Disney’s long-in-development live-action adaptation of the Aristocats has found its director in Questlove.
Will Gluck (Peter Rabbit) and Keith Bunin (Onward) penned the script, with Gluck producing through his Olive Bridge Entertainment banner.
As of this report, it is unknown if the project, which is still in early development is being developed for a theatrical release or being developed as a Disney+ exclusive. Though, sources close to the trade say the film will be developed in the same vein as the Disney+ live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp, which debuted when the streamer launched in 2019.
Released in 1970, The Aristocats follows a retired opera singer who leaves her inheritance to her cat, Duchess (Eva Gabor), and three kittens, the woman’s butler drugs the cats and abandons them in the countryside in order to inherit the fortune himself. Lost in unfamiliar territory, Duchess and the kittens meet Thomas O’Malley (Phil Harris), an alley cat willing to help them return to their home in Paris. They meet several kooky characters along the way, including two English geese and an alley cat jazz band.
For Disney, Questlove voiced Curley Baker in Disney/Pixar’s Soul and himself in Rise Up, Sing Out, of which he was an executive producer on. He also directed and produced Summer of Soul, was the music producer to High Fidelity, and voiced himself in Lucas Bros. Moving Co.
