LADY AND THE TRAMP Blu-Ray Review
By: RAMA
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I’d like to thank Disney and the folks who sent me this blu-ray copy since LADY AND THE TRAMP was one of the few Disney’s greats from the studio’s early golden era of animation that I never got to fully watched when I was a kid, I’d only seen bits and pieces but not the entire feature til now, so as a Disney fan, this is an opportunity that I truly appreciate. Another masterpiece but one that apparently had hints of controversy regarding the origin of the story idea..
About Lady and the Tramp:
Generations of fans have fallen in love with Disney’s 15th animated masterpiece — an irresistible
song-filled adventure about Lady, a lovingly pampered cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a roguish
mutt from across the tracks.
When Aunt Sarah moves in with her devious felines Si and Am to baby-sit, the very protective
Lady soon finds herself being fitted for the unthinkable — a muzzle! In her bid for freedom, she
meets and is charmed by Tramp, dog-about-town. Together with friends Jock, Trusty, and Peg,
they share thrilling adventures on an enchanting evening as Lady learns what it means to be
footloose and leash-free.
There’s a quote by Tramp in this movie that I think pretty much speaks about the film itself, he said “when a baby moves in, dog moves out”, LADY AND THE TRAMP is often immortalized or easily remembered for that one spaghetti eating Bella Notte romantic scene and I’m not saying that that scene is now less important but LADY AND THE TRAMP to me is essentially about a story of faithfulness even when that faithfulness doesn’t seem returned.
Anybody who’s ever owned a dog could relate to LADY AND THE TRAMP, because once again Disney animators, the legendary nine old men, went above and beyond to capture dog’s natural movements and habits, the result is a very observed, very detailed and specific presentation of dogs in animation and I’m sure it was a stunning achievement for its time.
But it’s not just the animation, the story itself also makes sense, I didn’t grow up with pets but my sisters did and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that those dogs develop emotional attachment to their owners and so when the owners start to not pay as much attention to them, those cute adorable things could sense that for some reason they’ve just gotten demoted to some kind of 2nd class citizen. In the case of LADY AND THE TRAMP, the baby became the humans’ new center of the universe and the situations that ensue dwould prove just how loyal lady, tramp, and those dogs were despite the fact that they were often misunderstood and mistreated.
If this movie doesn’t make you want to go to the nearest pound and save the first caged puppy you see, then I don’t know what will, there’s a scene in which a few dogs were howling a familiar sad song to sorta express their unhappiness but then the shot moved to another dog that was digging an exit hole, turns out, the singing accapella group served as some kind of a distraction. That’s what I like about Disney movies, they’re touching, they’re irresistible, but they’re clever at the same time, the dog characters in this film may find themselves seemingly stuck in a rut but they’re persistent and highly motivated, their loyalty to us never ends even when our loyalty to them ends.
The featurette in the blu-ray bonus features of this diamond edition includes a segment that was previously part of the DVD release of the film, I’d rather not spoil it all for you but in a nutshell, the segment shows you how the story idea by the late great Joe Grant got used and it somewhat morphed into a work that suddenly no longer became his. There was a clash between Walt and Grant and it took until late 80s for Grant to finally return to the studio he once loved. I don’t think this particular segment means to make Walt look like the bad guy but it certainly will make you look at Walt and his studio in a different light, to a certain extent it reminded me of that old saying of ‘it’s not personal, it’s just business’, it’s a harsh game but one that exists nonetheless, even in the happiest animation studio on earth.
Voice Talent: Barbara Luddy (Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians) as Lady
Larry Roberts (Theatre background with Circle Theatre in Los Angeles) as Tramp
Peggy Lee (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, American Beauty) as Darling, Si, Am
& Peg
Bill Thompson (Peter Pan, Alice In Wonderland) as Jock, Joe, Bulldog, Dachsie & the
Policeman
Bill Baucom (TV’s “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,” Judge Roy Bean) as Trusty
Stan Freberg (Stuart Little, Looney Tunes: Back In Action) as Beaver
Lee Millar (TV’s “I Love Lucy,” The George and Gracie Allen Show) as Jim Dear & the
Dogcatcher
Producer: Walt Disney
Directors: Clyde Geronimi (Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty)
Wilfred Jackson (Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo)
Hamilton Luske (Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella, Pinocchio)
Blu-ray Bonus: Disney Second Screen: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings*
Audio Commentary: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings
Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad
Three Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
Never Recorded Song: “I’m Free as the Breeze”
Classic DVD Bonus:
Lady’s Pedigree: The Making of Lady and the Tramp
Finding Lady: The Art of the Storyboard
Original 1943 Storyboard Version of the Film
PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs
“The Siamese Cat Song,” Finding a Voice for the Cats
“Bella Notte” Music Video
Trailers
Excerpts from “Disneyland” TV Shows
DVD Bonus: Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad
PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs
Digital Bonus: Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad
Three Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs
Street Dates: Blu-ray & High Definition Digital = February 7, 2012
(Direct Prebook: 12/13/11; Distributor Prebook: 12/27/11)
DVD & Standard Definition Digital= March 27, 2012
(Direct Prebook: 1/31/12; Distributor Prebook: 2/14/12)
Rated: G (bonus materials not rated)
Feature Run Time: Approximately 76 minutes
Suggested Retail Prices 3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) = $44.99 U.S./$51.99 Canada
and Product 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD) = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
Configurations: 1-Disc DVD = $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada
High Definition Digital = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
Standard Digital = $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada
Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1
Sound: Blu-ray Feature Film – 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
DVD Feature Film – 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix
Languages: English, French and Spanish
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
GRADE: 5 out of 5
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