The Aristocats (A Walt Disney Masterpiece)
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VHS Movie Reviews of The Aristocats (A Walt Disney Masterpiece)
Movie Review: Jazzy Classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favourite Disney films. It has everything you could hope for in a Disney animation: cute animals, great songs, a nasty villain and lots of adventure. The story begins in Paris, where aristocat Duchess and her three kittens live with their Mistress in a mansion. Life is perfect for them until the Mistress' fiendish butler Edgar discovers that she plans to leave her entire fortune to the cats. He realises that if he even stands a chance of claiming the fortune, the cats will be out of the way. An excellent, often forgotten masterpiece from the 1970's - a time when the Disney studio made few animations - which features songs such as the title number "The Aristocats" as well as "Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat", this will enchant viewers young and old with its enduring jazziness.Movie Review: Not the best Disney film, but a nice release
Summary: 3 Stars
The late 1960s and all of the 1970s were not a great time for Walt Disney Pictures. This film was made after Walt's death and it shows. Without his direction, the studio produced some real flops, and this film is one of them.
The Aristocats suffers from the same ailments a lot of Disney films of this era suffered--a painfully slow pace and an aimless, meandering story. The Jungle Book and Robin Hood both had these issues to varying degrees. Like both of those films, this one does have some charm and a nice musical soundtrack. It is also very, very dated. That might make it a fun nostalgia trip for adults but expect this movie to be sort of boring for children.
If you know that you or your children do like this film, this release is a nice one. Get it. If you just want to get a movie for your kids that will be tolerable for you to watch, know that this is not your best choice (try Bambi, Lady and the Tramp or Dumbo instead).
Movie Review: Solid DVD treatment, but could have been better.
Summary: 4 Stars
While The Aristocats is definitely not even probably a top 10 favorite Disney animated film of mine, it IS one that's brought me a lot of enjoyment. Enough so that I was willing to pay the $[...] and buy this new DVD edition, even though I had the previous Gold Classic Collection edition.
You don't even need to watch both - just look at their lists of bonus material offerings - to see that this new DVD blows the previous one away, although there is a reason some may disagree. More on that later. While the previous one had a very easy trivia game and a 1980's reissue trailer, which is sadly not found on the new disc, this one does include some nice, if often fluffy, bonus material, which includes set-top and DVD-ROM versions of a Virtual Kitten game, deleted song, a look at the music, a nice photo gallery, and an excerpt from The Wonderful World Of Disney titled The Great Cat Family. The final bonus, which was never really mentioned in any press-release and definitely not on the package, is a delightful Disney animated short titled Bath Day, which starred Figaro the kitten from Pinocchio.
The new digital transfer blows the previous one out of the water in nearly every way. Much of the softness is gone, the color is superior, and it's not as fuzzy and grainy as it was previously. It's also presented for the first time ever on video in widescreen, although this is a point of contention for some. Most Disney animated films from the 1960's and 1970's were designed with both widescreen theater screens and square TV sets in mind, and therefore were animated in the 1.33:1 Academy ratio but designed so that you didn't lose much character information when the film was matted for widescreen theatrical release. In the case of the new rash of reissues of these movies in cropped widescreen, I don't see an issue with it, as they had intended either presentation. And unlike the cropped widescreen presentation on The Jungle Book, which seemed a bit cramped more often than I'd have liked, this one, as well as the new Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition, looks more comfortable in the cropped aspect ratio. However, if you have the Gold Classic Collection release, I still suggest you own this new one and marvel at the new presentation, while keeping the previous release so that you can also have the full image available.
Despite the obvious upgrade, this DVD is another sad example of Disney's newfound laziness with their DVDs, much of which has to do with Blu-Ray, but that's another rant for another time. Instead of making a 2-Disc set, especially as this was first advertised as one back in 2006, they did one of their typical 1-disc "not THAT much of an upgrade" reissues of their Gold Classic Collection editions for this release, without retaining anything from the previous release. Disney could have easily filled up a 2-Disc set with one disc for the family audience, which contained the original 1.33:1 version of the film and all the kid-friendly features, while they include another disc for the enthusiast audience with the widescreen version and more fan-oriented bonus materials, like a making-of featurette, even if it's just some TV crap or a 15-minute long piece they threw together. Plus some TRAILERS. The sad fact is, as far as I know, it's been 2005 since Disney last released a non-Platinum and non-Pirates 2-Disc DVD, especially for their classic films, and it'd honestly be nice if Disney would put some of the same energy they had making their DVD releases back in the early 2000's into the DVDs they make today. As a fan, I'm tired of Disney catering almost exclusively to the under-12 market and not enough to the adult fans like myself. Disney animated films may have a sizeable pre-teen audience, but they also have a sizeable adult audience who also wants to enjoy the DVD experience.
Despite my rant above, I'm still happy to own this new Aristocats DVD. With improved picture quality and a handful of decent bonus materials, it's worth a look. Four stars.
Movie Review: Amazon Lumps All Reviews Together Again :o(
Summary: 3 Stars
There are over a hundred reviews for The Aristocats as of this date. They all refer to the previous edition (Disney Gold Classic Edition or whatever they called it years ago when it first came out on dvd).
So now we will have those reviews mixed up with new reviews for the Feb 5, 2008 version which offers more extras and a different aspect ratio. This may make things a bit confusing.
Moving on...
People compare this film to 101 Dalmations. This is Disney's "cat" movie, they say. You can't compare them; they're too similiar somehow.
But they are both decent, cute family films.
Yes, Cruella is scary compared to the bumbling butler Edgar. There is a sense of jeopardy but Dalmations is much stronger in that sense.
Both films were made using the 1960's Xerox method where the resulting animation is more sketchy looking and more close to the original animator's drawings.
The Aristocats is more of a musical, definitely. A few forgettable songs, but also the charming and infectious tune "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat". That is the tune I think of when I remember the adventures of Duchess and Thomas and the kittens. (101 Dalmations had the little "Cruella De VIl" song, but that's it.)
Overall this is a fun vehicle but it is not a classic such as Peter Pan, Cinderella, or Lady and the Tramp. It has a nice, relaxing pace and is probably most appealing to youngsters. The voice talent, as ever with Disney cartoon features, is great. Eva Gabor's Duchess is warm and maternal while Phil Harris as Thomas O'Malley is macho yet sweet (and sounds like a lifelong diehard smoker). He also lent his vocal prowess to The Jungle Book when he played Baloo the bear.
This special edition for 2008 has some cute extras. But unless you're a total stickler for aspect ratios or you collect every version they release, the previous edition should suffice. It was fine, with a clear and bright picture/sound presentation.
Movie Review: This is a widescreen release
Summary: 5 Stars
Shame on Amazon for recycling reviews without adding a disclaimer. The reviews complaining about full screen do not apply to the 2008 release. This release is "enhanced" for 16x9. It is widescreen but not a true Theatrical Ratio.
I enjoyed it when I first saw it in theater and feel it's one of the underated Disney classics.