Review of The Aristocats (1970) by Filipeneto — 17 Mar 2018

When a very rich Parisian lady decides to leave all her assets to her cats, her jealous butler decides to make them disappear so he could have it all. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it features a soundtrack composed by George Bruns.

We are probably facing one of the most underrated films of Disney Studios. It has a simple script, based on an inheritance dispute between a butler and a family of cats. The voice actors are good and the work of designers is great. The use of softer tones, combined with a firm but discreet pencil, make it very elegant and charming. The film has some important moral messages: the union of the family, as well as help to those in peril, are values ​​visible in the way the cats help each other. On the other hand, the adverse consequences that the butler suffers show the children the punishment for his envy and greed. In the film, the "dating" between Duchess and O'Malley recalls the dating scenes made twenty years earlier for "The Lady and the Tramp".

One of the most appreciated features of this film is the soundtrack, which contains a number of interesting musical moments, from the song of Siamese cats to the song that kittens sing at the piano. But the most striking piece is "Everybody wants to be a cat." It comes near the climax and it's a very fun jazz, played by the stray cats.