The Aristocats
Short description
Set in Paris around 1910, The Aristocats centres on a wealthy, eccentric woman named Madame Adelaide Bonfamille who dotes on her cat Duchess and Duchess's three kittens. When she arranges her will so that her fortune will go to the cats before passing to her butler Edgar, he schemes to get rid of them. He abducts the four cats and abandons them far from the city, intending to become the sole heir. Stranded and unable to find their way back, Duchess and her kittens meet Thomas O'Malley, a streetwise stray who takes an interest in them and offers his help. With assistance from O'Malley's friends, a group of jazz-playing alley cats led by Scat Cat, the family attempts the journey home.
The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Larry Clemmons, Ken Anderson and Vance Gerry, with Reitherman and Winston Hibler producing for Walt Disney Productions. It followed several features Reitherman had directed, including One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone and The Jungle Book, and preceded others such as Robin Hood, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Rescuers. The voice cast includes Phil Harris as O'Malley, Eva Gabor as Duchess, Sterling Holloway as Roquefort, Scatman Crothers as Scat Cat and Paul Winchell and Lord Tim Hudson as two of the alley cats, among 25 credited performers.
Made for about 4 million dollars, it took roughly 191 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 across some 124,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.3 out of 10 from over 5,400 votes, while critics' reviews average 5.8 out of 10.
What's left behind the scenes
- The plot of the cartoon is based on the real story of a cat family that lived in Paris in the early 20th century and inherited all of its owner's fortune.
- The Duchess's kittens, Toulouse and Berlioz, are named after post-impressionist artist Count Henri Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (1864-1901) and composer and conductor Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), respectively.
- The hunting dogs Napoleon and Lafayette are named after the French military leaders Napoleon I Bonaparte (1769-1821) and Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), respectively.
- The image of the alley cat Thomas O'Malley is based on singer, songwriter, jazz musician and actor Phil Harris (1904-1995), who also voiced him.
- This was Bill Thompson's (1913-1971) last work in cinema. The actor died less than a year after the cartoon was released.
- The character nicknamed “Kysh-Brys” was originally intended to be voiced by Louis Armstrong (1901-1971). Even his image was based on the famous musician – the way he plays the trumpet, certain features of his appearance, including the gap between his front teeth. Unfortunately, due to illness, Armstrong was never able to participate in the voice acting. He was replaced by actor, singer, dancer and musician Scatman Crothers (1910-1986), who was told to “pretend to be Satchmo” (Armstrong’s nickname).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
