Although Disney tried its hand at live-action remakes/re-imaginings in the 1990s, the studio’s been releasing a steady stream of these kinds of movies since Maleficent put a new spin on Sleeping Beauty. This formula has worked more often than not for the Mouse House, with both Snow White and Lilo & Stitch being released on the 2025 movies schedule, and Moana, Hercules and various others lined up for the coming years. However, the live-action version of The Aristocats is no longer on that list, though I can’t say I’m disappointed by this.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who’d been tapped to direct the remake in 2023, shared this information during his appearance on the Score: The Podcast., and Variety confirmed its cancellation. Per Questlove, who most recently directed the documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (which can be streamed with both a Hulu subscription and Disney+ subscription), administration shuffles were the cause of The Aristocats being taken off the list of upcoming Disney movies, just like Tangled was back in April. It eventually got to a point where Questlove was tired of waiting around and wanted to work on other projects. In his words:
I would have loved to have done that project, but there’s like 20 others that I can get to. What I don’t do is I don’t make announcements until it’s ready, but there’s literally four other films. I’ll be working ’til 2029-2030. So, just wasn’t meant to happen. Maybe it will happen in the future.
While it’s a shame that Questlove didn’t get to make The Aristocats as he envisioned, I’m honestly glad that this particular live-action remake isn’t moving forward. I remember enjoying the 1970 original when I was a kid, so this isn’t me critiquing that movie’s quality. Rather, I’m just not a fan of Disney giving its movies that mostly, if not only feature animals as the main characters the live-action treatment.
I say live-action, but it’s really photorealistic CGI. So far we’ve predominantly seen this with 2016’s The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Lady and the Tramp, as well as last year’s Musfasa: The Lion King, which was a simultaneous prequel and sequel to its 2019 predecessor (let’s also throw in The Little Mermaid, albeit to a smaller degree). Now I’ll admit, I was a big fan of The Jungle Book, but more often than not, there’s a lack of charm when Disney makes these animals look like they do in the real world. Ironically, I’d argue they end up looking more lifeless compared to the emotiveness we get from characters in an animated product.
That certainly would have happened with The Aristocats. Like Lady and the Tramp, there are some human characters in. However, with the story revolving around a group of cats in 1910 Paris who inherit their wealthy owner’s fortune, much to the dismay of her butler, these adorable felines take up the majority of screen time. So although there is a part of me that’s intrigued by what Questlove would have done with The Aristocats, that curiosity is outweighed by my disinterest in seeing this story retold with realistic-looking cats.
My fingers are crossed that the live-action Bambi is also shelved, as that’s a story that should strictly remain in the animated realm. As for the Disney remakes starring mostly human characters, the next one up is Moana, which comes out on July 10, 2026.