Quick correction--several viewers have pointed out the villain from the unproduced sequel sounds more like Jeff Bennet, rather than Corey Burton. Upon listening again, I think they're correct.
I still can't believe how the whole conflict of the movie was caused by Edgar's stupidity. It should be obvious to everyone that he would be in charge of the estate and the finances while making the cats' well-being his first priority.
Not like the cats would've lasted long anyway, so after that he'd be free to use the money anyway he'd want, but nope, just did bad math and tried killing the cats
So I would say that if this wasn’t cartoon world, his boss could’ve left the estate and wealth in a trust until the cats died which means Edgar would’ve not held the wealth directly until the cats died.
@@LCCWPresents at least one comment on Colin's preview announcement for this vid pointed out that if Edgar used his brains for a moment, he'd realize that he's basically getting the money anyway, and all he'd have to do is put on airs of doing so in the cats' interest. (Something like, "No, no, no, Marie doenst like riding in automobiles that are more than a year old, we'll have to get a new one", to paraphrase the specific comment I'm thinking of)
Oddly enough when it comes to Edgar he’s the most ‘human’ villain in the Disney pantheon. He’s kind of like the Onceler in the book and original cartoon of the Lorax. He’s not cartoonishly evil, he’s just been put into a situation in which he convinced himself to do something horrible. And in some ways that makes him a better villain than someone like maleficent or Cruella. Because he’s more a type of villain that anyone can find themselves becoming.
I love trying to guess how Disney are going to ruin their villains with a tragic backstory in the LA versions. Let's see... Edgar was found and raised by the Alley Cats as a baby, and was teased at school for his catty behaviour. He learns how to act like a human but resents his cat fathers, especially when they throw him out for not wanting to be a cat. Because EVERYBODY wants to be a cat.
Its honestly kind of a shame they never went with the Jekyll and Hyde idea for Edgar, that could have made him a fair bit more unhinged and threatening a villain while still maintaining his comedic attributes. Plus it would have made for some wild animation.
I Proposed a idea that Edger is actually a Phantom thief known as Pierre The Swiper who wants Madam fortune so he could retire from Crime all together. His "Jekyll" side will be Edgar, His "Hyde" side will be Pierre. When he learns that Madam is giving her fortune to the cats, Edgar decides to tell Madam the story about his Pierre persona and how one day he will kill the things you love, in this case the Cats. This give Edgar a good idea to kill the cats as Pierre and claim the fortune himself.
The Edgar Army is rising once more!!! On a more serious note, I could watch him move, speak and hearing talk forever, his animation and voice acting are truely amazing and I personally love that "rough pencil style" lyne-art that old Disney movies had in that period
Letting pets inherent money and property happens quiet often in real life, though this is less about them having any actual use for money and more just to ensure they are not just thrown out to the streets when their owners die. Course the actual inheritance is usually not stuck in limbo, there is usually a beneficiary who will actually control the finances and property and be the ones who would take care of the now ownerless pets, so in aristocats case (assuming cats are still just seen as pets in this world) it most likely would’ve been Edgar. So he probably would’ve gotten all the money anyway he just have to take care of the cats. Again that's assuming the cats are still just pets in this world.
Mom cleaned a residence for a cat. The owner had passed away, and the family did not wish to disrupt the cat's life and no one could take her at the time. So the cat remained in the residence, about twice a day or so a member of the family would check on her, and Mom was paid to come in every week or two and clean. Circumstances eventually changed, the cat went to a family member, the residence was disposed of, and Mom moved on to other clients.
Yeah, but plot contrivances and all. Had this film had any logic to it, there wouldn't be much of a story. All Edgar would have to do is keep the cats in expensive fish and bowls to keep the fish in, and just take the rest of it for himself. Worst case scenario, he could just pay someone to take care of the cats, and if he got someone who loved cats, he could get them to work cheap.
I always assumed that was the movie's big joke with Edgar, the one thing underlining his whole story: all of his problems and motivations are of his own invention.
@@christopherwall2121 Frankly, I'd think they'd do a better job making him evil if this was a Rescue Rangers episode. Here he does seem like he's his own worst enemy, sure, but it feels like a bunch of dumb circumstantial stuff and poor planning for the sake of the plot.
I used to own a storybook version of The Aristocats, and the ending is slightly different: instead of having a large fight with the alley cats, the Madame found the cats in the trunk to go to Timbuktu. (I believe O’Malley and the other alley cats had somehow informed her of the trunk.) She got them out, and then fired Edgar on the spot, and then she opened up her home for the alley cats as a thank you.
I might have had the same book! I definitely recognize the story, maybe it was in a collection or something. Was there an accompanying cassette tape to read along with?
In truth, if Madame Adelaide had stated that Edgar would get the fortune in exchange for taking care of the cats as if they were his own, then that would be a more reasonable (and realistic) condition. Edgar would still get the fortune, the cats would have their lives uninterrupted, everyone wins. Of course, there could be an additional condition that an inspector or something close would check on the condition of the cats mental and physical state to make sure Edgar was keeping his end of the deal. But that's my food for thought.
That Elvira character seemed to have a bit of potential on the early scripts, I like that’s scene where she and Edgar are making fun of their boss behind the chair, she looked elegant but wasn’t afraid to be goofy and equally as malicious as Edgar, I prefer a character like that than just a an air headed woman who’s being manipulated.
I think Edgar works perfectly well in this movie. He is absolutely hillarious, especially the chase scenes with the dogs. My siblings and I laugh over him even years later.
I wonder if Suzette wasn't removed so much as fused with Pierre to create the Edgar we have now. Which would explain why Edgar seem more like a hapless fool who got in way over his head rather than calculating villain Pierre was.
Would’ve been interesting to make Suzette the villain like Yzma, and Edgar be sort of her partner like Kronk. Even making a statement when he realizes that he forgot his hat an umbrella, being similar to when Kronk said, “God, I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt me…”.
I didn't expect there to be so much deleted story involving Edgar! Shame we lost Elvira and the scam marriage plot, it would have probably cemented them as more memorable villains in Disney history! Also Edgar appeared recently at Disneyland CA as a Meet and Greet character for their Villains Nite celebration (rare characters like Bowler Hat Guy and Prince John are also there!)
As a villain couple they would have been unique since there isn’t villain couples as far I can recall in Disney. Villain butler alone isn’t that unique.
I feel Edgar could had work better as villain if the film had gave him a more active role after the Aristocats went missing. Instead of assuming the cats are gone, Edgar could suspect they are alive and go hunt for them, making the aristocats journey back to home more suspenseful since they would been chase by villain. This could also result in more chase scenes between Edgar and the dogs, who would want to go after him, making the whole film a cat and mouse game.
It was bittersweet watching the Bonus section about 'Bedknobs And Broomsticks' a week or so after Angela Lansbury's death. I'm happy Colin managed to fit it into this episode.
This is one of the few times where I'd say that the early drafts of the character (and by extension the overall film) sound a *lot* better than what we ultimately got. Hearing about the older versions of Edgar makes me see what they were going for far more, I just wish that they had managed it instead of giving us the absolute loser he became.
Maybe they were a bit lost after Walt Disney died. Or maybe they were sick of larger than life villains, similarly how Pixar leadership arriving at Disney seems to have made them quit having big villains and focus on more realistic ones. Edgar is at least realistic.
I may just be coming off the heels of watching Mega Mind recently, and seeing how THAT movie handles loser antagonists may be fresh in my mind, but I think having someone do awful things because they can't handle how truly lame they are isn't necessarily a problem. That's likely to be the grand majority of bad people we interact with.
Nice video, personally I'm in the camp that thinks of Edgar as more of a pitiable fool than a real villian, if they had kept the subplot of him manipulating the ditzy maid that would have definately pushed him more into the loathsomeness that you can really root against. Although I agree not every villain needs to be some larger than life monster like Cruella or Malificient and sometimes a villian who's more funny than threatening is what a story really needs.
