The Aristocats (G, 1970)

common sense media says

Jazz and hijinks make this Disney cat tale meow.

parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that younger and sensitive kids may be upset by the drugging and abandonment of a mom cat and her three kittens. For a brief moment the kittens can't find their mom. In some slapstick chase scenes it looks like animals or people could be injured, especially when Edgar the butler wields a pitch fork. Plus played for laughs are shots of Edgar the butler's underwear and a drunk goose weaving down the street.

Positive messages: A Siamese cat called "Chinese cat" is a negative Asian stereotype typical of movies made at the time, complete with buck teeth and stupid grin. The greedy butler Edgar drugs and abandons the cats, then gets his comeuppance.

Positive role models: Duchess learns about a whole jazzy community, falls in love, and remains a lovely kitty cat.

Violence & scariness: Edgar spikes milk for the cats with sleeping pills. Kittens and their mom are kidnapped and abandoned in the country. A few prolonged chase scenes where it looks like animals and people could get harmed, especially when animals are chased with a pitch fork.

Sexy stuff: Lots of girl-cat eye-batting at O'Malley's flattery. More than a few giggly shots of Edgar the butler's underwear.

Language: "Hush your mouth" uttered by a dog.

Consumerism: Not applicable.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking: A goose exits a restaurant falling down drunk after being "marinated" by a chef -- played for many laughs.

Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about Edgar the butler. He doesn't seem really mean like Cruella De Vil, but he's still not nice to Madame's cats. How come?
Why does he go back to the country for his hat and umbrella?
Where's Timbuktu?

What's the story?

Disney's animated story takes an elegant cat named Dutchess (voiced by Eva Gabor) and her three kittens out of their high-brow element when a cantankerous butler dumps them in the country after he hears the cats are to inherit his employer's fortune before him. On their way home the cats encounter O'Malley the Alley Cat who gets them out of a number of scrapes and introduces the brood to his jazz-playing "hep cat" friends. And just like Lady and the Tramp, Dutchess can't resist the charms of the scrappy O'Malley.

Is it any good?

The 2008 DVD re-release calls this a "Jazzy Classic," and sure enough the highlight is the toe-tapping song "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat." There's little plot (cats journey home) and the characters are less memorable than other animated animal capers like Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmations. Phil Harris, who plays Baloo from the original Disney Jungle Book, is fun as O'Malley, but lacks some of the rapscallion antics that would make him stand out.

Kids will love the silly chase scenes with Edgar the butler and the country hounds, Napoleon and Lafayette, especially the one around the windmill. They're choreographed for lots of giggles -- complete with failing-suspenders gags. But once the big jazzy number and madcap running about are over the movie falls flat. In a DVD extra one of the composers reveals a lullaby-like song that was left on the cutting room floor about the owner's love for her cats. That's the kind of sweetness that could have made this movie the cat's pajamas.

Movie themes & details

Themes

adventures, music and sing-along

Movie Details

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Cast: Eva Gabor, Liz English, Phil Harris
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 79 minutes
Theatrical release: December 24, 1970
DVD release: February 5, 2008
MPAA Rating: G

This review was written by Carrie R. Wheadon

Review It

What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

slm76
parent of 4 year old

As far as Disney movies go, this one is pretty mild. The negative elements of the movie are too complicated for a toddler - which involve the drugging of kittens so they will go "night night" and can be relocated to the country-side because the man who does this wants to become first inline to inherit his employer's fortune since the kittens precede him in the employer's will. Once this story line is established at the outset of the movie, the majority of the movie is about the cats' funny and quirky adventures in trying to get back home. When they eventually do return home, a physical fight ensues between the animals and the butler and a pitch fork gets thrown at a cat, but besides that there isn't much violence. The evil character is a goofy butler, who is not that scary compared to other Disney antagonists. For small children, this is a cute, relatively harmless movie.

Movie Details

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Genre

The Aristocats (G, 1970)

common sense media says

parents & educators say

What parents need to know

More on The Aristocats

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

What's the story?

What's the story?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?

Movie themes & details

Themes

Movie Details

Review It

Review The Aristocats

What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

i miss this soooooo much

Nothing to scare sensitive toddlers

My review

Very good.

Everybody wants to be a cat

Amazing!!!

An old favorite

Really sweet classic perfect for your preschooler

Cute, fun, mostly mild

Okay from what I remember

classic

Perfect for a 1st DVD at 4 year old!

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