8 Animated Disney Films That Really Shouldn't Be Called Classics
6. The Aristocats
Yes, those kittens are incredibly cute. So cute it makes deconstructing the film they're in a very hard task. But The Aristocats is over-rated, so it must be done. The first film produced after Walts death, The Aristocats is Disney working at half steam. There's some good ideas in there the Parisian/French countryside is a unique setting and the villain actually has a motivation beyond being evil (something that, when you think about it, wasn't true in earlier flicks) which, coupled with the adorable kittens, make it impossible to hate. But it's so middle-of-the-road that the adoration it still holds seems strange. It is undoubtedly a great movie for kids and it's not totally vapid for adults, but there's just nothing special about it. There's no surprises in the story or a sense of freshness, but I guess the real issue is that it feels like the bridge between the realistic, human world-dominated animal features 101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book and the less parent-friendly fare to come. For every catchy song there's an irritating side character who has no business being there; each smart observation of how cat's really act is off-set by contrived storytelling.