Too bad he does make much of appearances in time there's nothing said about him that he is a greedy rich villain that's pretty much it sure he's funny that's all he wants is her money
@@n.d.engleson6499 Was this a reference to the movie? Or are you just repeating what the others say after someone says an overused comment like this because this is the type of comment that usually comes after.
I find Edgar's lack of malice (or true villainy) to be what makes him compelling as an antagonist. He really is just a regular human who let his selfishness and bitterness get the better of him. Before he knew it, he had spiraled to what could be considered rock bottom. In this way, it's his averageness that makes him striking as a villain. His fate could be anyone's if they're not careful. Plus, as you say, his demeanor fits the nature of this film very naturally. Personally, a more "evil" villain would have felt out of place to me in a whimsical tale such as this. I would've loved to see the manipulative butler/maid dynamic from the early drafts, but I also find no fault in what we got.
Good video! I've done some of my own overanalyzing of this particular villain: at the end of the movie Madame Bonfamille tells Georges Hautecorte that "I'm sure if Edgar had only known about the will he never would have left." It's vague, but to me this always suggested that Edgar was going to inherit some money upfront the whole time, and if he had waited to hear all the details of the will he would have seen no need to steal the cats. And there is a big hole in his plan anyways: even if Duchess and the kittens never came back Madame could end up getting another cat anyways, unless Edgar decided to be even more nasty and outright murder his employer first. He really is a foolish villain, but I don't have any real sympathy for him either. Madame obviously saw her pets as almost like family so stealing them was truly a rotten thing to do, and Edgar's need/desire for money doesn't justify it.
If I were to remake The Aristocats, I would definitely make Edgar a more sympathetic character, and possibly give him a happier ending then probably suffocating from being stuck in a briefcase.
@@jaggerguth4391 it was sleeping poison, though. He actually tried not to resort to killing the cats. Even with his plan B, sending the cats to Timbuktu, his intent wasn't to outright kill the cats
@@baalfgames5318 Adding onto that is how he chooses to merely pin Thomas down with the pitchfork during their skirmish as opposed to outright stabbing him.
Like, I know he wanted to get rid of a bunch of cats and left them to die (I know he merely abandoned them, but like they've been pampered their entire lives and most of them were *kittens* ) but his actions and overall vibe just seem too pathetic for me to not want to throw him a little bone. A little scrap.
oh boy, a string of dark age villains, this'll be interesting. thoh i am genuinely excited for McLeach (since i assume you'll cover Down Under alongside the original Rescuers), Horned King, and Ratigan
@@srstriker6420 Probably. He's a big, tough poacher...but that's it. He's a big, tough poacher who will hurt a child, but he's got no real backstory, no complex motivation outside of greed.
@@srstriker6420Probably, Colin is going by franchise order like in his fantasia video he did the original as well as 2000 discussing the villains of each in the same video.
One thing I remember from Aristocats, everybody want's to be a Cat. I think Edgar was a underwhelming villain but he does have his charming moments and he is one of the villains who did have a reason for being who he became.
I'm honestly amazed you were able to find so much to talk about regarding Edgar! Next up, that snivellin' grovellin', measly weasely, blabberin' jabberin', gibberin' jabberin', blunderin' plunderin', wheelin' dealin' Prince John!
Can't wait to see how Colin contrasts him with the historical Prince John. Most versions of Prince John, I like to ask, "Can you see this man signing the Magna Carta?" And that goes double for this Disney version.
@@christopherwall2121 hell, in most Robin Hood media besides this one the main antagonist is usually The Sheriff of Nottingham. Prince John is normally not present or very minor.
I wonder who’s gonna play Edgar in the live action Aristocats? Also fun fact: the King Leonidas costume head is actually the same head mold as Tigger’s head, just with different fur.
That’d be interesting. My money would be on either Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellan (literally the first two I thought of). I also would be interested to see if it’s copy-paste of the original, like it has been, or if they’ll have a whole new idea. This was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
I’d say someone in their 40s to 50s who can definitely do comedy. My choices: Jean Dujardin (Man has done comedy, but also if he seed him in Wolf of Wall Street, he can definitely play that conning and sleazy side) Simon Pegg (can definitely see him going big with this one) Tobias Menzies (he can definitely play someone who gets walked all over like in Game of Thrones, similar to Edgar, but the actor has been starting to dive into comedy)
Great video as always. On the topic of the unmade sequel, i'm 99% sure that the voice actor for the unknown villain is Jeff Bennet. The voice he uses is extremely similar to his role as Kowalski in the Madasgascar films, just with a french accent.
If they had kept Elvira in, I would've preferred if she really was a coconspirator of Edgar, rather than some airheaded pawn. Her and Edgar could've been more akin to Jasper and Horace from 101 Dalmatians, but with the added caveat that they genuinely love each other.
Edgar is an entertaining villain in the same way as Wile E Coyote, Harry & Marv, and Horace & Jasper. They are all entertaining when they goof up and get hurt.
Colin you got some of the most detailed videos I watch dude! This used to be one of my favorite videos as a kid and had no idea about the whole back stories before hand. It’s such a interesting history lesson.
I can't wait for Prince John! Every once in awhile I'll find myself humming "Prince John, the phony king of England." Robin Hood might actually be my favorite Disney soundtrack now that I think about it.
@@seannolan9857 absolutely. And Miller brings such a piquant sense of style and humor with his music. Also why he's one of my favorite Muppet Show guest stars lol
I'm amazed that Edgar was even IN anything else. I watched a lot of this Disney era as a kid, and Aristocats always felt like some kind of weird fever dream. And it still does. That comic panel of him shouting at O'Malley looks like a horrifying multiverse Garfield.
Regarding Edgar turning up in Paris: Apparently the Aristocats are extremely popular in France (btw, The Rescuers are extremely popular in Germany, for some reason), so even if there isn't a special event the fan stores there are stuffed with plushies of the Aristocats.
worldwide in general, the white kitten is very popular when it comes to merchandise, if the female character in a notebook, shirt or backpack is not a Disney Princess or Minnie, it'll probably be her.
"It must be very undignified to be a servant for a bunch of cats." Eh, being a servant for cats is just being a cat owner. And yeah, you're right. But they're so cute I don't care.
As a child, I was OBSESSED with The Aristocats, mainly because the film was never released on VHS for all those years. Indeed, my mother considered my sisters and me too old for Disney by the time it finally was released.
🍦Sheesh, lotta system moments in these older movies/behind the scenes ideas. I know we got a "split personality" ourselves but jeez, you sometimes forget how commonplace they are in animation.
I actually like Edgar as a character, he does have a lot of personality and he’s animated with a lot of expressions whereas some villains I’ve watched have had nothing to them except blank stares. So he’s alright to me.
23:13 Yeah I think that’s obvious, we’ve just started the Bronze/Dark age of Disney in earnest in this retrospective, it’s going to be quite a while before we hit the Disney Renaissance era villains let alone one of the defining films and villains of that Disney era of animated movies!
If they at least Edgar express more annoyance at the cats and their antics, more overtly greedy, spiteful, and unhinged (especially near the end of the film when the cats are back), and maybe another character like the maid to play off of, I think he’d be better. Here’s an idea for a reworked ending: Rather than shipping the cats away, he tries to kill them. The Madam walks in on him and is confused and enraged demanding an explanation. Edgar stumbles over his words making up an alibi. He then tries to run for it when the madam threatens to call the police, but the mouse trips him after tying his laces together thwarting him.
That will definitely be an interesting one considering this be the first time a animated Disney villain is based off a real life historical person, even today a lot of historians debate whether or not the real King John was truly an evil tyrant or just misunderstood from bias history.
