Questlove Remaking Disney's Aristocats Sounds Like Mad Libs, But It Makes Total Sense
When they sang "Ev'rybody wants to be a cat," that apparently included the Academy Award and six-time Grammy Award-winner, Questlove. In news first reported by Deadline, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson is set to direct a live-action/animation hybrid remake of "The Aristocats" for the House of Mouse. The film is being compared to similar hybrid films like "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Space Jam: A New Legacy," featuring live-action performers crossed with CGI. There's no word yet on whether or not this means the titular cats will look like CGI updates of their animated origins, or if this will be another semi-realistic uncanny valley adventure similar to Disney's recent remake of "The Lion King."
Admittedly, the timing of this announcement is somewhat suspicious, as Disney also announced that they'd be laying off roughly 7,000 employees starting this week. It's a shame that the news of Questlove's "The Aristocats" remake is coming on the heels of such dreadful behind-the-scenes business news because this is precisely the kind of Disney project worth getting excited about, and deserves to shine without any corporate tarnish.
On paper, the announcement of Questlove tackling a remake of "The Aristocats" sounds like Disney plucked a director based on how well they rank as an SEO keyword, but lest we forget, Questlove's Oscar-win is for directing "Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)," the incredible documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Obviously directing a narrative feature, let alone one incorporating animation, is an entirely new beast, but he's got "Peter Rabbit" filmmaker Will Gluck and "Onward" writer Keith Bunin to adapt the screenplay, and all of the resources available in the Disney machine.
The Aristocats is still relevant. No, seriously.
"The Aristocats" was released in 1970 to massive commercial success, and holds the distinction of being the final Disney animated film put into production by Walt Disney Productions's co-founder Roy O. Disney. While the film doesn't have the same overwhelming pop culture relevance as other films from the era like "The Jungle Book" or "Robin Hood," it's still very popular with young audiences. The Disney Company has a program called "Disney Musicals in Schools," which is a free program provided to a select number of public elementary schools across the U.S.
The schools receive free performance rights and an accessible step-by-step guide to put on a 30-minute performance of the show. The goal is to help youth in underfunded communities foster a love of performance and musicals in school districts that otherwise wouldn't be able to. The shows currently available for schools to pick from are "Aladdin," "Frozen," "The Jungle Book," "Winnie the Pooh," "The Lion King," and yes, "The Aristocats."
Before COVID-19 first hit in 2020, I was co-directing a production of "The Aristocats" with my elementary school students, and let me tell you — the music of "The Aristocats" has never gone out of style. These kiddos had their choice of show and went with one that debuted when their grandparents were their age because they sincerely love it. The jazzy and upbeat music paired with the fact they got to be cats of all attitudes was a huge draw, and the rehearsals were so infectious, the whole school could be heard humming the tunes all throughout the day.
Not for nothing, the music that accompanies the two geese waddling has been a trending sound on TikTok all year, which has inspired plenty of new viewers to check out the film on Disney+.
The Aristocats is ripe for a remake
When Disney announced the live-action remakes of films like "Beauty and the Beast," "Cinderella," and "The Lion King," the overwhelming response was ... why? Many of Disney's animated films are undeniable classics, and remaking them feels a little pointless. "The Aristocats," however, is one of those beloved Disney titles that would benefit from some updating. For the uninitiated, "The Aristocats" is one of the titles that was temporarily removed from Disney+ due to its insensitive portrayals. The film is now back on the platform but includes a 12-second, un-skippable content warning acknowledging the film's negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.
If it's been a while since you've actually watched "The Aristocats," the scene in question is a racist depiction of East Asian stereotypes, with one cat looking like he was modeled after Mr. Yunioshi in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (a ghastly bit of yellowface infamously performed by Mickey Rooney) and singing lyrics that mock the Chinese language. Wild how they managed to make that cat racist against two different cultures in one scene!
In addition to directing, Questlove is also executive producing and overseeing the music for the film, which means we can assume the sound of "The Aristocats" will get a bit of a refresher, and that racist cat moment will get thrown into the trash where it belongs. The film's story centers on privileged, wealthy cats getting thrown to the streets and learning how to survive with the alley cats, but this fish-out-of-water story could certainly use some more nuance in regard to the POV of the alley cats.
Resetting the live-action adaptation trend
Look, I don't blame anyone for being cynical considering the track record of Disney's live-action remakes, but something about this just hits differently than the usual announcements. It weirdly reminds me of the hype that surrounded "101 Dalmatians" back in 1996, which is still one of their best examples of a successful live-action adaptation. Glenn Close delivered an all-time great Disney villain performance, and honestly, that's all anyone needed. "The Aristocats" is a movie that lives and dies by its music, and considering Questlove is already starting out with one of Disney's greatest and most lively soundtracks, he's already a step ahead of the game.
Luckily, "The Aristocats" doesn't have an untouchable legacy hanging over its head, which means there's plenty of room for growth and improvement. There's a chance that this remake could be a total misfire and perhaps Disney will finally take the hint and quit remaking all of their animated classics, but there's also the distinct possibility that Questlove could make some magic here. I'm actively choosing to believe the latter, because he's already got a pretty undeniable track record of wins, so why should this be any different? As the song goes, "Because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at" ... and Questlove is one hell of a cool cat.