awesome scenes throughout the movie.
This movie is about a family of cats (a mother and the three little kittens) who are well beloved by the retired opera diva in her home. However, a conniving butler steals the cats and throws them near a river so that her wealth may be passed down to him without the cats getting in the way. Later on though, a charming alley cat and a group of other cats and animals plan to help the cats get back home and defeat the butler.
Let me just say that I love every single cat in this movie! J. Thomas O'Malley and Dutchess are among my favorite characters in this film. I love the vocal performances of the late Phil Harris and Eva Gabor. Seriously, they had the most charming and calm voices in every late 90s Disney movie they're featured in. Rest their souls, both of them. I also enjoyed the voice acting of the late Patt Buttram and George Lindsay for Napoleon and Lafayette respectively. Not only were those two funny but they basically stole every scene they were in. Both my mother and I would always laugh at Napoleon's catchphrase (which would explain his name and personality). "Aaaahhm the leader! Ah say which way we go!" The delivery of his line was golden!
The songs in this movie are phenomenal. My favorite song in this film is "Everybody Wants to be a Cat!" I would almost dance to that song every time I would listen to it. It's even playing in my head right now as I'm typing this. The musicals, songs, and soundtrack were well-sung, well-played, and well-composed by the cast and the late George Bruns respectively.
As far as Edgar is concerned, he was a pretty good antagonist, but I wouldn't go so far as calling him a villain, considering his motives. If he didn't make those erroneous calculations about the time of his death before or after the cats will have passed away, he wouldn't have done any of what he did in the movie. He was entertaining for sure, but his motives could have been more compelling in my opinion. Regardless, he is a fun yet dumb antagonist overall.
In conclusion, this is a highly underrated Disney movie, and I would rather watch this movie than a dozen other Disney films that don't even hold a candle to this beautiful gem. I rate this a solid 9/10! If you want to watch a film based on themes of family, love, and hope filled with good songs, go watch this movie if you've never seen it before. You'll love it!
Peace!
Ah yes, one of my favorite childhood movies. I still have the VCR tape somewhere
I agree with you on this. “The Aristocats” is truly one of Disney’s best works, and the people behind it did a great job at proving they could continue forward without the big man himself while still honoring his legacy.
I couldn´t watch this movie properly until I was older. I borrowed the DVD from the library and it always stopped. Always. So it was impossible to watch the movie until I bought the DVD.
I used to rewind Everybody wants to be a cat as a kid and dance to it as well! Definitely underrated gem.
I say this movie is a gem to me. Well, I only saw it a few times, I did enjoy watching it
That Bulter was a total Starscream