After watching Disney’s latest restoration, I’ve come to the conclusion that I want a pet – probably a cat. But if I can get a dog as beautiful as Lady or the Tramp then I can see myself going for a puppy. Disney’s new transfer of the 1955 classic gives the movie a fresh coat of paint that makes it look new again.
Never having seen Lady and the Tramp before, this is a brand new experience for me. This movie is as beautiful as everyone has always said it was/is and it’s a surprisingly well thought out and very adult romance. I love Tramp’s cynical view of the world versus Lady’s hopefulness. They come from two completely different worlds; she was born and raised by wealthy humans while Tramp was forced to fend for himself so he has a healthy distrust of the two-legged animal.
It is hard not to feel for Lady when Aunt Sara comes to take over the household and new baby while her humans go off on a business trip. The primary issue with Lady and the Tramp is the music is really old fashioned – but still feel like something that could be in an animated film today. I just was not that enamored with it.
I just love hand drawn animation, it really brings to life all the characters in a very expressive way. The imperfections doing it by hand give everything a rougher edge but more heart. I find computer animation (even Pixar) to be soulless and too technically “perfect.” Computer generated worlds, no matter how good they look, just look too “artificial.”
Directors Clyde Geronimi Wilfred Jackson Hamilton Luske give this movie several beautiful scenes and landscapes to look at. I love the famous dinner sequence and the gorgeous shot of Lady and Tramp waking up in the morning. It’s funny whenever Tramp calls Lady “Pige” it sounds like he’s saying “bitch.”
The other reason I love old fashioned Disney style Animation is they didn’t rely on popular stars to voice their characters so every voice feels like it fits and that I’m not just watching Danny Devito or Eddie Murphy’s distinctive voices. I’m able to accept these characters as unique. Poor lady, ending up in the pound…
I didn’t think the rat fight at the end worked all that well because it came out of left field and there was no conflict build up between the dogs and the rat. It was just, hey there’s a rat! What the heck Disney, why do all of your animated films need a tragic moment! Sheesh! But, that ending, awe….
After watching Lady and the Tramp, not only do I want a pet now, but I have this strange craving for Spaghetti and Meatballs, with a little Bella Notte playing in the background.
Video, Audio and Presentation
As usual Disney does a great job with this transfer. The 1080p picture is sharp, clear, but keeps a “soft” focus so it doesn’t look harsh, there are a couple of small issues towards the end, specifically the dog pound scene has a weird fuzzy affect like it was in standard definition for a few seconds.
The audio includes English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 3.0 DTS-HD Master Audio that has the restored original soundtrack, French 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix and Spanish 5.1 Disney Home Theater Mix. There are subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The disc menu is standard a straightforward nothing to write home about. It is easy to move around with a simple Yellow Menu bar dressed up as a sunlit window and nice bluish/purple fonts.
Features
Features include Disney’s Second Screen App that contains a lot of original storyboard material synced with the movie and some nice background information on all the filmmakers – a lot of whom were with Disney for 40 or more years. Man I wish I had a job I could be at for 30 or 40 years! That kind of loyalty is what made Disney what it is today.
There are a couple of new extras for the Blu-ray but most of the extras on this disc are from the original DVD release. There’s a lot of great material here including a full 55 minute Making of Documentary, a couple of deleted scenes. There’s a nice 8-minute feature with Walt Disney’s Daughter Diane Disney Miller. An interesting behind the scenes look at the art of Storyboarding and a couple of new songs.
Conclusion
I liked this movie a lot, the Blu-ray does it justice, but the extras while full featured – are from the DVD, which always feels a bit “lazy” to me when they don’t produce, new material specifically for Blu-ray. This is a nice Blu-ray set that has a nice transfer and good features. It didn’t blow me away, but if you enjoy Lady and The Tramp this is worth getting.
Grades
- Movie – A-
- Video, Audio – A-
- Extras – B
Final Grade B
Final Grade B