MovieChat Forums > The AristoCats (1970) Discussion > Who thought this was a good idea?

Who thought this was a good idea?

posted a year ago by avortac4 (3751)
2 replies | jump to latest

There are many interesting stories in the Universe. Some of them have even landed on this planet, more or less successfully.

There are movies where you have to go through trials and tribulations to learn what's really important in life.

There are movies where exciting adventures whisk you to unknown, different worlds, and help you grow as a character/human being, and realize something about yourself you would never have noticed before.

Let's look at another Disney classic, 'The Fox and The Hound'. That story is intense and interesting, even if it does have some slightly boring lulls in the middle. There's action, philosophy, real threat, scary scenes - but the most poignant one is the bittersweet ending with the 'childhood naïvety echoing in the background' just before the movie ends. It's hard to not cry at that point, because of how relatable the whole thing is.

That movie shows that you can easily grow apart with your best childhood friend, because as an adult, you are not similar anymore, you are not allowed to be friends anymore, or neither of you is what you were as kids. The carefree, easy friendship isn't always possible as adult anymore, due to obligations, societal roles, personality growths to different directions - I could philosophize about this movie for hours and still have more to say.

My point is, this movie, 'The AristoCats', looks like it could be another classic, like '101 Dalmatians' (it's easier to write it that way), with similar visual style, a relatively 'cool' concept of rugged hippie jazz cats contrasted with sophisticated 'better folk' cats, with a typical 'tramplike' world-wise, rough traveler-type cat in the middle (Lady and the Tramp plus the Dalmatians come to mind).

However, the problems are so numerous, I am not sure if I can even list them all.

I don't mind the rough animation style and sometimes lazy backgrounds and re-using some animation clips several times, or even the slightly odd choice of making two geriatric people almost kiss.

The biggest problem is the story/plot/etc. It's all just an irrelevant non-event that happens to a couple of animals, then everything is fine. No personal growth, no seeing new worlds, no character development, no realizations of any kind. Just 'cats end up lost and find their way back', plus some evil and stupidly shortsighted butler going crazy and defying physics for awhile.

Oh, and a couple of long scenes with boring dogs that I don't even know what you are supposed to think about. So militaristic and so boring.

The second biggest problem is that this movie is very BORING. I don't know Disney managed to make a movie this boring in the year 1970, there's absolutely no energy. Even the 'swinging' dance and music numbers just come out of nowhere, go nowhere, and leave you with nothing - they are not interesting. Even Mary Poppins chimney number was more exciting than ANYTHING in this movie.

This whole movie is so boring, I'd rather watch 101 Dalmatians three times in a row and I bet I still wouldn't be as bored as watching this movie only once.

I had the Disney books as a child, and this story was one of them. I always wondered why it felt so 'thin' compared to the other, 'richer' stories. I imagined the movie would be more epic and interesting - but it was less.

Who thought it's a good idea to make a movie with drawn-out, boring, irrelevant scenes that go nowhere and do nothing for anyone, to make really long scenes about some dogs that have nothing to do with anything this movie is supposed to be about, and to make everyone talk in such a droning way it's hard to keep your eyes open?

What were they thinking? It's almost hard to even criticize, because there's no substance, there's NOTHING there. I hope I never have to endure this travesty again, I certainly don't plan to. The cats are cute, but not charismatic, the 'streetwise' cat just looks ugly, fat and almost a poor man's version of Garfield. Why the yellow eyes?

Then there are the other problems, like a mother cat can't sense, smell, instinctually feel, or find her kittens that are about 1 meter away! This streetwise singing cat can't see, smell, feel, etc. three kittens about two meters away, either. No animal seems to have ANY senses they should realistically have.

A cat-kidnapping (catnapping?) ends up being the FRONT PAGE news, even though there's NO proof that anyone actually kidnapped them, and every reason to think they simply ran away (cats do)..? Cats can play piano and other instruments, even though their playing does NOT correspond to the notes you hear almost whatsoever (ok, sometimes a little bit, but the same key seems to produce multiple different notes).

Elderly woman lives in the upstairs of a mansion with ridiculously long stairs, so they have to use an elevator (would love how that would work with 1910s technology), instead of, you know, just having a bedroom downstairs as a matter of convenience..?

[–] avortac4 (3751) a year ago

Cats being friends with mice, goose, and other PREY animals, although they have to eat something, too..?

Calling a truck a 'magic carpet' just so your ridiculous seduction attempts could be justified?

Cats only talk philosophy in the moonlight instead of doing what cats would normally do, even though this cat is a mother of three kittens.. (yeah, it's a Disney movie, but they lean so heavily on the 'relationship/romance/seduction' stuff, they might as well do the deed at least offscreen or something)

Then there are all the useless filler music numbers and such that go nowhere. Some people think it's good music, my ears did not agree.

The streetwise cat has no reason to stay when the ducks appear, he could just bolt, and leave the ducks to guide them to the city. I guess the power of boners..

In any case, the drunk duck couldn't be more annoying, and of course he's just there to give a reason for the ducks to duck off from the movie, because the story doesn't need them anymore (not that it ever really did).

Showing an alcoholic in a positive light in a movie meant for kids..?

Then there's the racistic scene, holy cow.. I can forgive a lot when it comes to old movies, but seriously, what was that point of THAT?

This is one of those rare movies that simply does not have ANY redeeming qualities. How does an evil villain work 12 years completely faithfully and not scheme at all, but as soon as money is mentioned, he becomes evil?

Why would he buy cigar, champagne and all that stuff and talk about enjoying the 'finer things in life', if he doesn't have the money yet? In other words, he can CLEARLY ALREADY ENJOY the 'finer things in life' with his salary (or simply utilizing the generosity of 'Madam' and pinching a bottle from the basement or whatnot), so why would he even need his evil plan?

What kind of service just backs up a truck on a random street, picks up a chest just because it says 'Timbuktu', and takes it away? Are there postage stamps on it?

[–] avortac4 (3751) a year ago

Did Edgar call and arrange this delivery, and how could he arrange the timing so perfectly?

Wouldn't someone notice a man's voice and thumping coming out of a chest they're trying to send to Africa before loading it into the plane or boat?

Why would Edgar BOTHER fighting all those cats, ... I am so tired..

The rain effect looked pretty cool, some of the backgrounds are well drawn, like the river scene with the bridge and Eiffel Tower in the beginning.

Other than that, I just can't see the point of this movie. Why does it exist? What's the point of a story like this? It's way, WAY below 'clichéic trope'. It uses every single trope and still doesn't come close to something worth watching. Everything is almost fully predictable, at least generally speaking. No twists, no surprises, nothing to hold your interest.

No amazing locations, lessons, character growth, no poignancy about the world, society, human nature, or how twisted the idea of a war or a soldier is.

This is not even a good adventure or exploration story - all they're trying to do is walk a short distance back home from some countryside bridge. That's it.

Another random point; why can't Edgar handle his motorbike more gracefully? How can he drive so badly and still get to his destination?

How did he get his SHOES back, when the dogs clearly had them just a few seconds before - not only that, but he was already wearing them the next time we see them/Edgar!

That's some fast ninja action right there!

When Edgar decides to put the cats to sleep, why not just poison them while you are at it? You are trying to kidnap them and .. then what? Drown them? Send them to Timbuktu? Would they even survive such a trip inside a chest? It's a death sentence! So you MIGHT AS WELL POISON THEM!

There's so little else to say about this movie.. almost nothing happens, the villain is more idiotic than any other villain I can think of. He's more incompetent than Von Smallhausen from "'Allo 'Allo"..