The Aristocats II is a cancelled animated film that was to have been a sequel to the 1970 Disney film The Aristocats. It was scheduled to be released in 2008.[1]
Tod Carter recalled the making of the film:
- "Well, the story of these films is a little convoluted and I'll do my best to keep the facts straight. I was asked by director Jim Kammerud of Hot Donut (formerly of Character Builders) to help with boarding on The Aristocats 2. This film went through multiple scripts and different incarnations and probably didn't really have a clear vision in the beginning. Our goal was to create that vision and tell a solid story. With the exception of retaining the main characters, we were given a good deal of freedom to create original story (similar to The Fox and the Hound 2). We were given a script to work with, but unfortunately a good deal of time and money had already been spent on the previous versions (before we got the job) and the producers at Disney were getting a little antsy to get the film rolling and put something onscreen.
- "We felt the script still needed some work, but the schedule wasn't going to afford us the opportunity to rework the current version and still deliver the film on time and on budget. So, a unique plan was hatched by Jim Kammerud to deliver the first rough story reel quickly and thus allow us some time at the end of the schedule to rewrite and fine tune the story a good deal. The proposed time frame was four weeks. When I heard this suggestion I said, "Ok, great. Four weeks is tight, but I think we can get the first act done." Jim said, "No, four weeks to do all three acts." I honestly didn't think it could be done. I wish I could remember how many board artists we had, but it wasn't that many; possibly five or six. This was a Herculean task and I can tell you that I don't think it had ever been done for a film of that scale.
- "It would take a unique approach, so we devised a method where we (I'm not sure if everyone drew the same) would essentially do large thumbnail board drawings instead of full size boards. We created board panels on 7.5" X 4.5" paper with 4.5" x 2.5" inset frames. Our drawings would fit inside the smaller window area and the dialog and camera direction would be written below. The paper was at a size that was easy to handle and stack while still allowing us to draw at a small scale. Obviously, with such a small window to draw in, we couldn't do detailed or elaborate drawings. We'd have to limit the drawings to clear and essential information. At the time, I was convinced the results would be less than acceptable but I was surprised when I viewed our first story reel. The weaknesses in our story were apparent but the overall quality of the reel was really quite good. In the end, I think we pulled it off in five weeks, which was remarkable.
- "To make a long story short, The Aristocats 2 was eventually shelved because there was skepticism by the executives that it would find sufficient audience in an ever more competitive market. It's one of those disappointing things that happen in the film business from time to time, but it may have been a wise call. The good news was that we had pulled off our little experiment and succeeded in delivering a quality reel in record time. The bad news was that we had established a precedent of what can be accomplished in that time frame and the producers and budgeters at Disney had taken notice.
- "To make The Aristocats 2, we tried to distill the essence of the original film. In the first film, the kittens' nemesis was a misguided butler intent on stealing their fortune. The sequel created a similar dynamic by pitting them against a jewel thief on the open seas aboard a luxury cruise ship.
- "The flavor of the film was sort of a mystery/farce/comedy. There was also a young kitty love interest for Marie who became the focal character of the film. By singling out one character for the central story arc we could do a better job at strengthening the elements of the film. Sometimes when you have an ensemble cast, things can really get watered down because you don't have enough time to spend with each character. We tried to avoid that pitfall.
- "The original film takes place in Paris but we didn't feel they exploited the setting to its fullest potential. We wanted to adopt a European flair by filling our ship with a cast from places like France, Scotland, England, Spain, etc, thus creating a rich environment in both scenery and character in the era of the early 1900s. Our main objective besides the mystery element was to make it completely fun. We worked hard to up the action scenes and create a level of high energy.
- "I really think this film was headed in the right direction and with another pass we could have gotten it right but there are other important considerations in making films of any kind. Making sure you have an audience for your movie is paramount. Disney just felt that The Aristocats 2 was in jeopardy of falling through the cracks in a competitive marketplace.
- "Another interesting side note by the way – originally this movie was slated to be a traditionally 2D animated film like the original. I personally am not a big fan of converting characters from 2D mainly because there is an importance in designing for your targeted medium. Going this route, we probably would have lost a good deal of softness which is essential to these character's charm but since it was ultimately shelved the world will never know for sure.
- "Yes, exactly. Sort of a Murder On The Orient Express without the murder."
Trivia[]
- Marie was to be voiced by Tara Strong, Berlioz to be voiced by Nika Futterman, and Toulouse would have been voiced by Cree Summer.
- The clumsy captain would have been voiced by the late George Carlin, who voiced Zugor in Tarzan II and Fillmore in Disney/Pixar's Cars.
- One of the clumsy captain's henchmen would've been voiced by the late Joe Alaskey.
- A teenage kitten named Marcello (who was supposed to be Marie's love interest) was supposed to be voiced by Rob Paulsen.
- Edgar wouldn't have appeared in the sequel since he got sent away to Timbuktu forever from the first movie.
- Napoleon and Lafayette, Abigail and Amelia Gabble, and Scat Cat and the alley cats would have all been absent from this sequel.
Animatic[]
It appears the dialogue for the film had been recorded and several animatics for the film are known to exist, one of which shows that the film would have been set around Christmastime.
Judging by this animatic, Marie would sometimes provide narration, telling the audience that the night is at the captain's bar and thinks that an unspecified male shall be there.
With the countess and the felines arriving, one of the other guests admires the countess' diamond before her allergies act up (due to the felines) and suggests they sit at the animal table, where a seemingly gluttonous canine is sitting. The canine seems welcoming and offers them the food, but the scent of the food appears to give O'Malley seasickness.
The clumsy captain then arrives and welcomes them to the Sardinia, the ship on which the film is set.
The animatic can be seen here.
More storyboards were uploaded to the online portfolio of Dan Root, which features a sequence between Berlioz & Toulouse, as they search about the ship, coming across a Scottish passenger sneaking into a life boat. Upon investigation, it turns out the passenger is having a romantic drink with a lady passenger, but the date is disrupted by Berlioz & Toulouse, resulting in the Scottish passenger getting whacked by an oar by the lady passenger, as Berlioz & Toulouse escape. [2]
Among other animatics include a continuation of the dinner scene, which features Marie reminding Thomas O'Malley about what the numerous forks are used for, as O'Malley scratches himself with one. The dog suggests just digging into the food, but all the cats are distracted by the Christmas sweater he's wearing, which the dog gets defensive about. Marcello arrives and introduces himself to the rest of the family, as Marie tries flirting with him, much to O'Malley's disapproval. Anchovies are served up, leading the dog to excuse himself, due to them making him feel sick. [3]
Marie would have been cornered by some street cats, before Marcello would have come in and chased off the cats. It turns out that the true thief was the captain, using Marcello as his means to steal the items, which leaves Marie heartbroken. Marcello reveals that the captain intends to turn Marie's family into his scapegoats, and Marie insists they need to go back, but Marcello is reluctant to, which leads to Marie calling him out for his selfishness. [4]
In another animatic, Marie & Thomas O'Malley sneak into the captain's quarters, where all the jewelry is being held, and grab a necklace, leading the captain to give chase. While the captain chases them, Berlioz & Toulouse rush onto the bridge to send out an S.O.S. to alert the authorities. The captain chases Marie & O'Malley up the lookout point, and just as it looks like he's going to toss them overboard, Marcello returns and uses his claws to cut the rope the captain is using to keep balance, leading him to fall into a pile of life rings, with the other passengers recovering their stolen jewelry and the captain being taken away by the authorities, after the dog character calls for a flock of seagulls to poop on the captain. Duchess & O'Malley wish each other a Merry Christmas.[5]
