Questlove‘s live-action adaptation of The Aristocats has been scrapped by Disney.
Back in 2023, the Roots musician, producer and filmmaker – real name Ahmir Khalib Thompson – announced he was set to reimagine the animated 1970 movie as “a live-action/hybrid”, and would serve as an executive producer and oversee the film’s music.
During a recent appearance on Score: The Podcast, he revealed that the project had been scrapped by Disney, which was then confirmed by Variety. He cited a reshuffle at the streamer, saying it was “the third time in which a new administration came in,” by which point he felt “maybe this isn’t meant for me”.
“I would have loved to have done that project, but there’s like 20 others that I can get to,” he continued.
“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, [it] just wasn’t meant to happen. Maybe it will happen in the future.”
In 2022, Questlove won the Best Documentary Feature award at the Oscars for Summer Of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), and also picked up the Best Music Film statue for the title at the 2022 Grammys.
Additionally, Summer Of Soul won the Grand Jury prize at 2021’s Sundance Film Festival, and scored a glowing five-star review from NME.
“Initially,” wrote Leonie Cooper, “the film was going to be called ‘Black Woodstock’ – it’s still written on the clapper board in the opening shots – but Questlove thought that would be a disservice to what really happened in America in the summer of 1969. The Harlem Cultural Festival needed not just recognition, but ownership.
“With Summer of Soul, it finally has both.”
Previously, Questlove directed the music documentary Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music, which was shared earlier this year, and most recently, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius).
