As Disney continues to work its way through its back catalogue of animated classics, the latest beloved feature to get the live-action treatment is The Aristocats.
Variety reports that Peter Rabbit director Will Gluck is set to helm the project, while Onward writer Keith Bunin will pen the script. Gluck will also produce via his Olive Bridge Entertainment banner. Though the trade doesn't specify, the movie is expected to "have a similar look to the Lady in the Tramp," which suggests a live-action/CGI hybrid with real animals used wherever possible.
It's not clear if The Aristocats will get a theatrical release, or is being developed for a Disney+ streaming service debut.
The original movie followed "a family of aristocratic cats — mother Duchess and her three kittens Berlioz, Marie and Toulouse — living a luxurious life in Paris. But when their owner’s butler finds out that the cats are set to receive a massive fortune, he kidnaps them and abandons them in an unfamiliar land — the country. The aristocats then must befriend an alley cat, named Thomas O’Malley, to help them get home before the butler steals what is rightfully theirs."
Although it's not generally thought of as "top-tier" Disney, The Aristocats was a box office success when it was released, grossing a total of $191 million worldwide. Reviews were mixed, however (the movie sits at 65% on RT).
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