@@brandonlyon730 He DID sign the Magna Carta. AND seemed to do his best to keep England afloat in the face of Richard blowing all the country's money on Crusading. To the point where his coronation was basically a formality, as he'd been running the show for years at that point. Hell, I think you could count the total number of years Richard I actually spent in England on your hands.
@@christopherwall2121Yeah, there was also the time Richard got himself captured by the Holy Roman Emperor, and his ransom almost bankrupt England when John and his mother had to scrounge up the funds to pay for it.
That smile Edgar makes in the early draft looks very much like the one the Grinch from Chuck Jones' How the Grinch Stole Christmas makes when he gets that "wonderful, awful" idea to steal Christmas.
Honestly, I feel like they should have scrapped Edgar as a villain altogether and gone full into the sympathetic side. Make him drive the cats away for the first time in a fit of pique, then be overcome by guilt when he sees how distraught his mistress is. The rest of the movie could then cut between the aristocats trying to find their way home and edgar bumbling his way around trying to find them again.
I'd had a similar idea of Edgar getting mugged on the way to getting rid of the cats, happily handing them over without a fight, only to see realize how badly he's screwed himself over and give chase, and then spend the movie looking for them.
I gotta admit, for a long time in my childhood years, this was one of my favorite Disney Movies. I remember singing along to all the songs as best as I could. While my love for it has waned a lot as I grew older, I still quite like it. As for Edgar...well, he is decidedly average as a Villain, but he serves the purpose of the Story well. Although it is absolutely hilarious how he fails at basic math and logic. XD
Lol, I left the video running as I looked through the comments and heard your lament at the end, lol! 😂 We appreciate you for the work you do, thanks for the video!!
I love this series so much. It gives some of the lesser known or cast aside Disney villains a chance to shine and show what went into the creation of these characters in a very in depth way. I wish the original version of Aristocats was made instead, the version we got isn’t bad but the original had a lot more depth, especially concerning Edgar.
Edgar is a very complex character. He's not exactly a villain in the strictest sense of the word. He's a rather nervous overthinker who really needs to just calm down and not try to solve his dilemma. Yes, it does seem rather futile to leave a fortune to a bunch of cats, and unfair as well, but Edgar took the whole "nine lives" business too literally (and notice how, judging from the way he does the mathematics, he seems to be under the impression that those nine lives won't even start until their inheritance begins, and that each cat will live each life one at a time (one cat, I mean) which means he'll have zip chance of living long enough to inherit himself). Even so, he could have chosen far worse methods for getting rid of the cats than he did. Honestly, my message to him is "chill, Edgar. Madame Bonfamille isn't even dead yet."
Edgar is literally the anti-cruella. The writers took every aspect of Cruella and swapped it, including having him get rid of cats rather than collect dogs.
I think they're operating on the idea that Edgar is a lower class man, a servant and likely doesn't have much on his own. The man is among the lowest class of citizen, this film came out in the 70s an era where many working class people found themselves struggling to make ends meet. A man of Edgar's age would have to content not just with the cats themselves but, the fact that his own life may not be in the most stable position. The film despite being made in the 70s seems to take place much earlier based on the motorcycle, and carriage we see in the film. Life expectancy wasn't as high as it is now and a man in his late 50s could very reasonably be considered to be in the last days of his life if his health wasn't in the best condition. It is also worth mentioning that this film takes influences from the book The Aristocrats that's where thi9ngs like time period, setting and set dressings come into play.
Whomever the villain is, these deep dives always make my day and give me a deeper appreciation for and interest in these stories and their productions. Thank you for the great content and for sharing your passion.
5:44 This reminds me of the old Mickey mouse comic story "The Atombrella and the Rhyming Man" where the titular Villain goes to a room with two mirrors to go talk to himself for advice. Notably, The two reflections don't speak in rhyme.
Reason why I love this villain: IT'S THE FIRST DISNEY VILLAIN (from the classic movies) THAT DOESN'T JUST START AS "I've always been evil". No, really, how many main disney classics villains can say that? I don't say it doesn't work being evil since the beginning: look at Maleficent or Cruella. For them it works... But why... Can't we have this on characters like... Frollo, like in his book? He starts off as neutral and THEN he turns into an evil person. No, they all either have to be openly villainous since the dawn of times or have to fake to be good to then reveal their true face at the end. Here is actually a bit sad seeing this good ol jolly butler being so friendly with the kittens, then he tries to get rid of them. Why can't we have more like this instead of "Ursula is the bad guy? NO WAY! There were no clues about it, except everything!" (it's an example: Ursula does work well even as an "always been evil" villain)
honestly, for me, the fact he's messing with someone's pet(s) is a feat that makes him pretty damn evil in my eyes. You can threaten me, rob me, even try to kill me. But the second you mess with the pet, you make it personal.
Another fun fact I wanted to point out is back when you mentioned Boris Karloff possibly playing Edgar, a cut version of the song by Thurl Ravenscroft was playing. Boris Karloff with the singing voice of Thurl Ravenscroft, now where have I heard that one before… OH! Yes I remember now! They were together for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, where Karloff played the Narrator and the Grinch while Thurl sang You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch! Too bad we didn’t get to see that reunion…
@19:24 The villain in that reel is, I believe, Jeff Bennett. He has a certain cadence and gruffness to his delivery. Plus his French accent is very noticeable. You can hear it in the Animaniacs parody of Les Miserables and when he does Lumiere in most post-movie Beauty and the Beast stuff.
I always thought the main thing with Edgar was his pride; I mean, he's probably served Madame for years, have put up with a lot (just watch how the lawyer treats him), and who comes first in her will? The cats. Not her loyal butler, but her cats. It's the principle. Of course he's bitter.
As an adult, I think the most interesting part about the Aristocats is Madame's background. Jorge makes it clear that he was her lawyer back when she was a famous prima donna at the opera. In order to become an aristocrat, she would have had to marry one. This crossing of social would have been extremely scandalous at the time and it is clear (given that she has no close friends or family aside from her lawyer) that she and her husband were ostracized from his family and from aristocratic society. Still, she holds no regret or bitterness towards her decision, so we can conclude that they remained happy and in love to the end. I also like to think that Duchess was a gift from her ailing husband to ensure that his wife wouldn't be all alone after he died, but there is no specific evidence for this.
I think I can provide a source for Edgar’s last name being Balthazar. You know that special where Hans Conried plays the Magic Mirror and praises the Disney Villains at the time? I don’t know if I’m misremembering, but I’m certain I heard the Mirror refer to him as Edgar Balthazar there. I don’t know what the original special was titled, but I know this was part of Disney’s Halloween Treat on VHS. If you can find it, maybe give it a look and confirm that. Edit: Never mind, I was mistaken.
I gave a version of it I found on youtube a look (link below) but I couldn't find any reference of him being called Edgar Balthazar. I hope I found the version you're thinking of. Link: th-cam.com/video/vdN3nAAfg3Q/w-d-xo.html I think the part with Edgar starts at 45 minutes in
Funnily enough Harry Tytle(One of the creators) had previously worked on a lot of made of TV specials for The Magical World of Disney. Though since they announced a remake with Keith Bunin and William Gluck producing it. Let's hope one of the potential crewmembers of this upcoming movie can take some of these critiques and help improve Edgar's character. Plus it's also coming full circle since the movie in it's early stage as a made for TV film was supposed to be in live action. Plus it's interesting to find out that Bedknobs and Broomsticks has even joined Disney's stage musical productions. And fittingly in the next video, not only are we looking at a precursor Lion King, were also looking at a precursor of a Disney-fied version of a real life person before Pocahontas. Since Prince John and his brother Richard I is based on a real kings that existed in England's history, though this is real people mixed with old English folklore..
i never played any kingdom hearts game, nor am i familiar with the lore but i kinda want the next game to make edgar the main villain and have him be an absolutely overpowered evil overlord who controls legions of heartless, just for fun
"Edgar will inherit our fortune with the condition that he must take good care of our cats" BOOM plot solved, Edgar becomes a wholesome dude who will take good care of the cats because they helped him inherit a good fortune thanks to his hard work with the family
Crazy how much material there actually was to work with about Edgar! I need to go back and watch The Aristocats again, it's been YEARS. I'm pretty sure that the captain villain's voice actor in that rough draft of the proposed sequel was Jeff Bennett instead of Corey Burton.
