The Aristocats (Special Edition) (1970)
Appeared in 1970, the Aristocats is the first animated film to emerge from Disney that did not include the direct involvement of Walt. This enchanting tale begins in Paris, when a kind and eccentric millionairess wills her entire estate to her family, a family of adorable high-society cats. But when Edgar, the greedy butler, overhears her plan, he catnaps Duchess, the elegant, soft-spoken mother, and her three playful kittens and abandons them in the French countryside. Soon, they’re being escorted home by the charming Thomas O’Malley, a rough-and-tumble alley cat, who takes them to his “pad” along the way, where Scat Cat and his band of swingin’ jazz cats perform the memorable “Ev’rybody Wants To Be A Cat.” Enriched by “highstyle Disney animation” (The New Yorker) and toe-tapping music by Academy Award winning songwriters the Sherman brothers.
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. A timeless treasure, the Aristocats is the last animated feature to get the nod from Walt Disney himself.