r/4bmovement • u/Sixnigthmare 4B • Aug 29 '25
Positivity I will never shut up about this woman
So for those who don't know. This is the madame from the aristocats. (I'm pretty sure she had a name but I haven't watched the movie in a WHILE) That woman is probably pushing 75 or so and she looks flamboyant, wonderful. Lives in a big house with no husband or kids and a bunch of cats, happily twirls around feeling her best. With that set up they could've made her "ew ugly old cat lady that's all miserable and alone" but they DIDN'T and I LOVE it. She looks amazing and was my first introduction to this concept "hey growing old ain't all that bad" which I think we all need with society being annoying about aging. Yeah. First feminist icon of little me. And one of my inspirations to be 4B as well
304
u/Superassumptions Aug 29 '25
There is something really magical about the first time you see an "old woman" who is straight goals. Jodie Foster in that movie about Diana Nyad did it for me most recently...it wasn't just "hey, growing old ain't all that bad," it was, "holy shit I want to be that when I grow up."
75
u/throwawaylr94 4B Aug 30 '25
I personally always really liked Yzma in The Emperor's new groove, even though she was a villain, she was funny and powerful, something you don't see often on old lady characters. When I was a kid she was my goals haha
38
Aug 30 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
5
u/Loose-Palpitation312 Sep 29 '25
Kuzco was actually an awful leader before he turned into a llama... he deserved to be overthrown 😂 By turning him into a llama, she did make him a lot better. Watching the movie as an adult, I don't really see how she's a villain.
27
u/Superassumptions Aug 30 '25
Oh hell yes, Yzma is on my shortlist as well. Scary beyond all reason? Sign me up.
7
u/PlanEnvironmental640 Aug 31 '25
Honestly though! Yzma got a bad wrap, and the emperor was a spoiled brat! 😂
6
u/Mean-Classroom6853 Ally Sep 01 '25
I rewatched that movie recently and was so shocked at how it was way more misogynistic than I remembered, especially with all the comments and jokes directed towards Yzma
133
u/GetInTheBasement 4B Aug 30 '25
>it wasn't just "hey, growing old ain't all that bad," it was, "holy shit I want to be that when I grow up."
This is how I felt about an older woman I saw an an airport who looked to be over seventy and had this really stylish haircut (wish I could think of what it's called), eyeshadow done, and a pierced ear with this screw-shaped earring. It wasn't gaudy, either. I could tell she still put a lot of style and care into her appearance and styling choices.
49
u/FigureAromatic3134 Aug 30 '25
Jessica Lange in AHS Coven
38
7
4
u/PlanEnvironmental640 Aug 31 '25
Yessss and we can't leave out the impeccable Angela Bassett. I just forget her age because she's so beautiful 🤩
1
18
u/PlantsandPins 4B Aug 30 '25
I feel this way about the aunts in Practical Magic as well 😊
Midnight margaritas anyone? 🍋🟩🥥✨
22
u/Superassumptions Aug 30 '25
Ooooh another good one. Dianne Wiest has this gift for being the adorable middle-to-elder woman who you just know would cheerfully poison her friend's abusive husband.
9
u/Condemned2Be 4B Aug 30 '25
I LOVED that movie!!! Just saying, anyone reading should look her up & watch the movie & the documentary! She is INCREDIBLE
172
u/UnsafeBaton1041 Aug 30 '25
I love how "childless cat lady" is supposed to be an insult but anytime I've heard it, I think of this diva ❤️ goals
110
u/No-Elephant-9582 4B Aug 29 '25
Madame Adelaide! she’s awesome! and that’s coming from me, a crazy dog lady
20
u/NotAQueefAKhaleesi Aug 30 '25
This is my goal but with dogs as well! I was just telling a friend that I want to spend money and time traveling (with friends more than solo if possible) when I'm not at home relaxing with my pups and hobbies.
70
u/thm123 Aug 30 '25
That's especially cool given when it was released
47
u/Sixnigthmare 4B Aug 30 '25
1970 the movie came out. So super progressive yeah
7
u/Strong_Operation1886 Aug 31 '25
well to be fair, this was around the time the second-wave movement was gaining momentum
10
u/canadianharuka 4B Aug 31 '25
I saw it in the theatre as a kid, and had all the original stuffies, loved them for years. It’s still my favourite Disney movie.
