It’s time for a classic film about danger and true love. I’d say it’s a good adventure overall but definitely more forgettable than a lot of its rivals. The movie doesn’t really make any big mistakes but just doesn’t have as many strengths as you would normally expect. So you’ll be kept entertained but give it a few weeks and this one will be a distant memory.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Duchess and her three kittens. They live a nice life as they are owned by an incredibly rich woman who really loves them. In fact she intends to leave a massive amount of her will to the cats. Unfortunately her butler Edgar finds out about this and decides to destroy the cats. One night he kidnaps them and strands the cats many miles away from home. They aren’t exactly used to the outside world though and now their only hope is to rely on a strong cat named Thomas. Thomas certainly seems to know what he is doing but can they really trust him?

You’ve got a bigger cast here than you might expect. Thomas has a few friends, then you have a subplot with two dogs, another plot with a mouse, and of course there are 4 main cats. The movie is pretty short too so you shouldn’t expect these characters to do too much. It’s fairly stuffed so the pacing is pretty good but the film probably could have stood to shrunk the cast and give them bigger roles. Well, ultimately it works out well enough.

I would say the surprise hit here is the main villain Edgar. The guy wants to be rich and is willing to do anything towards this goal. He’s an evil villain through and through but has quite a lot of power. Not only is he able to overcome the two dogs who were trying to get him but at the end of the film he is fighting off a 1 vs 5-6 and somehow holds his own. That’s not an easy feat and Edgar doesn’t give up right to the very end. He has no tearful backstory or secret origins here. The guy is just super selfish and that simple motive works this time.

In part he also stands out because there just isn’t much to the main characters. For example Dutchess’ 3 kids don’t have a whole lot to do. You have the guy who wants to be a tough street cat, the girl who loves romance and tries to act dignified, as well as the third kitten who never got much of a personality. They are a little too young to really contribute to the plot and for the most part are just here to slow down Duchess. You could say they fit the role of being the cute characters but don’t really do anything beyond that which is unfortunate.

Duchess is a decent enough character but gives in to the romance a little too quickly. Thomas starts flirting with her almost immediately and Duchess seems charmed right away. You know I’m always more of a fan of the slow burn kind of romance. A romance moving this quickly with a guy who clearly seems like a player doesn’t make for the strongest romance. It’s not a massive part of the story but I do think it should have been earned more. Maybe we see them start to get closer after he saves her from Edgar or something like that.

As for Thomas, well I appreciate his confidence. He knows just about everyone and has made a lot of friends. It’s easy to see why he has so much confidence. The guy has been very successful throughout his life and is the kind of character that you want in his corner. Since his kind of character is fairly well known, the film doesn’t have to flesh it out too much and you immediately have a good feel for the character. It’s a fairly clever way of writing the character.

I’d say he would have really shined if there was more banter between the characters though. That’s where someone like Thomas would have really gotten to shine. Without that element it just feels like the film is missing something. His friends help to establish Thomas’ background a bit but even then they don’t get to appear a ton either. They help by the climax though and still have more of a role than the mouse. The mouse was a good friend to Duchess so you appreciate his efforts though. He jumped into situations that were pretty dangerous for him and took a lot of risks to save the day.

Finally we have the subplot with the two dogs. It was probably the funniest plot in the film even if the jokes could be a little limited. Basically you have the leader and his super loyal follower as they get into a lot of shenanigans. They still couldn’t even defeat Edgar so it’s not like they are super strong but they do their best. Their humor style is either something you like or you don’t though as the leader is constantly bashing his friend who just sits there and takes it the whole time. Ultimately they are good friends but the leader probably wouldn’t admit it. I liked the dynamic well enough but I would have liked the leader to have been a little stronger. Yeah that’s part of the joke but still it would have been since to have seen them get some more solid wins.

The music is definitely forgettable though. None of the songs are particularly strong and this sounds the way you would expect some musicals to sound like. There isn’t much soul behind the tunes and it all sounds like free domain type of music. A song should really have some strong emotions behind it along with a fast beat. None of these songs are ones that will get stuck in your head and you certainly won’t be singing them. That’s an L in my book.

The animation isn’t bad. Fairly standard stuff but certainly nothing bad. You have a lot of movement here throughout the adventure and even some fight scenes. I may even say this was the strongest part of the movie because it was going all out the whole time. It may be the most memorable part of the film overall and part of what would give it some replay value. At the end of the day that’s the position the film is in. I could easily see it again at any time but it’s like eating a sandwich. It doesn’t really do anything for you and just gives you a fun enough time during the experience.

Overall, If you like animated films like this then I would recommend The Aristocats. It doesn’t do anything new or different with the genre but brings you all of the familiar elements that you have come to expect. As long as you enter the film with reasonable expectations then I think you’ll have a good time here. If they decide to make a remake of this someday, I’d say to cut out the songs and just spend more time on the actual adventure. Have them pass different towns with strange traditions and make every part of the film more memorable. It wouldn’t be a super hard thing to do and that would be an improvement here.

Overall 6/10