Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson recently appeared on Score: The Podcast, where he addressed Disney’s decision to shelve The Aristocats live-action movie. In March 2023, Deadline reported that Thompson was going to direct the reimagining of the 1970 animated musical. While reflecting on his career with podcast hosts, Kenny Holmes and Matt Schrader, The Roots drummer revealed the feature just wasn’t meant to be made.
The original animated film follows an aristocratic group of cats who enlist the help of a swingin’ jazz alley cat to claim their inheritance. Songs like Thomas O’Malley Cat and Everybody Wants to Be A Cat were standout hits in the film that followed The Jungle Book and The Sword in the Stone in Disney’s animated catalogue.
The live-action Disney remakes have long been divisive. Despite Lilo & Stitch (2025) becoming one of the most profitable movies in years, Snow White (2025) bombed with contentious publicity surrounding the film. Remakes of beloved movies like The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast have also been met with mixed commercial and critical success.
Thompson credited the shelving of The Aristocats to administration changes, saying, “Once Disney had their third president, usually when a new administration comes in, no matter what… they’re going to reshuffle.” He mentioned presenting his vision to each incoming administration until realizing it just wasn’t meant to be.
The screenplay was to be written by Will Gluck and Keith Bunin. Tarik Trotter, Shawn Gee and Zarah Zohlman were set to executive produce on behalf of Two One Five Entertainment, and Thompson who was slated to oversee the music.
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