The Aristocats

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Edgar the Butler)
Jump to: navigation, search
 This article does not cite any references or sources. (June 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
The Aristocats
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
Produced by Winston Hibler
Wolfgang Reitherman
Written by Ken Anderson
Larry Clemmons
Eric Cleworth
Vance Garry
Tom McGowan
Tom Rowe
Julius Svendsen
Frank Thomas
Ralph Wright
Starring Phil Harris as Thomas O'Malley
Eva Gabor as Duchess
Liz English as Marie
Gary Dubin as Toulouse
Dean Clark as Berlioz
Music by Richard and Robert Sherman (songs)
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s) December 11, 1970 (premiere)
December 24, 1970 (regular)
Running time 78 minutes
Country United States
Language English, French
Budget $4,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

The Aristocats is a 1970 animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions. The twentieth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the story revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps prevent a butler from kidnapping them to gain his mistress' fortune. It was originally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on December 11, 1970. The title is a pun on the word aristocrats.

The film's basic idea - an animated romantic musical comedy about talking cats in France - had previously been used in the UPA animated feature Gay Purr-ee.

Contents

Set in Paris, France in the year 1910, this is the story about a mother cat named Duchess and her three kittens: her cute daughter Marie, and her two sons Berlioz and Toulouse. The mother cat faces many obstacles raising her children. They live in the mansion of retired opera singer Adelaide Bonfamille, along with her big-nosed evil butler Edgar Mietzelfeld, Frou Frou the horse, and Roquefort the mouse, who is a good friend of the cats.

Adelaide, who is nearing the end of her life, wants to settle her will with her lawyer Georges Hautecourt (a senile old man who denies his old age and refuses to accept Edgar's offer of taking the elevator instead of the long staircase). Adelaide tells Georges that she wishes to leave her entire fortune to her butler, but only after her cats reach "the end of their lifespans." Edgar overhears this plan through a speaking tube and is dismayed, as he worries that he will die before he is able to collect the inheritance (incorrectly assuming that the cats will each have nine full lifespans of twelve years, totalling 108 years).

In the same evening, Edgar drops some sleeping pills in the cats' milk, putting them to sleep. After night falls, Edgar takes the sleeping cats in their travelling basket far away from home, hoping to drop them on the banks of a river near a farm. However, two farm dogs, Napoleon and Lafayette, hear Edgar approach. Believing him to be an intruder, the dogs attack him, biting him on the buttocks, rip his shoes and socks off, and bite his leg and feet. This causes him to drop the basket on the river bank. Edgar manages to escape, but is forced to leave his motorbike's sidecar, his prized hat, and an umbrella.

Back at the mansion, Madame Bonfamille has a nightmare about the cats going missing. On going to their sleeping basket, she finds this fear confirmed. Roquefort, hearing the terrible news, goes out to look for them.

Meanwhile, Duchess and the kittens awake to find themselves in unfamiliar settings. Worried, they decide to sleep in their basket and wait for morning. When the sun rises, Duchess meets a friendly, self-absorbed, worldly stray cat named Abraham DeLacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley, who befriends the cats and helps them get home. From the first, Thomas is smitten with the beautiful Duchess, and she with him. He takes on an indulgent, paternal role toward the kittens, who are quite awed with this handsome, seemingly knowledgeable newcomer.

Roquefort returns to the mansion, and miserably tells the downhearted Frou Frou that he couldn't find the cats anywhere, even after searching all night. Edgar, the only happy person in the mansion, dances into the stable and tells Frou Frou (believing that she can't understand him) that it was he who kidnapped the cats. It is then that Edgar remembers that the only evidence left to convict him is the stuff he left at the farm the previous night, and that he must retrieve it before the police do.

Thomas, Duchess and the kittens continue the journey home, and befriend some gossip-loving geese named Abigail, Amelia and Waldo on the way. Abigail and Amelia (possibly modelled after the sisters Gwendolyn and Cicely in the earlier movie "The Odd Couple") are bombastic English geese, who misinterpret Thomas' every move; Waldo is their uncle, a frivolous drunk with an obvious sense of humor. Even the very proper Duchess is amused by him. Later on, the cats find an old house to stay in with Thomas' musical alley cat friends led by Scat Cat.

