Yahoo Movies Questlove to direct live-action Aristocats movie
Everybody wants to be a cat — including Questlove.
Fresh off an Oscar win for his documentary Summer of Soul, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson has lined up his next directing project: a remake of the Disney classic The Aristocats.
EW has confirmed that Questlove will direct, executive produce, and oversee the music for the new film, which is being billed as a "live-action hybrid reimagining." Presumably, the new Aristocats will be similar to recent Disney remakes like The Lady and the Tramp, which mixed CGI animals with live human actors.
Will Gluck (Peter Rabbit) and Keith Bunin (Onward) are writing the script. Deadline first reported the news.
Robert Smith/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; Everett Collection Questlove is directing a new 'Aristocats' movie for Disney.
It's not exactly a surprise that The Aristocats is getting the live-action treatment: Disney has slowly been moving through its entire animated catalog, and so far, the studio has released live-action remakes of films like Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Lion King, Aladdin, Mulan, and Dumbo. Up next, Halle Bailey is starring in a new version of The Little Mermaid that hits theaters on May 26.
Released in 1970, the original Aristocats is a classic, following mother cat Duchess and her three kittens, Berlioz, Marie, and Toulouse, as they team up with alley cat Thomas O'Malley to find their way home. It also has a killer soundtrack, including songs like "Thomas O'Malley Cat" and the jazzy "Ev'rybody Wants to be a Cat" — which Questlove will surely put his own spin on.
Questlove is best known as the drummer and co-frontman of the Roots, and in 2021, he made his directorial debut with the documentary Summer of Soul about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. He's also no stranger to Disney animated projects, having voiced a character, and served as a musical consultant on Pixar's Soul. The Aristocats will be his narrative directorial debut.
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