Why The Aristocats is the Best Disney Film
An overlooked Disney masterpiece
The Aristocats was the last film that Walt Disney himself approved. He passed away in 1966, before it was completed and therefore the film has an historical significance. Unfortunately, it is one of the most overlooked classic Disney films, as critics and audiences seem to favour Snow White, The Jungle Book, Pinocchio etc. Disney himself considered Snow White to be his greatest work of art. (I learnt this from an excellent BBC documentary, Walt Disney, which is unfortunately no longer available on iPlayer.)
As Disney looked upon his films as artworks, I think critics should do likewise. This sometimes means less focus on plot and more emphasis on character, colour and sound, for example.
It is true that the plot of The Aristocats is a simple one, but that is by no means a weakness. In pre-WWI Paris, a wealthy lady leaves all the money in her will to her cat, Duchess, and her three kittens (Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse). The butler, Edgar, overhears this then takes the cats and leaves them far out in the countryside. The rest of the film concerns their journey home, with the help of street cat Thomas O’Malley, and Scat Cat’s jazz band.
This has been my favourite film since I was a child - it is certainly still my favourite Disney film, and favourite animation overall. Of more recent productions: not the emotional depth of Inside Out, nor the inventiveness of Wreck It Ralph, nor the imagery of Coco can beat it. Even among classics, I think it is superior to The Jungle Book and Cinderella. So I’m going to be very one-sided in my analysis of it…
However, looking at it fairly, as a ‘critic,’ I do accept that the plot is basic and potentially boring — haven’t we seen the ‘animal’s journey home’ many times before (Lassie Come Home, The Incredible Journey etc) ?
Also, it does not include any magic to make up for what it ‘lacks’ in plot. Of course, other classic Disney films don’t include magic in the story but, for example, The Jungle Book has an exotic location instead, and viewers may have read the book. And Bambi has a greater emotional power. So you could argue that The Aristocats lacks two of the qualities that make Disney films great.
But The Aristocats is a comedy, so it is unfair to judge it in comparison to a more ‘serious’ piece such as Bambi. I think the achievement of The Aristocats is that it is different to other Disney films. It shows the skill of Disney’s studio’s writers and artists to make a great film without their usual ‘ingredients’.
While the film is not a fantasy (although the historical context is very vague; it is supposed to be pre-WWI but jazz music was brought to France by African-American soldiers during the war), the magic comes through the music. The accordion and piano parts contribute to the French sound. I recommend listening to the most beautiful part of the soundtrack, Pretty Melody/My Paree, especially the ending. It is quite magical, without there literally being magic - and really very moving.
I should mention that this film is really a musical, but is skilfully not presented as such. This is an important strength — for those of us (the majority of us I think) who enjoy music, but do not really like musicals — in The Aristocats you have the best of both.
I like French music and jazz, so the soundtrack is my favourite of any Disney film. Scales and Arpeggios is very endearing and introduces us well to the personalities of Duchess and her kittens; Marie is very funny. I like how Toulouse plays on the piano with paint on his paws. Berlioz, the cat playing piano, is named after the French composer Hector Berlioz.
The singing voices of the actors are also fresh and clear, particularly Duchess (singing by Robie Lester, uncredited) — if you listen to the French version of the soundtrack the voices are not as strong. There is humorous music for the waddling geese which sounds like Baby Elephant March. And everywhere the soundtrack is full of character, particularly the slapstick sequences with Edgar and the dogs, and in the scene at the end of the film (see the video at the end of this article).
Of course the musical highlight is Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat. Even if you consider The Aristocats to be an ‘average’ film, you have to admit that this is one of the finest Disney songs. It makes Let It Go seem insignificant!
Interesting useless side note: if you listen to Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat and compare it to the beginning of Michelle by The Beatles, you can hear a similarity. And if Sir Paul McCartney thought those chords sounded French then obviously it must be an authentic French sound…)
Speaking of Scat Cat’s band — All the cats are national caricatures. The English cat is a caricature. English people don’t dress like the English cat in Scat Cat’s Band. I wish we did! But unfortunately we are not living in the hippy days of the sixties. Likewise, for the Siamese cat, the joke about chopsticks and the rhyme about the fortune cookie is just a bit of nonsense, I don’t think it’s disrespectful at all. Overall I like the diversity of Scat Cat’s band!
It could also be argued that the plot is simple. This is precisely why it is a great film. But who wants complicated plots? Life is complicated enough. Edgar is a simplistic villain. His motivation is greed. But many villains’ motivation is greed. The love of money is the root of all evil…
It is best for the artist to choose a simple plot, and show their talent through the imaginative treatment of this simple subject-matter. Besides, most Disney films are simple and have straightforward characters.
The funny slapstick involving the two dogs and Edgar is one of the film’s highlights. However, the second scene with the two dogs (one of the best scenes in the film) was included not because it needed to be, not because it furthered the plot or achieved anything significant — but simply because the artists wanted to:
‘the dogs ‘proved to be [so] popular with the filmmakers that another scene was included to have the dogs when Edgar returns to the farm to retrieve his displaced hat and umbrella.’
(Koenig, David (1997). Mouse Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation & Theme Parks. Irvine, California: Bonaventure Press, cited on The Aristocats Wikipedia page!)
Many of the characters in the film don’t do very much, such as the geese, but the artists thought that each character added a bit of personality or colour, so they remained. I think it is worthwhile for film-makers of our time to keep this in mind. As Oscar Wilde said, the aim of all artists is to create beautiful things. Films are no exception.
For example, Frou-Frou, Madame’s horse. I like Frou-Frou because she is very expressive particularly at the end of the film! See the video below.
As you can see, the animation - the cartoon style - is colourful, expressive and amusing, as you would expect from a Disney film of this era. To my eye the hand-drawn animation cannot be beaten by any tricks of the modern CGI style.
Overall, I say The Aristocats is Disney’s finest film because of its music, beautiful animation, voice acting and humour. And if you’ve been so kind as to read this far, I hope I’ve encouraged you to watch or better appreciate The Aristocats.
Pheobe.