Marie (Disney)

"Ladies do not start fights, but they can finish them!"

- Marie

Marie is a character from the Disney movie, The Aristocats. She is the middle kitten and the daughter of Duchess and an unknown male cat and the sister of Toulouse and Berlioz. She has white fur and wears two pink ribbons: one big one around her neck like a bow tie (just like her brothers) and a smaller one on the tuft of her head.

Personality
Marie believes herself to be quite the little lady, and so tries to mimic the elegance and propriety of her mother, Duchess. As a result, she can be somewhat prissy and spoiled, and is quick to tattle on her brothers when things don't go her way. Although Marie makes an effort to appear ladylike, she does enjoy the occasional tumble with her beloved siblings and has an insatiable curiosity once Thomas O'Malley opens her eyes to the wonders of Paris. A hopeless romantic and daydreamer, Marie frequently is seen lost in her thoughts and sighing deeply. She also appears to be somewhat danger-prone despite her cuteness and beauty, as she is consistently in harm's way throughout the movie. This may be because either her head is up in the clouds, or because she is the kitten who has had the least practice "biting and clawing", and thus the least capable of fending for herself in the wild.

The Aristocats
Marie is first seen at the beginning, riding in the carriage with Madame Bonfamille, along with her mother and brothers. At home, she excitedly tries to be the first one in the door and ends up stuck in the cat door alongside her two brothers. Marie insists she should be first because she is a lady. She ends up fighting with Berlioz and Toulouse until Duchess scolds them and asks the three kittens to begin their lessons. While Toulouse practices his painting, Marie and Berlioz have a music lesson. Berlioz plays the piano while Marie sings (though the former does some of the singing, too, as do their mother, and a painted-pawed Toulouse, who also pushes on the keys).

At the beginning, Marie attempts to tattle on Berlioz after he strikes the keys in such a way that her tail gets caught. After the lesson, Edgar, the butler, brings them milk for dinner. He claims that it was prepared a special way, and it is in a way; the milk is laced with sleeping pills. The pills do their jobs and the cats are kidnapped by Edgar in their sleep and dropped off into the countryside. Unknown to the cats, they had been chosen to inherit Madame Bonfamille's fortune upon her death. Edgar had kidnapped them so that he could inherit instead, as otherwise, he would not inherit until the cats had all died, which he thought would take years. Marie and company awaken near a bridge, and after spending the night in the rain, are approached by Thomas O'Malley, an alley cat.

Though he initially offers to help Duchess as he is enamored by her, she soon discovers that Duchess has children, after Marie appears and asks if his poetic description of Duchess applies to her as well. Once over his shock, he helps them into a milk truck bound to Paris. He sends them on their way, but rescues Marie after she falls from the truck. Deciding to go along with them, O'Malley uncovers some milk for Marie and the other kittens to drink. Eventually, the driver notices the cats, and runs them out of the truck. O'Malley decides to lead them to Paris on foot. On the way, they cross a railway bridge. The cats are forced to hide from an oncoming train, but Marie falls into the river beneath. O'Malley saves her a second time. There are three possible reasons why Marie fell off the bridge: her claws were not strong enough, she accidentally missed, and it was a dumb idea for Toulouse to make her the caboose while playing train on the bridge. One of the books for the film says that she was too frightened to hold on.

After returning to Paris, Marie and the others spend the night at Scat Cat's pad. Like her siblings, she is impressed by the alley cats. The next day, Marie returns home with her mother and brothers, and says goodbye to O'Malley. When they find that the cat door is locked, Marie comes up with the idea of meowing to get Edgar's and Madame's attention. Edgar traps the cats in a sack, with the intention of mailing them to Timbuktu, so that they cannot come back. Luckily, they are saved by O'Malley and the alley cats and Edgar is mailed instead. Marie presumably continued to live with Madame, Duchess, and her brothers, with the addition of O'Malley and the alley cats, who are the start of Madame's foundation for the alley cats of Paris.

Miriya & Marie
Marie also appears as the deuteragonist in this manga series released in 2015 by Kodansha in partnership with Disney. In it, she is now a magical kitten who is able to speak with humans and teaches a girl named Miriya how to use magic after she is transported to Paris in the year 1910 and learns that she is part of a dynasty of witches.

Trivia

 * Marie was going to be voiced by Tara Strong in the sequel.
 * Marie has the same fur as Duchess, her mother.
 * Marie has a bowtie, like her two brothers, Berlioz and Toulouse. However, her bowtie is worn in the back of her neck, unlike her two brothers whose respective bowties are worn in the front of their necks.
 * Marie is the third Disney character to wear a pink bow, with Madame Upanova being the second, and Minnie Mouse being the first. The others are Pinch Raccoon from PB&J Otter, and Isabella Garcia-Shapiro from Phineas and Ferb.
 * Despite not having the lead role, Marie is the most popular character from the film.