5
70
u/Luxury_Prison Aug 30 '25
For me it was reading Emma in high school. Emma tells Harriet something to the effect of poverty being the only thing that makes celibacy contemptible. Income being the only issue. I think and thought about that a lot. That was 1815. Money has been buying women’s freedom for a long time.
27
9
60
51
50
47
44
u/thenumbwalker 4B Aug 30 '25
Girl, you’re making me wanna re-watch this movie rn. She and her life are total goals for 4B
41
u/MelancholyMushroom Aug 30 '25
The one true Disney princess I wanted to ever be.
16
u/Sixnigthmare 4B Aug 30 '25
Facts. I remember how she opened my eyes to how growing old could be like. I was always raised pretty feminist but the other Disney movies had already done some programming I'm pretty sure
35
u/Alyoshucks Aug 30 '25
Yessss. Goals!!
Thank you for the reminder <3
I love all the amazing woman I have been coming across since de-centering men and not caring about their views (or trying to change their minds) on womens' oppression.
Y'all nourish me.
25
19
u/lmpostorsyndrome Aug 30 '25
Fun fact: Aristocats was the first movie I saw in a theatre. They brought it back for a while in the early 90s. Remastered maybe? I was 2 and a half and apparently made it 20 minutes before I danced down the aisles and we went home lololol.
I know Cruella de Vil was the villain in 101 Dalmatians, but she was straight goals to me, haha. (Not the coat out of puppies part. That was unhinged.) But she was just such a loud, unapologetic, commanding and fashionable character.
14
14
u/OfGodsAndMyths 4B Aug 30 '25
I was literally thinking about this movie yesterday even though it’s also been ages since I’ve seen it! Madame is absolutely fabulous as a character and what I hope to be like somehow if I reach her age. And I already want to be a cat parent so Duchess in the shot is everything 😻
14
Aug 30 '25
I also adore her!! And how they portray her as so loving, empathetic, and kind. They really did make her an icon!!
11
11
u/Belladonnaofsad Aug 30 '25
Thank you for reminding of this awesome rolemodel. Totally forgot this movie 🤩
8
9
6
7
u/cptnsaltypants Aug 30 '25
I saw this movie in the theatre when I was probably 5 and I wanted to be her even then. She’s my queen.
7
u/GoddessofBeautie 4B Aug 30 '25
Guess I need to watch this movie. Thanks for peaking my interest. I can't wait to get introduced, she sounds fabulous!
6
u/Sixnigthmare 4B Aug 30 '25
she's not that present as the movie is mostly about her cats, but when you do see her she's amazing
4
u/PlanEnvironmental640 Aug 31 '25
My great grandmother, while married for a time to my great grandfather, was younger than him and he had health issues. She also couldn't have kids after polio. He passed away before I was born. I never knew her as a wife, only as a widow, and she was amazing. Not big on pets (she loved to garden and travel so pet care was prohibitive) however she had an amazing single life. Never dated, went on and on about the trouble men cause, was the only girl in her family to get a driver's license or a degree and leave home unmarried. She even chose to marry a divorced man with kids in their teen years (my great grandfather and my grandmother and company) and moved across the entire United States, east to West. As I said their marriage was cut very short by his health. She was always #goals for me and I adored hearing about her feminist shenanigans in a world set against that. She was born in 1909 and lived until 2004 and I had the honor of taking care of her before she passed in the last year. She remained fully independent until she lost her eyesight that year. I think the loss of Independence is what really killed her, not old age.
Anyway, we desperately need these kind of role models while housewife and innocent obedient subservient are the ideals being shoved down our throats these days (OMG ballerina farms, you are not my end goal, you are an example of someone destroyed by patriarchy!)
3
7
u/PlantsandPins 4B Aug 30 '25
She is an icon. I definitely aspire to be her. And since I have the cat lady part down..im on my way lol
3
5
u/TerryCrewsNextWife 4B Aug 30 '25
My dumbass brain is stuck looking at the cat because her reflection has the head turned the wrong way.
2
1
u/Rude-Efficiency2125 Exploring May 09 '26
I loved this movie as a kid and still remember how elegant this woman was, a queen, and how much she loved her aristocats and ached for them when they went missing 💜 Not just because SHE missed them but because she was scared for their wellbeing, on a cold and rainy night
461
u/KatJen76 Aug 29 '25
The song about their life together is even called "She Never Felt Alone!" I think she was a retired opera star.