I feel for edgar...I'd be pissed too if I got over shadowed by cats. To be fair though if the lady died and left the cats in his care he would technically get the inheritence he would just need to prove that the money went to the wellbeing of the cats (save those receipts!) This happens a lot with wealthy people. When people fight over the inheritence they leave it up to their pets which technically is left up to the person who inherited said pets.
You seem to have a different view of what you would like from the character of Edgar. While you want a horrid man to root against, I see Edgar working better as either a lackey for a greater villain or serving as a more sympathetic antagonist. From my perspective, the writers and storyboard artists of the film were conflicted with the direction for the character themselves. Since they also seem to latch onto the ideas from the draft where Edgar talked to his reflection, his portrayal was all over the place. If it was me, I would have Edgar make it an upmost priority to keep the cats alive as he still respects them regardless. When he loses the cat in the middle of the countryside, he wrestles with himself to either assume they are fine or return to see if they are well. Returning the countryside for his items might actually be a subconscious excuse to look for them. Plus, if Roquefort ended up sticking with Edgar as intended, then he would gain further clues of what actually occurred in a more natural fashion. The pair of dogs would further contribute to the story by explaining their previous episode with Edgar and Roquefort could even hitch a ride on Uncle Waldo back into Paris. Later, Edgar is still struggling with his own guilt after failing to locate the cats. He attempts brushing it off and fixates on the inheritance, but his train of thought was interrupted by the returning felines. Although he is initially delighted, he realizes the multiple implications their return could offer, including possibly landing Edgar into deep legal trouble. Barely thinking straight, he places the cats in the safest rom of the house and hastily creates a comfortable box for the pets to send them to Timbuktu. Once the final struggle places him in the box instead, Edgar peeks out to see the cats reunited with their mistress. Although he was disappointed, Edgar realizes how low he stooped and resigned himself to his fate. Meanwhile, Madame Adelaide is still oblivious of Edgar's conspiracy and is saddened he left the estate. While she wondered if he would remain after learning of the will, Georges warns that greed impairs the judgement of others. Madame Adelaide, however, dismisses the notion as her opinion towards her butler is high.
Lennie Weinrib also appeared on an episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", playing Jackie Brewster, a nightclub comedian and potential TV writer as a replacement for Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam), who had been fired. Weinrib also did some voicework for DePatie-Freleng (most famous for the Pink Panther cartoons), voicing both roles in the "Roland and Rattfink" series, a sendup of the old melodramas, where a brawny, blond-haired hero (Roland) does battle with a sneering, mustachioed villain with (usually) green skin (Rattfink).
Aristocats, Robin Hood, and Sword in the Stone are my top 3 Disney movies, ones that I absolutely adore and Robin Hood is at the top of that trio so I'm looking forward to that vid. Also I love the fact that one of the dogs in the Aristocats is also the voice of the Sheriff in Robin Hood...he's done a lot of Disney voices actually now that I think about it...
Not sure if anyone said this in the comments, the direct to video sequel "Captain" villain voice in the animatic clip sounds like it's Jeff Bennett (he voiced Lumiere recently in the Chip and Dale movie) doing the voice. Corey Burton is most certainly the singer for the villain duet though.
There is one thing you left out: The Edgar face character performer made an appearance at Disneyland in 1972 during the Fantasy on Parade. He is driving a horse and cart, accompanied by face characters of Madame and George, carrying their kittens. Also, the voice actor of Edgar is still alive too.
Quick correction--several viewers have pointed out the villain from the unproduced sequel sounds more like Jeff Bennet, rather than Corey Burton. Upon listening again, I think they're correct.
Can you pls do Sonny from Cocoa Puffs?
It's the twang he puts in "CapTAINNN" that gives him away. It's the same voice he does for any time he played someone French in Animaniacs.
You forgot about the evil Queen from the charmings in the 1980s
@@antonissa8345 .
Can you do prince john and Sheffield of Nottingham
I still can't believe how the whole conflict of the movie was caused by Edgar's stupidity. It should be obvious to everyone that he would be in charge of the estate and the finances while making the cats' well-being his first priority.
Not like the cats would've lasted long anyway, so after that he'd be free to use the money anyway he'd want, but nope, just did bad math and tried killing the cats
Sorry not kill, that would even be too smart for him, he tried sending them away
@@patrickzalatoris3206 yeah he made this weird leap in logic that cats have nine lives therefore they would outlast him.
Edgar was not a smart man
So I would say that if this wasn’t cartoon world, his boss could’ve left the estate and wealth in a trust until the cats died which means Edgar would’ve not held the wealth directly until the cats died.
@@LCCWPresents at least one comment on Colin's preview announcement for this vid pointed out that if Edgar used his brains for a moment, he'd realize that he's basically getting the money anyway, and all he'd have to do is put on airs of doing so in the cats' interest. (Something like, "No, no, no, Marie doenst like riding in automobiles that are more than a year old, we'll have to get a new one", to paraphrase the specific comment I'm thinking of)
Oddly enough when it comes to Edgar he’s the most ‘human’ villain in the Disney pantheon.
He’s kind of like the Onceler in the book and original cartoon of the Lorax.
He’s not cartoonishly evil, he’s just been put into a situation in which he convinced himself to do something horrible.
And in some ways that makes him a better villain than someone like maleficent or Cruella.
Because he’s more a type of villain that anyone can find themselves becoming.
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
^^This!
Does that mean Edgar has potential to be a Tumblr Sexyman like the Onceler?
@@BarnabusBarbarossa The ‘original’ Onceler.
@@Nazo-kage thank god he never became a Tumblr sexyman
I love trying to guess how Disney are going to ruin their villains with a tragic backstory in the LA versions. Let's see... Edgar was found and raised by the Alley Cats as a baby, and was teased at school for his catty behaviour. He learns how to act like a human but resents his cat fathers, especially when they throw him out for not wanting to be a cat. Because EVERYBODY wants to be a cat.
This ties into that episode of Top Cat where he and his gang briefly try to raise a baby. Now we can have a Disney/Hanna-Barbera multi-whatsit!
This hurt so much to imagine becouse I had zero problems in doing so... after Cruella and Pinocchio Disney is capable of doing anything at this point
@@endertuber8300 hey at least the kept The Coachman evil.
I hate how plausible this is
@@calebray1834, but they left out the part about the exposing of children to alcohol and tobacco.
Questionable, no?
Its honestly kind of a shame they never went with the Jekyll and Hyde idea for Edgar, that could have made him a fair bit more unhinged and threatening a villain while still maintaining his comedic attributes. Plus it would have made for some wild animation.
I Proposed a idea that Edger is actually a Phantom thief known as Pierre The Swiper who wants Madam fortune so he could retire from Crime all together. His "Jekyll" side will be Edgar, His "Hyde" side will be Pierre. When he learns that Madam is giving her fortune to the cats, Edgar decides to tell Madam the story about his Pierre persona and how one day he will kill the things you love, in this case the Cats. This give Edgar a good idea to kill the cats as Pierre and claim the fortune himself.
I like him being a more human character than that.
And if it's actually like the Jekyll & Hyde dynamic, he'd still be very much human and even more evil.