Meanwhile, Edgar sets off to the farm to find his things, and sees that Napoleon and Lafayette have made beds out of the things they stole from Edgar. Edgar lures the two dogs away from his things. After another fight, he manages to escape again, (on a one-wheeled haystack) this time with all the stolen items. Napoleon and Lafayette stare at the triumphant butler in horror.

The next morning, the cats arrive at their home. Duchess says goodbye to Abraham DeLacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley. Edgar opens the door for them, letting them in. Before Roquefort can warn them, Edgar slams a sack over them, tying them up and hiding them in the oven. Horrified, Roquefort runs to get Thomas, who tells Roquefort to call his alley cat friends while he holds Edgar off. Thomas sneaks into the barn, where he sees Edgar lock Duchess and the kittens in a trunk, hoping to send them to Timbuktu.

Meanwhile, Roquefort goes to the alley, nearly getting killed after misremembering Thomas's name as O'Toole, O'Brien, and O'Grady, but avoids getting impaled on Scat Cat's claw by shouting at the last second, "Why did I ever listen to that O'Malley cat?!" He tells the cats that Thomas needs them, and the cats rush off to help their friend.

Thomas stops Edgar and closes the barn door. Edgar and Thomas fight over the trunk, but Edgar, being human, overpowers the stray cat and pins him to a wall with a pitchfork. To his surprise, Thomas finds himself not impaled and dead, but caught between two prongs. At that moment, Roquefort and the alley cats arrive and stall Edgar while Roquefort unlocks the padlock on the trunk. He yells quiet! everyone holds still and keeps quiet, then after the trunk opens the carrying on fighting again.

After a fierce battle, Frou Frou kicks Edgar into the trunk, just as the delivery men arrive. They ship him to Timbuktu.

That night, Adelaide accepts Thomas into the family, and erases Edgar from her will. She also gives the cats a surprise: her new cat foundation, which makes her house a home for all the alley cats of Paris. Adelaide urges Georges to make provision in the will "for their future little ones"; presumably the offspring of Duchess by Thomas (their future children).

A party is thrown in the foundation room, involving nearly everyone from the movie: Scat Cat and his band, Frou Frou, Roquefort, Napoleon, Lafayette, Amelia, Abigail and Waldo. Napoleon and Lafayette get the last word in, breaking the fourth wall to humorous effect:

  • Lafayette: Hey, Napoleon, that sounds like the end.
  • Napoleon: Wait a minute, I'm the leader. I'll say when it's the end. [the words "The End" fly in and hit him on the side of the head] It's the end.

Note: This particular exchange is the third (and final) instance of a gag seen in the movie where Lafayette makes a suggestion, and Napoleon says that, as he's the leader, he is the one to decide the circumstance, and its demands, only to pause for a few seconds and go with Lafayette's suggestion.

Director:

Producer:

Sound Effects:

Directing Animators:

Music:

Songs:

Orchestration:

Story:

Production Design:

Character Animation:

Production Manager:

Film Editor:

Music Editor:

The Aristocats was re-released to theaters on December 19, 1980 and April 10, 1987. This was released in Europe with the Sorcerer Mickey Classics (1988-94) logo, from the USA, on VHS (Jan. 1, 1990). It was first released on video in North America in the Masterpiece Collection series on April 24, 1996, and on DVD in 2000 in the Gold Classic Collection line. The Aristocats had its Gold Collection disc quietly discontinued in 2006. A new single-disc Special Edition, previously announced as a 2-Disc set, is currently slated to be released on February 5, 2008. [1]

Duchess and Thomas O'Malley were featured as guests in House of Mouse.

The Aristocats uses the funny animals convention of talking animals who are understood by all other species except humans. Species featured include Cat, Dog, Mouse, Frog, Horse, Goose and Rooster. Specific characters are as follows:

