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IMDbPro

The Robber Kitten

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 8m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
675
YOUR RATING
The Robber Kitten (1935)
AnimationComedyFamilyShort

Ambrose the kitten renames himself Butch and runs away from home with plans to become a robber. His first intended victim, though, is a real robber: Dirty Bill, a dog. Dirty Bill asks Ambros... Read allAmbrose the kitten renames himself Butch and runs away from home with plans to become a robber. His first intended victim, though, is a real robber: Dirty Bill, a dog. Dirty Bill asks Ambrose/Butch if he's pulled off any big jobs, and he tells of the stagecoach robbery we saw him... Read allAmbrose the kitten renames himself Butch and runs away from home with plans to become a robber. His first intended victim, though, is a real robber: Dirty Bill, a dog. Dirty Bill asks Ambrose/Butch if he's pulled off any big jobs, and he tells of the stagecoach robbery we saw him enacting with dolls and toys at the beginning of the movie, without, of course, mentionin... Read all

  • Director
    • David Hand
  • Writer
    • William Cottrell
  • Stars
    • Elvia Allman
    • Billy Bletcher
    • Clarence Nash
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    675
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • David Hand
    • Writer
      • William Cottrell
    • Stars
      • Elvia Allman
      • Billy Bletcher
      • Clarence Nash
    • 11User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast4

    Edit
    Elvia Allman
    Elvia Allman
    • Ambrose's Mother
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Billy Bletcher
    Billy Bletcher
    • Dirty Bill
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Clarence Nash
    Clarence Nash
    • Ambrose's Tarzan Yell
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    Shirley Reed
    • Ambrose Kitten
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • David Hand
    • Writer
      • William Cottrell
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews11

    6.4675
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    Featured reviews

    Coolguy-7

    One of my favorite Disney cartoons of all time

    While I am not normally a fan of the SILLY SYMPHONY series, I like some of them. This one happens to be one of my favorites that I watch often. The title character named Ambrose (Butch as he prefers to be called) is about to receive a bath from his mother. He runs away from home to be a robber. This short appears to take place in the 18th century as Butch wears a Three Musketeers-type costume. When he runs into a bulldog named Dirty Bill (who dresses just like Robin Hood), he points his toy guns at him and says "Your money or your life!" Soon Butch and Bill become friends. Butch tells Bill a fictional story of how he held up a stagecoach and forced the people in it to give him all their valuables. Bill's facial expression turns from friendly to greedy as he orders Butch to bring the bag to him. Butch tells him that they're only cookies. Bill pulls a knife on Butch and it literally scares the pants off of him. The ending was good as Butch runs into his home and voluntarily jumps into the tub. There is a Disney reference to this cartoon. AT the beginning of the short, when Butch is playing with his toys in his room, there is a holdup scene similar to that of the movie TOY STORY. Of course this cartoon was released sixty years before TOY STORY.
    2OllieSuave-007

    Not an appealing Silly Symphony.

    For some reason, a cartoon about a robber wannabe with an annoying voice who runs into a real outlaw isn't very appealing. Boring, predictable, and unfunny. All the wannabe wants to do is play robber and not having to take baths. Just didn't find the story captivating.

    Grade D---
    10zetes

    One of the best Silly Symphonies

    This is one of Disney's best short cartoons. A young cat named Ambrose wants to be a daring outlaw. He renames himself Butch and doesn't want to take baths. "Robbers don't take baths!" he exclaims. He runs off into the forest, where he runs into a real outlaw, Dirty Bill, a bulldog. This is one of Disney's best villains. His song, explaining why he is called Dirty Bill, is just great. 10/10.
    6SnoopyStyle

    early Disney

    Disney presents a Silly Symphonies cartoon in Technicolor. Ambrose the kitten plays with toys acting as a bandit called Butch. His mother calls him but hardened criminals don't take baths. He runs away and encounters real criminal bulldog Dirty Bill. Ambrose gets pulled into a world of crime or does he? I do like the characters and I like the premise but I'm not sure about the clarity of the execution. All of it boils down to noticing the cookies spilling out on the ground in a tiny section of the frame. This is an early Disney product. These characters were probably popular at the time but they are not the long-running icons of the company.
    4CuriosityKilledShawn

    Kitten Burglar

    A seemingly asexual anthropomorphic kitten called Ambrose dreams of being a highwayman and skips out on bathtime to loiter by the road and hold-up carriages with a fat bulldog called Dirty Bill. They appear to get on at first but when Ambrose pretends to hold-up a carriage and wins a bag of cookies Dirty Bill turns aggressive.

    It's a lame cartoon, to be honest, and with quite an obvious moral. Of the dozens of Silly Symphonies that were made this one right at the bottom of the pile. Even as a random cartoon without the Disney brand name there's nothing memorable about The Robber Kitten and I can't see any kids being entertained by it in the modern era.

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    Related interests

    Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, and Mari Natsuki in Spirited Away (2001)
    Animation
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    Family
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Quotes

      Butch: Your money or your life!

      Dirty Bill: Well, you wouldn't rob a pal, would you?

      Butch: Gosh! Are you Dirty Bill?

    • Connections
      Featured in The Mickey Mouse Club: Circus Day: Bill Henry & Bill Henry, Jr. - Mickey Mouse Club Serials - What I Want To Be - Part 9 (1955)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 13, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Кошеня злодюжка
    • Production company
      • Walt Disney Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 8m
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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