The time of the 5 Edgar fans have come
Heck yeah! #EdgarGang
@@umbrella3235 #EdgarGang
#EdgarGang rise up
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
The Edgar Army is rising once more!!! On a more serious note, I could watch him move, speak and hearing talk forever, his animation and voice acting are truely amazing and I personally love that "rough pencil style" lyne-art that old Disney movies had in that period
Letting pets inherent money and property happens quiet often in real life, though this is less about them having any actual use for money and more just to ensure they are not just thrown out to the streets when their owners die. Course the actual inheritance is usually not stuck in limbo, there is usually a beneficiary who will actually control the finances and property and be the ones who would take care of the now ownerless pets, so in aristocats case (assuming cats are still just seen as pets in this world) it most likely would’ve been Edgar. So he probably would’ve gotten all the money anyway he just have to take care of the cats. Again that's assuming the cats are still just pets in this world.
Mom cleaned a residence for a cat. The owner had passed away, and the family did not wish to disrupt the cat's life and no one could take her at the time. So the cat remained in the residence, about twice a day or so a member of the family would check on her, and Mom was paid to come in every week or two and clean. Circumstances eventually changed, the cat went to a family member, the residence was disposed of, and Mom moved on to other clients.
Yeah, but plot contrivances and all. Had this film had any logic to it, there wouldn't be much of a story. All Edgar would have to do is keep the cats in expensive fish and bowls to keep the fish in, and just take the rest of it for himself. Worst case scenario, he could just pay someone to take care of the cats, and if he got someone who loved cats, he could get them to work cheap.
I always assumed that was the movie's big joke with Edgar, the one thing underlining his whole story: all of his problems and motivations are of his own invention.
@@christopherwall2121 Frankly, I'd think they'd do a better job making him evil if this was a Rescue Rangers episode. Here he does seem like he's his own worst enemy, sure, but it feels like a bunch of dumb circumstantial stuff and poor planning for the sake of the plot.
I think he just didn’t want to share anything with the cats
I used to own a storybook version of The Aristocats, and the ending is slightly different: instead of having a large fight with the alley cats, the Madame found the cats in the trunk to go to Timbuktu. (I believe O’Malley and the other alley cats had somehow informed her of the trunk.) She got them out, and then fired Edgar on the spot, and then she opened up her home for the alley cats as a thank you.
I might have had the same book! I definitely recognize the story, maybe it was in a collection or something. Was there an accompanying cassette tape to read along with?
@@justinbremer2281 I think so!
I remember that!
In truth, if Madame Adelaide had stated that Edgar would get the fortune in exchange for taking care of the cats as if they were his own, then that would be a more reasonable (and realistic) condition. Edgar would still get the fortune, the cats would have their lives uninterrupted, everyone wins. Of course, there could be an additional condition that an inspector or something close would check on the condition of the cats mental and physical state to make sure Edgar was keeping his end of the deal. But that's my food for thought.
I think this whole came down to communication.
That Elvira character seemed to have a bit of potential on the early scripts, I like that’s scene where she and Edgar are making fun of their boss behind the chair, she looked elegant but wasn’t afraid to be goofy and equally as malicious as Edgar, I prefer a character like that than just a an air headed woman who’s being manipulated.
Ever seen the movie Candleshoe? that's how they did the villains.
I think Edgar works perfectly well in this movie. He is absolutely hillarious, especially the chase scenes with the dogs. My siblings and I laugh over him even years later.
Those scenes with Edgar and the dogs are the only things I like about The Aristocats. Partly because it feels like something out of Looney Tunes.
I wonder if Suzette wasn't removed so much as fused with Pierre to create the Edgar we have now. Which would explain why Edgar seem more like a hapless fool who got in way over his head rather than calculating villain Pierre was.
Yeah I think the two characters merged into Edger.
Would’ve been interesting to make Suzette the villain like Yzma, and Edgar be sort of her partner like Kronk. Even making a statement when he realizes that he forgot his hat an umbrella, being similar to when Kronk said, “God, I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt me…”.
I didn't expect there to be so much deleted story involving Edgar! Shame we lost Elvira and the scam marriage plot, it would have probably cemented them as more memorable villains in Disney history!
Also Edgar appeared recently at Disneyland CA as a Meet and Greet character for their Villains Nite celebration (rare characters like Bowler Hat Guy and Prince John are also there!)
As a villain couple they would have been unique since there isn’t villain couples as far I can recall in Disney. Villain butler alone isn’t that unique.
Who is Bowler Hat guy?
@@juliamavroidi8601 The villain from Meet the Robinsons
@@NightoftheLivingcookies10 Ah, him^^ thx
I feel Edgar could had work better as villain if the film had gave him a more active role after the Aristocats went missing. Instead of assuming the cats are gone, Edgar could suspect they are alive and go hunt for them, making the aristocats journey back to home more suspenseful since they would been chase by villain. This could also result in more chase scenes between Edgar and the dogs, who would want to go after him, making the whole film a cat and mouse game.
It was bittersweet watching the Bonus section about 'Bedknobs And Broomsticks' a week or so after Angela Lansbury's death. I'm happy Colin managed to fit it into this episode.
This is one of the few times where I'd say that the early drafts of the character (and by extension the overall film) sound a *lot* better than what we ultimately got. Hearing about the older versions of Edgar makes me see what they were going for far more, I just wish that they had managed it instead of giving us the absolute loser he became.
Maybe they were a bit lost after Walt Disney died. Or maybe they were sick of larger than life villains, similarly how Pixar leadership arriving at Disney seems to have made them quit having big villains and focus on more realistic ones. Edgar is at least realistic.
I may just be coming off the heels of watching Mega Mind recently, and seeing how THAT movie handles loser antagonists may be fresh in my mind, but I think having someone do awful things because they can't handle how truly lame they are isn't necessarily a problem. That's likely to be the grand majority of bad people we interact with.
Nice video, personally I'm in the camp that thinks of Edgar as more of a pitiable fool than a real villian, if they had kept the subplot of him manipulating the ditzy maid that would have definately pushed him more into the loathsomeness that you can really root against. Although I agree not every villain needs to be some larger than life monster like Cruella or Malificient and sometimes a villian who's more funny than threatening is what a story really needs.
Edgar is truly the most Disney Villain of all time
LOL that's a good one!
Too bad he does make much of appearances in time there's nothing said about him that he is a greedy rich villain that's pretty much it sure he's funny that's all he wants is her money
@@n.d.engleson6499 Was this a reference to the movie?
Or are you just repeating what the others say after someone says an overused comment like this because this is the type of comment that usually comes after.
*Ba-Dum, CHING!*
Described him well, a meh
I find Edgar's lack of malice (or true villainy) to be what makes him compelling as an antagonist. He really is just a regular human who let his selfishness and bitterness get the better of him. Before he knew it, he had spiraled to what could be considered rock bottom. In this way, it's his averageness that makes him striking as a villain. His fate could be anyone's if they're not careful. Plus, as you say, his demeanor fits the nature of this film very naturally. Personally, a more "evil" villain would have felt out of place to me in a whimsical tale such as this. I would've loved to see the manipulative butler/maid dynamic from the early drafts, but I also find no fault in what we got.
I just LOVE the action sequence with here the Butler and Dogs. Showing us the animated world lacks the limitations of live action.
"I just spent 20 minutes talking about the butler from the Aristocats."
20 minutes well spent.
Fun fact the voice actor for edgar is still alive and come April next year will be 93
In one particular Aristocats storybook, Edgar is caught red‐handed and is fired by Madame for his deed.
This movie was a vhs favorite of mine! I've also always been a sucker for cats, so that helped
I wore out our families first VHS copy and my parents had to by second copy
Good video! I've done some of my own overanalyzing of this particular villain: at the end of the movie Madame Bonfamille tells Georges Hautecorte that "I'm sure if Edgar had only known about the will he never would have left." It's vague, but to me this always suggested that Edgar was going to inherit some money upfront the whole time, and if he had waited to hear all the details of the will he would have seen no need to steal the cats. And there is a big hole in his plan anyways: even if Duchess and the kittens never came back Madame could end up getting another cat anyways, unless Edgar decided to be even more nasty and outright murder his employer first.
