The Aristo-Cat Review

The Aristo-Cat is a 1943 animated short film from the Merry Melodies series. It is a solid, but uneven short.

A cat enjoys his aristocratic life, lying in a large bed. He has a nightmare where he has to live a cat life and chase mice who trick him to chase a dog instead. First of all, the premise itself is actually very strong and original. It showcases the troubles of domesticated cats who do not know to live by their own. I really like the confusions that arose, the mice’s manipulation and those scenes with the dog.

That was all very interesting, but unfortunately the rest of the short is sorely lacking, particularly in the pacing and structure departments. It is oddly paced, very slow and actually kind of dull when this premise should have been utilized into a brisk, fun action cartoon. The dream structure with the beginning and ending is also rather cliched by this point. But I still liked the main character quite a bit.

The Aristo-Cat is weak in structure and pace, but memorable in its main character and a particularly solid, intriguing premise.