  • Abraham de Lacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley - an alley cat who befriends Duchess and the kittens and becomes Duchess's mate. Goes by simply "Thomas O'Malley" - Phil Harris
  • Duchess - an "aristocat" that lives with Madame Bonfamille - Eva Gabor
  • Marie - Duchess's white-furred daughter. As of January 2007, she has appeared at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, FL as a meetable character. She is also meetable at Hong Kong Disneyland - Liz English
  • Berlioz - Duchess's black-furred son - Dean Clark
  • Toulouse - Duchess's ginger-furred son - Gary Dubin
  • Edgar Balthazar - Madame Bonfamille's evil, greedy butler.
  • Roquefort - a mouse who lives with Duchess and her kittens - Sterling Holloway
  • Scat Cat - a leader of an alley cat band and a friend of O'Malley's - Scatman Crothers
  • Madame Adelaide Bonfamille - the owner of Duchess and her kittens.
  • Napoleon and Lafayette - Two hound dogs who attack Edgar. Napoleon (not to be confused with Napoleon Bonaparte), is a Bloodhound, while Lafayette is a Basset Hound - Pat Buttram (Napoleon) George Lindsey (Lafayette)
  • Frou Frou - Madame Bonfamille's horse - Nancy Kulp
  • Amelia and Abigail Gabble - Two geese (twin sisters) who save O'Malley from drowning - Monica Evans and Carole Shelly
  • Uncle Waldo - Amelia and Abigail's drunk Uncle - Bill Thompson.
  • Georges Hautecourt - Madame Bonfamille's lawyer. Madame tells her lawyer her will (also heard by Edgar). Georges is old. In fact, the engine sputters, and backfires, and he sings, "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay....." while getting out of his car he says that "he was not as spry as he was when he was 80", indicating that he is older than 80, and perhaps is even older than Madame Bonfamille.
  • Shun Gon - a Chinese Siamese cat, who plays the piano using chopsticks - Paul Winchell
  • Hit Cat - an English cat, with wild blonde hair - Lord Tim Hudson
  • Peppo - an Italian cat, wearing a look-alike Robin Hood hat and a red scarf - Vito Scotti
  • Billy Bass - a Russian cat, who plays the double bass in Scat Cat's band - Thurl Ravenscroft
  • The Frog - The frog who scares Berlioz in the river.
  • The Milkman - Man who kicked O'Malley and Aristocats out of his milk truck, in which they had been hitchhiking.

  1. "The Aristocats" - Maurice Chevalier
  2. Scales And Arpeggios - Liz English, Gary Dubin, Dean Clark, Robie Lester
  3. Thomas O'Malley Cat - Phil Harris
  4. Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat - Phil Harris, Louis Armstrong, Thurl Ravenscroft
  5. "She Never Felt Alone" - Robie Lester

On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, this includes Thomas O'Malley Cat on the purple disc and Everybody Wants to Be a Cat on the orange disc. And on Disney's Greatest Hits, this also includes Everybody Wants to Be a Cat on the red disc.

The Aristocats II was to be a direct-to-video sequel to the 1970 Disney animated film The Aristocats. It was scheduled to be released in 2007, but the production was canceled in early 2006 after Disney acquired Pixar and canceled all projects not related to a consumer product line.

  1. ^ Disney Movie Finder - The Aristocats Special Edition

v • d • e
Disney theatrical animated features
Official canon

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) • Pinocchio (1940) • Fantasia (1940) • Dumbo (1941) • Bambi (1942) • Saludos Amigos (1942) • The Three Caballeros (1944) • Make Mine Music (1946) • Fun and Fancy Free (1947) • Melody Time (1948) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) • Cinderella (1950) • Alice in Wonderland (1951) • Peter Pan (1953) • Lady and the Tramp (1955) • Sleeping Beauty (1959) • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) • The Sword in the Stone (1963) • The Jungle Book (1967) • The Aristocats (1970) • Robin Hood (1973) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) • The Rescuers (1977) • The Fox and the Hound (1981) • The Black Cauldron (1985) • The Great Mouse Detective (1986) • Oliver & Company (1988) • The Little Mermaid (1989) • The Rescuers Down Under (1990) • Beauty and the Beast (1991) • Aladdin (1992) • The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • Hercules (1997) • Mulan (1998) • Tarzan (1999) • Fantasia 2000 (1999) • The Emperor's New Groove (2000) • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) • Lilo & Stitch (2002) • Treasure Planet (2002) • Brother Bear (2003) • Home on the Range (2004) • Chicken Little (2005) • Meet the Robinsons (2007) • Bolt (2008) • The Princess and the Frog (2009) • Rapunzel (2010)
Live-action films
with animation
DisneyToon features
Other
See also
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aristocats"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.