He really is a foolish villain, but I don't have any real sympathy for him either. Madame obviously saw her pets as almost like family so stealing them was truly a rotten thing to do, and Edgar's need/desire for money doesn't justify it.
Justice for Edgar! Imaging working and devoting your life as a live in Butler, only for your boss to pass on all the wealth to some cats...
If I were to remake The Aristocats, I would definitely make Edgar a more sympathetic character, and possibly give him a happier ending then probably suffocating from being stuck in a briefcase.
@@baalfgames5318 Then again he was trying to poison the cats...
@@jaggerguth4391 it was sleeping poison, though. He actually tried not to resort to killing the cats. Even with his plan B, sending the cats to Timbuktu, his intent wasn't to outright kill the cats
@@baalfgames5318 Adding onto that is how he chooses to merely pin Thomas down with the pitchfork during their skirmish as opposed to outright stabbing him.
Like, I know he wanted to get rid of a bunch of cats and left them to die (I know he merely abandoned them, but like they've been pampered their entire lives and most of them were *kittens* ) but his actions and overall vibe just seem too pathetic for me to not want to throw him a little bone. A little scrap.
oh boy, a string of dark age villains, this'll be interesting. thoh i am genuinely excited for McLeach (since i assume you'll cover Down Under alongside the original Rescuers), Horned King, and Ratigan
ratigan will be an amazing video topic
That’s what I was wondering on McLeach just sharing his video with Madame Medusa
@@srstriker6420 Probably. He's a big, tough poacher...but that's it. He's a big, tough poacher who will hurt a child, but he's got no real backstory, no complex motivation outside of greed.
@@srstriker6420Probably, Colin is going by franchise order like in his fantasia video he did the original as well as 2000 discussing the villains of each in the same video.
@@katpottz476 Ratigan is my favorite Disney villain
If there's going to be a live action remake of The Aristocats, they should bring back the old Edgar concept of Greed corrupting a good man.
They are remaking The Aristocats
@@samperry5383 Why am I not surprised.
One thing I remember from Aristocats, everybody want's to be a Cat.
I think Edgar was a underwhelming villain but he does have his charming moments and he is one of the villains who did have a reason for being who he became.
I'm honestly amazed you were able to find so much to talk about regarding Edgar!
Next up, that snivellin' grovellin', measly weasely, blabberin' jabberin', gibberin' jabberin', blunderin' plunderin', wheelin' dealin' Prince John!
Too late to be known as John the First, he's sure to be known as John the Worst!
Can't wait to see how Colin contrasts him with the historical Prince John.
Most versions of Prince John, I like to ask, "Can you see this man signing the Magna Carta?" And that goes double for this Disney version.
@@Victoria-cm7yh John was the only king of England to go by that name, so catchiness aside, that lyric alone is completely wrong.
@@Victoria-cm7yh A pox on the phony king of England
@@christopherwall2121 hell, in most Robin Hood media besides this one the main antagonist is usually The Sheriff of Nottingham. Prince John is normally not present or very minor.
I wonder who’s gonna play Edgar in the live action Aristocats?
Also fun fact: the King Leonidas costume head is actually the same head mold as Tigger’s head, just with different fur.
That’d be interesting. My money would be on either Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellan (literally the first two I thought of). I also would be interested to see if it’s copy-paste of the original, like it has been, or if they’ll have a whole new idea. This was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Eric Idle would be a good choice
I'm picturing a version where Rowan Atkinson essentially combines his two most beloved characters, Mr. Bean and Edmund Blackadder, into one.
I’d say someone in their 40s to 50s who can definitely do comedy. My choices:
Jean Dujardin (Man has done comedy, but also if he seed him in Wolf of Wall Street, he can definitely play that conning and sleazy side)
Simon Pegg (can definitely see him going big with this one)
Tobias Menzies (he can definitely play someone who gets walked all over like in Game of Thrones, similar to Edgar, but the actor has been starting to dive into comedy)
Andy Serkis might be a good choice, good comedic timing and physical comedy abilities but can also go threatening if needed
Great video as always. On the topic of the unmade sequel, i'm 99% sure that the voice actor for the unknown villain is Jeff Bennet. The voice he uses is extremely similar to his role as Kowalski in the Madasgascar films, just with a french accent.
Or Dr. von Hamsterviel
Yes, he does very much sound like Jeff Bennett.
If they had kept Elvira in, I would've preferred if she really was a coconspirator of Edgar, rather than some airheaded pawn. Her and Edgar could've been more akin to Jasper and Horace from 101 Dalmatians, but with the added caveat that they genuinely love each other.
Villain couple W
It's always a great day when Colin posts.
Edgar is an entertaining villain in the same way as Wile E Coyote, Harry & Marv, and Horace & Jasper.
They are all entertaining when they goof up and get hurt.
Colin you got some of the most detailed videos I watch dude! This used to be one of my favorite videos as a kid and had no idea about the whole back stories before hand. It’s such a interesting history lesson.
I can't wait for Prince John! Every once in awhile I'll find myself humming "Prince John, the phony king of England." Robin Hood might actually be my favorite Disney soundtrack now that I think about it.
Hiring Roger Miller and Phil Harris was probably the best decision made in that entire production.
@@seannolan9857 absolutely. And Miller brings such a piquant sense of style and humor with his music. Also why he's one of my favorite Muppet Show guest stars lol
This is an underrated Disney movie.
I'm amazed that Edgar was even IN anything else. I watched a lot of this Disney era as a kid, and Aristocats always felt like some kind of weird fever dream.
And it still does. That comic panel of him shouting at O'Malley looks like a horrifying multiverse Garfield.
Regarding Edgar turning up in Paris: Apparently the Aristocats are extremely popular in France (btw, The Rescuers are extremely popular in Germany, for some reason), so even if there isn't a special event the fan stores there are stuffed with plushies of the Aristocats.
worldwide in general, the white kitten is very popular when it comes to merchandise, if the female character in a notebook, shirt or backpack is not a Disney Princess or Minnie, it'll probably be her.
Imagine if Edgar just quits his job and moves to New York to become a DJ.
OH GOD NOT OUTTA NOWHERE RAPPING EUSTANCE AGAIN!
"It must be very undignified to be a servant for a bunch of cats."
Eh, being a servant for cats is just being a cat owner.
And yeah, you're right. But they're so cute I don't care.
Just ask Jon Arbuckle
As a child, I was OBSESSED with The Aristocats, mainly because the film was never released on VHS for all those years. Indeed, my mother considered my sisters and me too old for Disney by the time it finally was released.
🍦Sheesh, lotta system moments in these older movies/behind the scenes ideas. I know we got a "split personality" ourselves but jeez, you sometimes forget how commonplace they are in animation.
I actually like Edgar as a character, he does have a lot of personality and he’s animated with a lot of expressions whereas some villains I’ve watched have had nothing to them except blank stares. So he’s alright to me.
23:13 Yeah I think that’s obvious, we’ve just started the Bronze/Dark age of Disney in earnest in this retrospective, it’s going to be quite a while before we hit the Disney Renaissance era villains let alone one of the defining films and villains of that Disney era of animated movies!
"I just spent 20 minutes talking about the butler from the Aristocats..."
And we thank you for it!
When the inevitable Aristocats live action film is made, I do hope the chase scene between Edgar and the dogs is as wild and fast paced.
If they at least Edgar express more annoyance at the cats and their antics, more overtly greedy, spiteful, and unhinged (especially near the end of the film when the cats are back), and maybe another character like the maid to play off of, I think he’d be better.
