Disney Archives
alt alt
alt alt

Edgar, Madame Bonfamille, & Precious










Edgar

he supercilious, scheming butler Edgar is the bumbling villain of "The Aristocats," although he is not entirely unjust in his thinking. What sense is there in leaving all that money to a bunch of pampered cats? His major crime is impatience: If only he were prepared to wait a few years, the money would be his anyway, and, in the meantime, he would no doubt be comfortably "employed" by the wealthy Aristocats. Moreover, even if he had succeeded in dispatching the cats to distant parts, there would have always been the risk that Madame Bonfamille might take on another family of cats and change her will again.

Edgar is a very British villain, and in his tailored jacket and gray-blue trousers, he is really quite genteel. Moreover, Edgar is not a totally evil fellow. If he can lace the cats' meal with sleeping powder, he could just as easily use a more lethal ingredient, but he doesn't. In some ways, our sympathies lie with Edgar. The fact that he is not an out-and-out villain in the Disney tradition may have been one of the reasons why some critics labeled the movie a blander version of "101 Dalmatians": he wouldn't last two seconds in the ring with Cruella De Vil!

Film: "The Aristocats" (1970)
Voice Artist: Roddy Maude-Roxby.