Synopsis
Pampered cats get kidnapped by their butler.

Review
It's 101 Dalmatians meets Lady and the Tramp meets CATS, with very little of either of the two Disney movies' charm and heart, possibly because this was the first film that the Disney studio completed after Walt Disney's death. As it is, we see a lot of re-used animation (much like Robin Hood) and a lot of re-used voices that further makes the movie feel as if we've seen it all before. In 1910 Paris, Madame (Baddeley) calls her attorney to her mansion to write her will. Her faithful butler Edgar (Maude-Roxby) overhears her desire to leave everything to her four cats, after whose death he will inherit everything. Incensed at this, Edgar carries out a plan to do away with the cats, hoping (I suppose) that Madame will then leave everything to him (as she has no living relatives). In taking the cats out into the countryside, Edgar gets attacked by two dogs and the cats get dumped by the river. Along comes Tom O'Malley (Harris), a street-wise, widely-traveled alley cat who helps them get back to Paris. What follows is a nice and slightly funny movie that unfortunately has too many elements of other Disney movies to be unique for itself. From the voice casting (Harris, Holloway, Pat Buttram, George Lindsay, Monica Evans) to the storyline and the animation, we've seen this before and making the story about cats isn't quite enough to make it one of Disney's classics. Phil Harris' second turn in a Disney movie has him voicing another freewheeling, streetwise character, and the animation reflects it, with many of Baloo's mannerisms creeping in. Eva Gabor's elegant voice matches perfectly with the beautiful white cat of Duchess. The three kittens are fun (each named after famous Parisians), but the "alley cat" mannerism of one of the kittens is repeated frame for frame at least twice. Roddy Maude-Roxby's voice is perfect for the devious Edgar, although his character isn't all that scary or dangerous. There are two traveling British geese (twin sisters Abigail and Amelia) who steal the show about halfway through and provide many laughs. There is a lack of concern for the cats on the part of this viewer that translates to a general malaise about the picture. The look is very nice, straddling the "realistic" look of Dalmatians and the more fantasy look Walt preferred, with some very nice shots of Paris setting the mood. The songs are not all that great; with the exception of "Everybody Wants to be a Cat," none of them are that memorable, even though the title song (sung by Maurice Chevalier) is a nice intro. All that being said, however, my daughter loves it, wanting to watch the "kitty movie."

Highlights
Duchess; Paris; the kittens; the British geese

Rating
I give this film a chocolate milk rating; it's sweet and nice, but not that great. As a Disney film, it's below average. The villain of Edgar is enough for a bunch of cats, but not one of Disney's greatest. The score by Bruns is pretty good.

See also:
Robin Hood