When Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp was released in 1955, posters called it "his happiest motion picture." In some ways, it was actually his most daring in the way it pushed the boundaries of social mores and raising the stakes in terms of showing darker themes. It also was highly unusual for any of Disney's classic films in that it was based on an original idea rather than a previously published work.
Now The Walt Disney Company has given Lady and the Tramp the Diamond Edition treatment, a fitting tribute to one of the studio's most charming films.
Walt Disney Company Presents Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition Blu-Ray/DVD Combo
Based on an original idea by Disney story man Joe Grant, Lady and the Tramp tells the tale of Lady (Barbara Luddy) a high-falutin' cocker spaniel from "the leash-and-collar set" who strikes up a relationship with carefree stray Tramp (Bill Roberts). Between Lady getting displaced by her owner's new baby, battling malevolent cats, nasty strays and vicious rats or avoiding getting caught by the local dogcatcher, our mismatched duo have a tough road in order to find their happily-ever-after.
If you're a dog person (guilty!), it's impossible to resist this movie as Disney's animators have captured dogs at their lovable best. Whether it's Lady's first night in her new home (a scenario every puppy owner understands), or Milt Kahl's brilliant sequence showing Tramp starting his day at the train station, it's clear Disney's animators know and love dogs in a way that wasn't repeated until Dug from Up.
Then there's the most famous sequence: where Lady and Tramp eat a plate of spaghetti while a pair of Italian chefs serenade them. Like Bambi's winter pond sequence, Walt Disney was ready to give the bistro scene the chop before master animator Frank Thomas single-handedly drew the whole thing, convincing his boss it was an important part of the story.
That said, there's some truth to the contention that Lady and the Tramp was an adult film that was actually marketed for kids. The tale of a mutt from the wrong side of the tracks falling for the hottie cocker spaniel of "Snob Hill" could easily have been a metaphor for the developing civil rights movement and the concept of interracial marriages. In addition, the scene where Lady and Tramp fall asleep together in a park pushed some serious boundaries in the straight-laced 50's.
Then there's the sequence where an unlucky dog takes "the long walk" at the Pound, a surprisingly dark sequence for an animated film of the time. While death (for non-villain characters) had been a part of Disney's animated movies ever since the triceratops bought the farm in Fantasia, never had such a "cute" character died in a Disney movie. A suggestion that bloodhound Trusty heroically sacrifice himself at the end of the movie was shot down with extreme prejudice.
Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition Blu-Ray/DVD Extras
While previous Diamond Editions had more in the way of extras, there's still a lot here for animation fans. Diane Disney Miller introduces the film and shares memories of her father. The "Second Screen" feature loads storyboards and random facts onto your tablet so you can watch that while watching the film. In lieu of the audio commentary, there's a voice dramatization of several Lady and the Tramp story meetings which were transcribed for posterity.There are also several deleted scene and a previously unreleased song.
There are also the extras from the 2006 DVD reissue: a making-of featurette, another featurette about the Siamese Cat sequence, and the Puppypedia feature.
Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition Blu-Ray/DVD: Another Classic Lavishly Reissued
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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