Here’s an idea for a reworked ending: Rather than shipping the cats away, he tries to kill them. The Madam walks in on him and is confused and enraged demanding an explanation. Edgar stumbles over his words making up an alibi. He then tries to run for it when the madam threatens to call the police, but the mouse trips him after tying his laces together thwarting him.
Brilliant episode can’t wait for Prince John/Madam Medusa
Yeah and the same for the Horned king and Sykes from Oliver and company
And Ratigan
@@sesamefan4049 Amos Slade and Percival C Mcleach
I can't wait for the Prince John video. He's always been one of my favorite villains.
Mine too.
Yeah and the Horned king down the road
That will definitely be an interesting one considering this be the first time a animated Disney villain is based off a real life historical person, even today a lot of historians debate whether or not the real King John was truly an evil tyrant or just misunderstood from bias history.
@@brandonlyon730 He DID sign the Magna Carta. AND seemed to do his best to keep England afloat in the face of Richard blowing all the country's money on Crusading. To the point where his coronation was basically a formality, as he'd been running the show for years at that point. Hell, I think you could count the total number of years Richard I actually spent in England on your hands.
@@christopherwall2121Yeah, there was also the time Richard got himself captured by the Holy Roman Emperor, and his ransom almost bankrupt England when John and his mother had to scrounge up the funds to pay for it.
That smile Edgar makes in the early draft looks very much like the one the Grinch from Chuck Jones' How the Grinch Stole Christmas makes when he gets that "wonderful, awful" idea to steal Christmas.
Honestly, I feel like they should have scrapped Edgar as a villain altogether and gone full into the sympathetic side. Make him drive the cats away for the first time in a fit of pique, then be overcome by guilt when he sees how distraught his mistress is. The rest of the movie could then cut between the aristocats trying to find their way home and edgar bumbling his way around trying to find them again.
I'd had a similar idea of Edgar getting mugged on the way to getting rid of the cats, happily handing them over without a fight, only to see realize how badly he's screwed himself over and give chase, and then spend the movie looking for them.
I can’t wait for the Robin Hood villains retrospective.
Yeah the same
I know right? Three epic villains to talk about, two of whom also have interesting histories outside of Disney.
@@adamsinclair1959 That reminds me, has anyone ever made a version of Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the Disney film's universe?
Robin Hood is my grandma's favorite Disney movie
@@christopherwall2121 I think Sir Hiss was meant to be him but I’m not sure.
I gotta admit, for a long time in my childhood years, this was one of my favorite Disney Movies. I remember singing along to all the songs as best as I could. While my love for it has waned a lot as I grew older, I still quite like it.
As for Edgar...well, he is decidedly average as a Villain, but he serves the purpose of the Story well. Although it is absolutely hilarious how he fails at basic math and logic. XD
Lol, I left the video running as I looked through the comments and heard your lament at the end, lol! 😂 We appreciate you for the work you do, thanks for the video!!
I love this series so much. It gives some of the lesser known or cast aside Disney villains a chance to shine and show what went into the creation of these characters in a very in depth way. I wish the original version of Aristocats was made instead, the version we got isn’t bad but the original had a lot more depth, especially concerning Edgar.
Edgar is a very complex character. He's not exactly a villain in the strictest sense of the word. He's a rather nervous overthinker who really needs to just calm down and not try to solve his dilemma. Yes, it does seem rather futile to leave a fortune to a bunch of cats, and unfair as well, but Edgar took the whole "nine lives" business too literally (and notice how, judging from the way he does the mathematics, he seems to be under the impression that those nine lives won't even start until their inheritance begins, and that each cat will live each life one at a time (one cat, I mean) which means he'll have zip chance of living long enough to inherit himself). Even so, he could have chosen far worse methods for getting rid of the cats than he did. Honestly, my message to him is "chill, Edgar. Madame Bonfamille isn't even dead yet."
And if you see in the end he was in the will since they had crossed him out when he “left”.
Edgar is literally the anti-cruella. The writers took every aspect of Cruella and swapped it, including having him get rid of cats rather than collect dogs.
Happy Anniversary, Aristocats.🗼🇨🇵👵😺🎺🥁🎼🎵🎶
Happy Anniversary, Bedknobs and Broomsticks.🦁👑🐻🐊🐗🦏🦍🐘⚽🥅🐟🐠🐡🦐🦀🐙🦑🎼🎵🎶
It was really interesting to learn more about the original ideas for the movie.
I think they're operating on the idea that Edgar is a lower class man, a servant and likely doesn't have much on his own. The man is among the lowest class of citizen, this film came out in the 70s an era where many working class people found themselves struggling to make ends meet. A man of Edgar's age would have to content not just with the cats themselves but, the fact that his own life may not be in the most stable position. The film despite being made in the 70s seems to take place much earlier based on the motorcycle, and carriage we see in the film. Life expectancy wasn't as high as it is now and a man in his late 50s could very reasonably be considered to be in the last days of his life if his health wasn't in the best condition. It is also worth mentioning that this film takes influences from the book The Aristocrats that's where thi9ngs like time period, setting and set dressings come into play.
The film is set in 1910.
I was unaware of the original script and the changes that happened. That Jekyll/Hyde thing would have been very interesting.
Whomever the villain is, these deep dives always make my day and give me a deeper appreciation for and interest in these stories and their productions. Thank you for the great content and for sharing your passion.
No one is going to mention how Edgar may have suffocated on his way to Timbuctu?
The cats also woulda totally died on the way to Timbuktu. So Edgar’s just getting what was coming to him. What goes around and all that…
@@sirhenrymorgan1187
Ah yes Tallion law, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, 4 cat's lifes for a man's
5:44 This reminds me of the old Mickey mouse comic story "The Atombrella and the Rhyming Man" where the titular Villain goes to a room with two mirrors to go talk to himself for advice. Notably, The two reflections don't speak in rhyme.
Awesome video, I actually enjoyed learning about the villains more than the heroes sometimes
Reason why I love this villain: IT'S THE FIRST DISNEY VILLAIN (from the classic movies) THAT DOESN'T JUST START AS "I've always been evil". No, really, how many main disney classics villains can say that? I don't say it doesn't work being evil since the beginning: look at Maleficent or Cruella. For them it works... But why... Can't we have this on characters like... Frollo, like in his book? He starts off as neutral and THEN he turns into an evil person. No, they all either have to be openly villainous since the dawn of times or have to fake to be good to then reveal their true face at the end.
Here is actually a bit sad seeing this good ol jolly butler being so friendly with the kittens, then he tries to get rid of them. Why can't we have more like this instead of "Ursula is the bad guy? NO WAY! There were no clues about it, except everything!" (it's an example: Ursula does work well even as an "always been evil" villain)
That's the reason I like Edgar too. He's the villain we could easily become if we make the wrong choices.
Right, at first glance he doesn’t seem like a villain by looking at him.
honestly, for me, the fact he's messing with someone's pet(s) is a feat that makes him pretty damn evil in my eyes.
You can threaten me, rob me, even try to kill me. But the second you mess with the pet, you make it personal.
They literally left their money to the cats over him. Can’t blame him for being pissed
Oh man! I wish they kept the Jekyll and Hyde type Edgar!
Another fun fact I wanted to point out is back when you mentioned Boris Karloff possibly playing Edgar, a cut version of the song by Thurl Ravenscroft was playing. Boris Karloff with the singing voice of Thurl Ravenscroft, now where have I heard that one before… OH! Yes I remember now! They were together for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, where Karloff played the Narrator and the Grinch while Thurl sang You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch! Too bad we didn’t get to see that reunion…
19:33 Just some things to point you out about the jewel thief in the animatics (storyboard sketch) is voiced by Jeff Bennett.
