In adding to Disney’s trend of taking beloved animated features and re-imaging them as “live-action” properties, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson will be directing new adaptation of the 1970 film The Aristocats. The Academy Award Winning director for A Summer of Soul – a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural festival – and drummer of Roots will also be a producer and be in charge of the film’s music.
Given Questlove’s background in jazz, it makes sense that he would be interested in adapting and potentially creating new music for the Disney film because one of its most memorable songs is “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat,” which contains jazz and blues. The original film had a few songs written by Floyd Huddleston, Al Rinker, and Robert and Richard Sherman.
Regarding his motive for taking the project, Questlove shared with Pitchfork:
“During those first months of the pandemic back in 2020, I allowed my inner 9-year-old to have a voice he wouldn’ta had back in 1980. I made space for myself every day to enjoy an hour or two of fun. (Eventually, it turned into more work: books, nightly DJ sets, films. But it started as fun.) What grew out of that, in part, was nightly viewings of old Disney classics from my childhood. The Aristocats was one of them. Having been involved in Soul that year, I was able to see so-called kids’ art with new eyes, was able to connect with a certain feeling. I don’t think I would have been fully able to find inspiration in those movies if I wasn’t forced by circumstance to sit silent. I needed that pause. (Also, full confession, The Aristocats was how my mom made jazz seem interesting to me back then.) There’s nothing more rewarding than continuing down that same creative path, taking a part of my past and making it part of my future.”
Although the original film contains a lot nostalgia and beautiful artwork, fans may be interested in a reinterpretation that might feature jazz more heavily to tell the story.
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