DAPs Magic Disney News – by Mr. DAPs
The Aristocats are just one of many titles being released by the Walt Disney Company on Blu-Ray as they bring many animated classics into the future. The Aristocats has many classic voices like Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Scatman Crothers, Sterling Holloway, and Dean Clark to name a few. It tells the story of a posh family of cats that are set to inherit a massive fortune if and when their owner passes. The butler learns he is line to inherit the fortune after the cats and soon greed takes over as he attempts to rid the manor of these felines.
Picture and Sound:
The Aristocats looks and sounds pretty good in high definition. It isn’t perfect but with the style of animation, a perfect picture might just look out of place. It does look very good though and it is kind of fun to see the evolution of the Disney Animation Studios through the years. It is fun to see the individual little strokes and just see things a bit differently than we are used to with many other Disney classics both new and old.
Things also sound pretty good. It doesn’t sound like it was recorded just yesterday but it does sound pretty good. There are some wonderful songs in The Aristocats and the score does a wonderful job at evoking the feel of Paris.
Side note: the sing-a-long feature was a lot of fun. We had a living room full of people singing along to the movie to surprisingly fun(ny) effect!
Bonus Features:
There were a few bonus features included with The Aristocats. I believe some of them were previously released on the DVD version of this as I felt a sense of deja vous watching them. Here’s what was included:
- The Lost Open – a deleted song with an introduction by Richard Sherman.
- The Sherman Brothers: ‘The Aristocats’ of Disney Songs – A look at what the Sherman Brothers’ did on The Aristocats.
- Deleted Song – “She Never Felt Alone”
- Movie With On-Screen Lyrics – Lyrics included on-screen during the movie.
- Classic Song Selection – Songs from the movie so you can sing-a-long.
- Music Video – “Oui, Oui, Marie”
- Animated Excerpt – Walt Disney discusses the history of cats from “The Wonderful World of Disney.”
- Bonus Short – “Bath Day”
Overview:
The Aristocats is an enchanting little flick. It has some wonderful characters and toe tapping songs. It isn’t the most amazing story in the world but that’s ok because who doesn’t like kittens and Sherman Brothers’ music? It is one of those films that are a part of the Disney tradition and should be in any Disney fan’s collection. And if you aren’t a Disney fan but enjoy animated kittens that sing, oh and France too, you’ll enjoy this flick. A hat tip to The Aristocats. Thanks Disney for releasing this on Blu-Ray!