Very And unfortunately fitting That you talk about Bedknobs and broomsticks so close to the passing of Angela Lansbury, RIP 😭☹️😭😭☹️😭
@19:24 The villain in that reel is, I believe, Jeff Bennett. He has a certain cadence and gruffness to his delivery. Plus his French accent is very noticeable. You can hear it in the Animaniacs parody of Les Miserables and when he does Lumiere in most post-movie Beauty and the Beast stuff.
I knew that you included King Leonidas in this video, Colin. I'm happy you did.
I love the Aristocats but that original pitch seems so much cooler imo
I always thought the main thing with Edgar was his pride; I mean, he's probably served Madame for years, have put up with a lot (just watch how the lawyer treats him), and who comes first in her will? The cats. Not her loyal butler, but her cats. It's the principle. Of course he's bitter.
As an adult, I think the most interesting part about the Aristocats is Madame's background. Jorge makes it clear that he was her lawyer back when she was a famous prima donna at the opera. In order to become an aristocrat, she would have had to marry one. This crossing of social would have been extremely scandalous at the time and it is clear (given that she has no close friends or family aside from her lawyer) that she and her husband were ostracized from his family and from aristocratic society. Still, she holds no regret or bitterness towards her decision, so we can conclude that they remained happy and in love to the end.
I also like to think that Duchess was a gift from her ailing husband to ensure that his wife wouldn't be all alone after he died, but there is no specific evidence for this.
6:12 Edgar
18:46 The Jewel Thief
20:30 King Leonidas
I think I can provide a source for Edgar’s last name being Balthazar. You know that special where Hans Conried plays the Magic Mirror and praises the Disney Villains at the time? I don’t know if I’m misremembering, but I’m certain I heard the Mirror refer to him as Edgar Balthazar there. I don’t know what the original special was titled, but I know this was part of Disney’s Halloween Treat on VHS. If you can find it, maybe give it a look and confirm that. Edit: Never mind, I was mistaken.
I gave a version of it I found on youtube a look (link below) but I couldn't find any reference of him being called Edgar Balthazar. I hope I found the version you're thinking of.
Link: th-cam.com/video/vdN3nAAfg3Q/w-d-xo.html
I think the part with Edgar starts at 45 minutes in
@@DrRichardEw That certainly is the video I was thinking of and alas, it seems I was completely mistaken. Apologies.
Funnily enough Harry Tytle(One of the creators) had previously worked on a lot of made of TV specials for The Magical World of Disney. Though since they announced a remake with Keith Bunin and William Gluck producing it. Let's hope one of the potential crewmembers of this upcoming movie can take some of these critiques and help improve Edgar's character. Plus it's also coming full circle since the movie in it's early stage as a made for TV film was supposed to be in live action.
Plus it's interesting to find out that Bedknobs and Broomsticks has even joined Disney's stage musical productions.
And fittingly in the next video, not only are we looking at a precursor Lion King, were also looking at a precursor of a Disney-fied version of a real life person before Pocahontas. Since Prince John and his brother Richard I is based on a real kings that existed in England's history, though this is real people mixed with old English folklore..
i never played any kingdom hearts game, nor am i familiar with the lore but i kinda want the next game to make edgar the main villain and have him be an absolutely overpowered evil overlord who controls legions of heartless, just for fun
"Edgar will inherit our fortune with the condition that he must take good care of our cats" BOOM plot solved, Edgar becomes a wholesome dude who will take good care of the cats because they helped him inherit a good fortune thanks to his hard work with the family
Then you don't have a villain...
The Aristocats is my favorite classic Disney movie, underrated in my opinion
Edgar would also made a great reformed villain, who reformed in the face of a greater evil.
Crazy how much material there actually was to work with about Edgar! I need to go back and watch The Aristocats again, it's been YEARS.
I'm pretty sure that the captain villain's voice actor in that rough draft of the proposed sequel was Jeff Bennett instead of Corey Burton.
This is one of my favourite Disney movies.
Very informative video. I have kind of a soft spot for this movie and I do agree with you about the character of Edgar.
I feel for edgar...I'd be pissed too if I got over shadowed by cats. To be fair though if the lady died and left the cats in his care he would technically get the inheritence he would just need to prove that the money went to the wellbeing of the cats (save those receipts!) This happens a lot with wealthy people. When people fight over the inheritence they leave it up to their pets which technically is left up to the person who inherited said pets.
It was quite a coincidence that you included Bedknobs and Broomsticks with Angela Lansbury.
RIP Angela Lansbury
@@forrestdupre87 yeah it’s hard to believe that she’s gone 😔
This is one of mu favorite movies! Thanks for making this video
How could you leave out the moment during the Aristocats when Edgar said “Its Edgarin time” and then went and Edgared all over the place
Creative
You seem to have a different view of what you would like from the character of Edgar. While you want a horrid man to root against, I see Edgar working better as either a lackey for a greater villain or serving as a more sympathetic antagonist. From my perspective, the writers and storyboard artists of the film were conflicted with the direction for the character themselves. Since they also seem to latch onto the ideas from the draft where Edgar talked to his reflection, his portrayal was all over the place.
If it was me, I would have Edgar make it an upmost priority to keep the cats alive as he still respects them regardless. When he loses the cat in the middle of the countryside, he wrestles with himself to either assume they are fine or return to see if they are well. Returning the countryside for his items might actually be a subconscious excuse to look for them. Plus, if Roquefort ended up sticking with Edgar as intended, then he would gain further clues of what actually occurred in a more natural fashion. The pair of dogs would further contribute to the story by explaining their previous episode with Edgar and Roquefort could even hitch a ride on Uncle Waldo back into Paris.
Later, Edgar is still struggling with his own guilt after failing to locate the cats. He attempts brushing it off and fixates on the inheritance, but his train of thought was interrupted by the returning felines. Although he is initially delighted, he realizes the multiple implications their return could offer, including possibly landing Edgar into deep legal trouble. Barely thinking straight, he places the cats in the safest rom of the house and hastily creates a comfortable box for the pets to send them to Timbuktu. Once the final struggle places him in the box instead, Edgar peeks out to see the cats reunited with their mistress. Although he was disappointed, Edgar realizes how low he stooped and resigned himself to his fate. Meanwhile, Madame Adelaide is still oblivious of Edgar's conspiracy and is saddened he left the estate. While she wondered if he would remain after learning of the will, Georges warns that greed impairs the judgement of others. Madame Adelaide, however, dismisses the notion as her opinion towards her butler is high.
Lennie Weinrib also appeared on an episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", playing Jackie Brewster, a nightclub comedian and potential TV writer as a replacement for Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam), who had been fired.
Weinrib also did some voicework for DePatie-Freleng (most famous for the Pink Panther cartoons), voicing both roles in the "Roland and Rattfink" series, a sendup of the old melodramas, where a brawny, blond-haired hero (Roland) does battle with a sneering, mustachioed villain with (usually) green skin (Rattfink).
Aristocats, Robin Hood, and Sword in the Stone are my top 3 Disney movies, ones that I absolutely adore and Robin Hood is at the top of that trio so I'm looking forward to that vid. Also I love the fact that one of the dogs in the Aristocats is also the voice of the Sheriff in Robin Hood...he's done a lot of Disney voices actually now that I think about it...
23:30 - That bit completly cought me of guard but it was hillorious.
Not sure if anyone said this in the comments, the direct to video sequel "Captain" villain voice in the animatic clip sounds like it's Jeff Bennett (he voiced Lumiere recently in the Chip and Dale movie) doing the voice. Corey Burton is most certainly the singer for the villain duet though.
There is one thing you left out: The Edgar face character performer made an appearance at Disneyland in 1972 during the Fantasy on Parade. He is driving a horse and cart, accompanied by face characters of Madame and George, carrying their kittens. Also, the voice actor of Edgar is still alive too.
Looks like the early sketch of the adorable, fat, fluffy mom kitty was totally used as an inspiration for the cat in The Great Mouse Detective.