Lacking New Ideas, Disney Announces a Live-Action Aristocats

A live-action adaptation of the classic animated film “The Aristocats” is in early development at Disney, Variety reports.

“Peter Rabbit” director Will Gluck and “Onward” writer Keith Bunin are set to pen the script, with Gluck also producing via his Olive Bridge Entertainment banner.

The original 1970 film follows a family of aristocratic cats — mother Duchess and her three kittens Berlioz, Marie and Toulouse — living a luxurious life in Paris. But when their owner’s butler finds out that the cats are set to receive a massive fortune, he kidnaps them and abandons them in an unfamiliar land — the country. The aristocats then must befriend an alley cat, named Thomas O’Malley, to help them get home before the butler steals what is rightfully theirs.

Directed by core Disney animator Wolfgang Reitherman, the original voice cast included Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers and Roddy Maude-Roxby. “The Aristocats” was a box office success, grossing a total of $191 million worldwide. It’s also well known for its musical numbers, including “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat” and the titular theme “The Aristocats.”