The Aristocats [Special Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The Aristocats was the first Disney Studios animated feature to be produced after Walt Disney's death. A wealthy woman leaves her vast fortune to her four cats: the well-bred Duchess and her kittens, Berlioz, Toulouse, and Marie. Jealous butler Edgar, eager to get his mitts on the cats' legacy, abandons the felines in the French countryside. The four lost kitties are aided in their efforts to return home by the raffish country pussycats Thomas O'Malley and Scat Cat. In keeping with a tradition launched by The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats is top-heavy with celebrity voices, including Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Scatman Crothers, Hermione Baddeley, and the ineluctable Sterling Holloway. Assembled by the "nine old men" then in charge of animation, The Aristocats was a commercial success, essentially proving that Disney animated features could succeed without the involvement of the company's founder. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.75:1 (Disney)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • Games & activities:
  • New Disney virtual kitten
  • New virtual kitten dvd-rom
  • New the Aristocats fun with language game
  • Backstage Disney:
  • The Great Cat Family (excerpt)
  • The Sherman Brothers: The Aristocats of Disney songs
  • The Aristocats scrapbook
  • Deleted scene "She Never Felt Alone"

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Phil Harris - Thomas O'Malley
       Eva Gabor - Duchess
       Sterling Holloway - Roquefort
       Scatman Crothers - Scat Cat
       Vito Scotti - Italian Cat
       Thurl Ravenscroft - Russian Cat
       Dean Clark - Berlioz
       George Lindsey - Lafayette
       Bill Thompson - Uncle Waldo
       Gary Dubin - Toulouse
       Roddy Maude - Roxby - Edgar
       Carole Shelley - Amelia Gabble
       Pat Buttram - Napoleon
       Tim Hudson - English Cat
       Charles Lane - Georges Hautecourt
       Roddy Maude - Roxby - Butler
       Monica Evans - Abigail Gabble
       Hermione Baddeley - Madame Adelaide Bonfamille
       Paul Winchell - Chinese Cat
       Liz English - Marie
       Maurice Chevalier - Title Song
       Nancy Kulp - Frou Frou

• Director:

  Milt Kahl, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman

• Producer:

  Ken Anderson, Winston Hibler, Wolfgang Reitherman

• Screenwriter:

  Ken Anderson, Larry Clemmons, Eric Cleworth, Vance Gerry, Tom McGowan, Tom Rowe, Julius Svendsen, Ralph Wright, Frank Thomas

• Composer (Music Score):

  George Bruns, Terry Gilkyson

• Songwriter:

  Terry Gilkyson

• Composer (Music Score):

  Floyd Huddleston

• Songwriter:

  Floyd Huddleston

• Composer (Music Score):

  Al Rinker

• Songwriter:

  Al Rinker

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Walter Sheets

• Composer (Music Score):

  Richard M. Sherman

• Songwriter:

  Richard M. Sherman

• Composer (Music Score):

  Robert B. Sherman

• Songwriter:

  Robert B. Sherman

• Editor:

  Tom Acosta

• Production Designer:

  Ken Anderson

• Special Effects:

  Dick Lucas, Daniel MacManus

• First Assistant Director:

  Ed Hansen

• Consultant/advisor:

  Basil Davidovich, Don Griffith, Sylvia Roemer

• Animator:

  Eric Larson, Eric Cleworth, Fred Hellmich, Milt Kahl, Hal King, John Lounsbery, Dick Lucas, Daniel MacManus, Dave Michener, Alt Stanchfield, Julius Svendsen, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas

• Animation Director:

  Frank Thomas

REVIEW:

• Shortly after Walt Disney's death, his studio released The Aristocats, near the beginning of a period of decline for Disney Studios. It's a cheery, straightforward entertainment vehicle that, like many of the most successful Disney films, centers on animals. In this case, it's a family of disinherited cats fighting to regain their rightful fortune from a conniving butler. Something of a feline French road movie, The Aristocats features Maurice Chevalier singing the title song and Eva Gabor as the prissy pussy Duchess. No less than four directors are credited on this collaborative effort, a perennial favorite in the second tier of Disney successes. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi