Original hand painted production animation cels of Madame Adelaide Bonfamille and Frou-Frou from "The Aristocats," 1970; Walt
Disney Studios; Numbered 225 and 47 in ink lower right; Set over a lithographic
background; Walt Disney seal lower right; Size - Madame Adelaide Bonfamille & Frou-Frou: 9 x 9 1/2", Image: 9 1/2 x 12"; Unframed.
To purchase this cel or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE!
"Of course, Frou-Frou, I almost forgot." - Madame Adelaide Bonfamille
"The
Aristocats," 1970 is an animated feature film produced and released by
Walt Disney Productions. This was the last film project to be approved
by Walt Disney himself, as he died in late 1966, before the film was
finally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on December 11,
1970. "The Aristocats" featured the voice talent of Eva Gabor, Hermione
Baddeley, Phil Harris, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers,
and Roddy Maude-Roxby.
The film is based on a story
by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and centers around a family of aristocratic
cats. After the mistress's butler kidnaps them (to gain his mistress'
fortune which was intended to go to the cats) an unlikely alley cat
acquaintance helps them escape and be returned to their home.
Duchess
is a long-haired purebred white Turkish Angora cat with blue eyes
(shining like sapphires) and wearing a gold and jeweled collar that is
studded with diamonds. She is the mother of three kittens; Marie,
Berlioz, and Toulouse and her owner is the aristocratic Madame Adelaide
Bonfamille. Duchess was voiced by Eva Gabor who was a Hungarian-born
American socialite and actress. Robie Lester who was an American
Grammy-nominated voice artist and singer, provided the singing voice for
Duchess.
Original hand painted production animation cel of Madame Adelaide Bonfamille without the background.
According to veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"Duchess
was animated by quite a few artists, I would say that Ollie Johnston
did some of the nicest scenes, educating the kittens etc.. Frank Thomas
came up with good acting scenes as well, when Duchess meets O'Malley for
the first time, and when she says goodbye to him at the end of the
movie. Milt Kahl set her basic design based on Ken Anderson's drawings."
Madame
Adelaide Bonfamille, also called Madame, is an elderly wealthy woman who
apparently was a famous opera singer (she said that she once played the
title character of George Bizet's Carmen, and was even seen dancing to
the aria "Habanera"). She is also the owner of Duchess, a white Turkish
Angora cat; along with her three kittens Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse.
Madame was voiced by the actress Hermione Baddeley, who also played a
maid in the Walt Disney feature film "Mary Poppins." Grace Godino was
the live action model for Madame Bonfamille. Grace was an inker at the
Walt Disney Paint and Ink Department and, at one point, was a stand-in
for Rita Hayworth. A bit of trivia: the name "Bonfamille" is derived
from the French phrase for "good family" ("bon" being the masculine word
for "good" and "famille" meaning "family").
Original hand painted production animation cel of Frou-Frou without the background.
According to veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"Here
is another character Milt Kahl didn't particularly enjoy animating, but
as usual he pulled it off beautifully. There was criticism at the time
as to why Madame Bonfamille in "The Aristocats" looked so realistic.
This lady was eccentric enough to will her fortune to her house cats, so
why not design her as a nutty old woman? Milt's response was that the
story guys thought of her as a beautiful, dignified elderly lady, as did
Ken Anderson. So he refined what they gave him, not changing the
character's concept. In an interview Milt said that it doesn't hurt to
do your straight, realistic job once in a while, knowing that you will
have other characters in the picture who are eccentric and more
entertaining. And of course Milt did pride himself for being able to do
assignments like this one that called for careful realistic handling.
"Realism is not the problem, it's the way (other) people do realism
that's a problem!" he said."
Frou-Frou is a brown horse, wearing a pink hat with a circle of daisies at the brim, of Madame Bonfamille and a close friend of Duchess and her three kittens. In the beginning of the film, Frou-Frou gives Madame, Duchess, and the
kittens a ride back home from town. During which, she allows Berlioz to ride on her back, and when they all arrive back at their mansion, Madame says "Of course, Frou-Frou, I almost forgot," and gives her a treat from the palm of her hand. Frou-Frou was voiced by Nancy Kulp and her singing voice was provided by Ruth Buzzie. Nancy Kulp is most know for her portrayal of Jane Hathaway in "The Beverly Hillbillies," and Ruth Buzzie is most associated with her various roles in the cast of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In."
This
is an absolutely fantastic two cel setup of Madame Adelaide Bonfamille and Frou-Frou. The cels appear at the very beginning of the film as Madame, with a blue wrapped package in hand, comes up to Frou-Frou to give her a treat from the palm or her hand. This is a beautiful image from "The Aristocats" and a great
addition to any animation art collection! The dialog for the scene is
below:
"Of course, Frou-Frou, I almost forgot." - Madame Adelaide Bonfamille
Adelaide, that's music.
It's from Carmen, isn't it?
That's right. It was my favourite role.
Yes, yes.
It was the night of your grand
premiere that we first met. Remember?
Oh, indeed, I do.
And how we celebrated your success.
Champagne, dancing the night away...
Oh, Georges.
Read more: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=aristocats-th
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