Animation Celebration Extra - Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Disney, 1955
Voices of Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Verna Felton, and Bill Thompson
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson
Music and Lyrics by Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke

Disney's first feature-length animated film in widescreen was a charming romantic comedy about a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who loved a girl from a genteel upbringing. That the boy was a mutt and his beloved a cocker spaniel in a small town in the early 1900's added a new twist to one of the oldest stories in creation. Let's head to that small town on Christmas Eve to see just how well this dog-gone tale holds up today...

The Story: Lady (Luddy) is a cocker spaniel puppy given to Darling (Peggy Lee) for Christmas by her husband Jim Dear (Lee Millar). As she grows into maturity, she becomes a beloved member of the household, and a good friend to older neighborhood dogs Jock (Thompson) and Trusty (Bill Baucom). After Darling becomes pregnant, she and Jim Dear pay less attention to Lady, who wonders what's going on. Jock and Trusty try to explain, but it's a stray mutt whom everyone calls Tramp (Roberts) who finally tells her they're having a baby. He turns out to be wrong, however, that the baby will replace her in their affections. If anything, once the infant arrives, it brings them all closer together and makes Lady even more protective of her humans.

Jim's Aunt Sarah (Felton) doesn't share her nephew and his wife's high opinion of dogs. She scolds Lady for being near the baby and thinks she's attacked her Siamese cats (who have caused nothing but trouble). Lady runs away after she's muzzled and into Tramp, who helps her get it off. They consider running off together, but Lady's too attached to her family. They chase chickens, which lands Lady in the pound. That puts her off Tramp considerably...but she'll need his help, and Jock and Trusty's, to save the baby when a rat finally gets into the house and the crib.

The Animation: It may not be as colorful as Sleeping Beauty or Peter Pan, but there's some really lovely work here. Blue seems to be a major theme, from the soft snowy Christmas opening and closing to the glowing blue vistas when the chorus takes over during "Bella Notte" as Lady and Tramp stroll through the moon-lit park and town. Like The Lion King nearly 40 years later, it manages to make the dogs realistic-looking while still allowing them to be expressive and interesting.

The Song and Dance: One of Disney's sweetest and simplest love stories. Luddy has her best vocal role in a Disney movie as the pedigreed pooch who is stronger than she looks, while Roberts is perfectly cocky as the stray who thinks he doesn't need humans for anything but a meal. Thompson and Baucom are also fun as Lady's two best friends who don't trust this mongrel of a newcomer. Jazz chanteuse Lee steals the show in not one, but three roles - as motherly Darling, the mischievous Siamese cat pair, and Peg, the world-weary showgirl Pekingese in the pound. The lovely animation and period-accurate trappings add greatly to the authenticity.

Favorite Number: Lee introduces the movie's most famous number, Peg's "He's a Tramp" in the pound. Her sauntering and strutting is perfect - and should be, since it was modeled on the real Peggy Lee's walk (as illustrated in an episode of the Walt Disney Presents TV show). Lee also gets to introduce the lovely lullaby "La La Lu" and "The Siamese Cats Song," as they go after the fish, destroy the drapes, and generally wreck havoc.

The major ballad here is "Bella Notte," which plays during the most famous spaghetti dinner in film history. Tony the Italian restaurant owner and his head chef perform it on the accordion as accomplishment to that romantic meal; the chorus takes over as Lady and Tramp stroll in park. Lovely and charming.

What I Don't Like: This is more-or-less a romantic comedy with dogs and a few songs, and it's not for people looking for one of Disney's big fantasy epics. While Tony and his assistant's stereotypical Italian accents don't bother me, some people are apparently offended by them. There's also all the accents in the pound, including another stereotype in the Russian philosopher dog.

While the movie is mainly a fluffy romantic comedy, there's a few dark moments that may scare younger kids, including the sequence in the pound with the dogs' sad howl number and one dog being taken off to be quite obviously killed (though it's not stated) afterwards, Tramp's fight with the rat, and the dogs chasing the dog catcher's carriage.

The Big Finale: One of Disney's loveliest and most charming films; highly recommended for all the dog lovers in your family.

Home Media: Easily found in all formats, including streaming; it's currently on Disney Plus

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