Lady And The Tramp
The classic, old school (1937-Early 80s) era of Disney animated movies was a glorious one indeed, that being a time of having quality, extremely well made (usually moreso than that of most live action flicks) and above all, entertaining family films that emphasized the actual characters themselves rather than the distraction of having some super famous actor providing the voice over who then takes over the whole film with their whole persona. Favorites may vary among even the most discrimating of fans, as some like Snow White and others like Dumbo, Pinocchio or Bambi while still others prefer the more princessy Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty or even the psychedelic marvel that is Alice In Wonderland. But the best one (for more reasons than one) might be this 1955 release, which on the surface just seems like two dogs in love but a deeper glance reveals it as being a paeon to either having a love of animals in general or just for having a love of pets in particular. It wasnât necessarily Disneyâs first almost totally original story that he did (that would be Dumbo) and it wouldnât be the first time that he utilized animators who succeeded in creating stunningly life like animal characters with their realistic movements (Disney animators were often known to keep real animals around so that they could study them closely). But what was clearly stronger here than ever before (or after) was the heart that the story would contain (along with Disney subversively including some mature elements) along with the optimism of the goodness that surrounded most of the characters (which was why even in 1955 it was promoted as being Disneyâs âhappiestâ film yet). The film opens with a scene that actually occurred between Disney and his wife where she opened up a present box only to find inside an adorable little puppy dog. Dubbed âLadyâ, the film then does a nice job of depicting those first few days that are involved in breaking in any pet, playing it gentle and comical without being sappy. Eventually when Lady comes of age, she gets her collar and more importantly, her license, which is always considered a validation of pride and respect in the dog community, and yes, after the realistic first few minutes, we do find out that not only can the dogs talk to each other in human sounding voices, but that they can also understand everything that humans say and even read signs! Thereâs just one problem: Ladyâs family is expecting a (human) baby, and sheâs worried that the amount of love and attention which she receives and craves will become less than what sheâs gotten used to and those doubts eventually lead her to The Tramp, an unowned, unlicensed dog of the streets who is meant to be a cavalier type and who really is smarter than most humans. Tramp might live on the streets, but he considers himself to be more âfreeâ than any other dog could ever hope to be, eating and sleeping (and presumably shitting and pissing) anywhere he pleases and holding nothing but contempt for the antiquated ways of the âleash and collarâ set who all believe that the humans are truly their best friends. Ladyâs fortunes are not improved by the arrival of a harridan aunt who considers her to be a filthy little beast but who absolutely adores her two troublemaking Siamese cats. Itâs interesting to note that in depicting the âromanceâ between Lady and Tramp that Disney wanted it to be made very clear that they had mated (at a very specific point in the film) and that everything that happens afterwards was after Lady had âgiven it upâ so to speak with all of the emotional baggage that comes with that without outright depicting two dogs having sex or even referring to it in the dialogue but rather through telling knowledgeable viewers in a very subtle way that most kids would not have picked up on (and which was incredibly unprecedented by Disney standards). The problem in the end lies with Tramp wanting Lady to run off with him to a life of supposed freedom but it turns out after all that Lady DOES love her family and not only wishes to stay with them but to watch over their baby as well. Truly one of the most unsung groups of performers in the history of Hollywood is that of the voiceover artists who worked on countless classic animated films (both short and feature length) and who literally came to embody and define so many classic characters without their own names ever becoming well known. Here we have Barbara Luddy, near 50 at the time playing the young and feminine Lady and doing a fine job of portraying an appealing, canine female character, Verna Felton (whose voice is forever known for the monstrous Queen Of Hearts in Alice In Wonderland) toning it down a bit as the bitchy aunt, and Stan Freberg (a virtual icon in voiceover work whom many would compare favorably to Mel Blanc) as a busy beaver. The real enigma here has got to be Larry Roberts who does the voice of The Tramp, as this was his one and only gig ever working on a movie (how did he even get the part to begin with?) with a very sizable amount of dialogue whereupon he quit the business right after to go into the field of womenâs clothing before dying of AIDS in 1992, leaving one to wonder not only if he was gay (probably) but also as to exactly why he would just walk away from a potentially lucrative followup career and not even pursue it part time (lots of voiceover work can be completed in a pretty timely manner). That being said, thereâs one other notable first about this movieâs voiceover cast that of course has become a staple in this day and age, and that is in the hiring of a major superstar in singing sensation Peggy Lee, who composed most of the filmâs songs and primarily played the role of Peg, a sultry female dog who Lady encounters when sheâs briefly locked up in the pound. This did wonders for the filmâs publicity push, as Lee was now able to go on talk shows and heavily promote the movie as being one with her in it even though the irony remains that her basic role here was to provide a colorful cameo while the other lesser known performers and their characters still carried the whole thing. And certainly the character of Lady (even apart from the voicework) is especially endearing, a sweet girl puppy brought to life wonderfully by the animators with her movements and facial expressions selling much of her appeal to the viewers. While the same canât really be said for Tramp (much of his schtick was already the stuff of clichĂ© when the movie first came out) with his tendency to constantly call Lady âPidgeâ (short for pigeon), the fact that we get so rooted in the Lady character turns him into an acceptable means to an end, the likable rogue whom she can love truly and have her happy ending with if things can just work themselves out. Of course, this movie resulted in arguably the most iconic scene in the history of Disney animation: the spaghetti dinner in the back alley behind an Italian restaurant where the Italian owner acts as if he understands Tramp when Tramp barks at him and after serving him and Lady a large (and free) plate of spaghetti even goes so far as to serenade them romantically while they eat (wonder if he goes this far for his paying human customers). Corny though it may be, the emotional sincerity is still there in a big way, thus making this the centerpiece scene in the movie that is still remembered to this day. And after we get through the big climactic scene here (keeping in mind that this is also one of the few Disney animated films with no real clearcut villain), we do get to that delightful happy ending, as fully satisfying as anything that Uncle Walt has ever served up to us and which has ensured this movieâs legacy and popularity over the years (unlike Bambi with its sickening audience manipulation that is nearly unforgivable), successfully giving us a view of the world from the eyes of a dog (including rarely showing us human faces) and also making something which (being original) didnât have to adhere to any known set in stone storyline which then allowed Walt and his people to organically develop the story throughout the production process and thus have it turn out to be just what it was, a sweetly romantic love story that also works if you just happen to be a devout animal lover tooâŠ
8/10