Rating: 
Summary: Disney Has Gone To the Cats!
Review: A classic tale full of charm and memorable music, this tells the story of Duchess who is teaching her three kittens, Berlioz, Toulouse, and Marie, how to be proper pets. But when the greedy butler, Edgar, overhears the owner's plan to give her entire fortune to the cats first he dumps them in the countryside, but must get past two country, canines Lafayette and Napoleon. Luckily for the high society cats, they meet 'O Malley, a street wise alley cat who escorts them home. Children will adore Scat Cat and his gang as they perform," Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat." They will also love Lafayette and Napoleon's hijinks as they try to turn Edgar into a chew toy. This is a true Disney classic because it was the last animated feature to be seen by the mouse man himself.
Rating: 
Summary: charming Parisian adventure
Review: THE ARISTOCATS, Disney's 20th full-length animated feature, is a charming Parisian adventure with a jaunty score by the Sherman Brothers.This enchanting tale begins in Paris when the kind, eccentric millionaire Madame Bonfamille (Hermione Baddeley) wills her entire estate to her precious cat Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her three little kittens. When greedy butler Edgar decides to kidnap the cats and abandon them in the country to claim the estate as his own, the cats embark on a thrilling adventure to find their way back home. Guided by street-smart alley cat Thomas O'Malley - who soon takes a liking to Duchess - they are assured of getting back to the lonely Madame Bonfamille very soon. Also featuring the voice talents of Sterling Holloway, Carole Shelley and Nancy Kulp. The title song "The Arisocats" was sung by Maurice Chevalier who came out of retirement to record it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good kid movie with one caveat
Review: Our kindergartner daughter, who has a very low threshold for Disney witches and other "mean people," really enjoyed this movie, especially the Warner Bros.-ish hijinks involving the butler Edgar and the two dogs. East Asian parents, or parents of East Asian kids, beware though: among the ethnic stereotyping typical of Disney, there's a horrid (though mercifully brief) caricature of a Chinese person in the jazz scene involving "cats" of various backgrounds. Did the most vicious stereotype in the movie have something to do with its production during the worst years of the Vietnam War?
Rating:
Summary: Not many extras, but good sound and picture quality
Review: Although the Aristocats may not be one of the best known Disney animated movies, it's one of my favorites. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a nice story. The Gold Collection DVDs from Disney don't have as many extras as other editions (i.e. Collector's Editions) but this DVD has improved sound and picture quality over the VHS. All in all, this DVD is a good buy.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody Wants To Be A Cat!
Review: Watching this film now,(as I do, often) I'm struck by how dated it seems now. At the time, the music and animation were considered cutting-edge, now it seems slightly archaic and old, which isn't to say it's a bad film, far, far from it. It's just that times and styles have changed so radically from when this film was made.
The main feline charactors, Duchess and her three kittens, are irrepressible, and Thomas the wise-cracking alley cat, is a hoot. In the middle of the scheme to heist the cats, two old dogs are introduced who may be the funniest parts of the entire film, Napolean and LaFayette. Too funny for words!
This film is really wonderful, and it came as something of a surprise to me, as I hadn't seen it before I got it when released on video. Now, I can't say how many times I've watched it. It's just a sweet, very enjoyable romp that can enjoyed by the entire family.
Rating:
Summary: it's not just "cats"
Review: First, it's just cool they used cats as the animal in this film. what other animal would be able to play jazz in such a swingin' way. but seriously, did you notice how every cat was of a different heritage? Dutchess and the kittens, French, O'Maley (Irish) ... who had an incredibly long name (Abraham D'Lacy Geocept Percacey Thomas O'Maley, O'Maley the Alley Cat), which Dutchess noted "covered all of Europe." When we're introduced to his friends, we have a Fats Domino type chubby gray trumpet playin' "Scat Cat." The bass player's from Eastern Europe, Russia perhaps or in the 70s would have been USSR? The hippy guitar playing cat with big glasses and beads, the possibly Swiss cat on accordian. They're all "cats" but of different places, all jamming and all linked to O'Maley enjoying life together. As this movie was comin' out of the late 60s, Disney's showing America that anyone, from where ever they're from or however they talk, can all be friends and hang out. Unfortunately, they give the British a hard time, with the fun loving gabbin' geese who inform the audience that in being british, they aim to "keep things proper." The butler, too, was British, I believe. Poor guys. Not only that love everyone and have a ball attitude comes off the screen, but the movie also encourages practicing and teaching the arts-painting, piano, singing (even with the proper syllables! ("do me sol do re fa la it goes.... when you play your scales and your arpeggios....") what a cartoon!
Rating:
Summary: The Aristocats Gold Collection DVD
Review: "The Aristocats" is a great, simple film that continued on Disney's animation department after Walt's death. Disney himself gave the go ahead for this film, but unfortunately he never got to work on it. There was a point in time, where there was a possibility that Disney Animation studios was going to close down since Walt was no longer there. Luckily for us, Roy Disney Sr. never pulled the plug, the film was made, and Walt Disney Studios continued on. As stated in passed reviews, the animation is sort of iffy at times becuase of the new techniques that were being used in the beginning of the 70's, but the Disney basics are still there. Many people claim that this film began the decline of Disney films until "The Little Mermaid" appeared 19 years later. This all depends on how you look at it. Yes, the 70's and 80's (up to '88), didn't see anything that seemed to resemble Walt Disney's touch, but all of the films that were made during this time also appealed many and are underappreciated simply becuase they were post-Jungle Book but Pre-Little Mermaid. My personal opinion, is that the Disney magic continued in the 70's and 80's, but in a different way. Unfortunatly, since everyone was just accustomed to Walt Disney's personal style, people were just not ready for the change. After taking all of this into consideration, I watched the film for the first time on DVD, and the bottom line is, that it's a terrific Disney film.
Rating: 
Summary: a movie for cat lovers
Review: This movie was boring and was made more for people whom love cats. The people whom would enjoy this movie are people who love a lot of singing and a whole lot of cats.
Rating:
Summary: Purrfect for families
Review: Superb quality. This classic is purrfect for families: cute characters, sad parts, happy ending, good triumphing over evil. The bright animation and colorful characters keep the story swinging and full of life. Differences are set aside to help each other. Our kids danced and sang at the end with comments such as: "I love this movie!" "I love cats!" "I want to be a cat!" They completely identified with the characters and teamwork and noted: "It teaches you how to be good to people." "The dogs teased each other like I do my friends. They were just having fun." Best enjoyed by 4 to 12-year-olds.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: Alright, so it isn't the best movie in Disney history. But this fanciful, funfilled musical animation was wonderful. Characters such as O'Malley, the sleek alley cat, and Duchess, the sweet, high class kitty, really spiced this movie up. I absolutely adore this movie. So for all those that are thinking 'Ick, this movie (stinks)' I'd recommend seeing it again. This was a great movie, and I think everyone should at least see it for themselves.
|
