Day 89: The AristoCats

As much as I love "Everybody wants to be a Cat", I think I like this one a little more because it helps really set the stage for the entire movie. It also has the credits placed over many of the characters seen in the movie in a rough hand-drawn animation style, something which is not really done anymore because movie-goers like to have the end-credits scenes at the end leaving them more time with their beloved characters or setting up for a sequel. This song does a great job setting up the atmosphere where the cats love to be and their attitudes towards life. This also extends to the French lyrics that Maurice Chevalier sings, which (after getting a translation) speak of how they prefer higher society like those who live in nice houses than the cats who live in the alleys.

Fun-yet-sad fact: this song is also Maurice's final work because he passed away in December 1972
when he was 83. The Sherman Brothers managed to get him out of retirement for just one more song by imitating him and giving him the demo of the song to get him to realize he was a great fit, which worked and as they say the rest is Disney History.

So until next time, Keep Cooking with Character!