Ahmir Thompson, known as Questlove, has shared an update on the live-action hybrid adaptation of The Aristocats he was set to direct at Disney, and it’s not good news.
The musician recently revealed in a podcast that the remake of the Disney classic had been scrapped and it wasn’t happening anymore but hoped that it could in the future.
“Once Disney had their third president, usually when a new administration comes in, no matter what — they’re going to reshuffle,” he said on Score: The Podcast recently.
Questlove noted that it was “the third time in which a new administration came in” and explained his vision for The Aristocats adaptation. He said that he had presented “some of the music examples” and some of the teammates who would be working with him.
“Then they had another administration shuffle,” he added. “And then it was like, ‘OK, well, alright.”
Questlove said that “by the third time, I was just like, ‘Maybe this isn’t meant for me.’”
Since The Aristocats was not moving forward, Questlove opted to explore other options and steer clear of the Disney remake.
“I would have loved to have done that project, but there’s like 20 others that I can get to,” he said. “What I don’t do is I don’t make announcements until it’s ready but there’s literally four other films. I’ll be working til 2029-2030. So, just wasn’t meant to happen. Maybe it will happen in the future.”
Deadline reported in 2023 that Questlove would make his feature film directorial debut in a live-action/hybrid remake of The Aristocats, where he would also executive produce and oversee the music for the film. Attached to the script was Will Gluck and Keith Bunin. Tarik Trotter, Shawn Gee, and Zarah Zohlman would have exec produced on behalf of Two One Five Entertainment, and Gluck and his production company, Olive Bridge, were set to produce along with Thompson’s Two One Five.
The Aristocats is a 1970 animated film by Disney about a family of Parisian felines who learn they are set to inherit a fortune from their owner. When the owner’s jealous butler kidnaps them and leaves them in the country, they must team up with a smooth-talking tomcat to try to make it back home before it’s too late.