Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Disney Animated Classic Number 15
Starring: Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Bill Thompson & Peggy Lee
Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson & Hamilton Luske
Rating: ★★½
The Lady and the Tramp has to be one of the most famous Disney Animated Classics of all time, or at least the most parodied, just because of the iconic spaghetti kiss that happens at the Italian restaurant half way through. Even though I don’t remember much about this one, except for the horribly racist Siamese cats, I did see this as a child, and upon re-watching it, it’s clear that there’s a reason I forgot about most of it in the first place.
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| Lady and the Tramp enjoying their spaghetti... |
The film begins by being dedicated to dogs… I’m sure that dog lovers around the world rejoice at this, but since I am not a dog lover, I knew this would be an omen for things to come… and I was right. The Lady and the Tramp is pretty much an hour and a bit of cute looking dogs running around, singing, and doing not much else. Don’t get me wrong: the animation is amazing- I always marvel at how animators make the animals move so realistically and make them so endearing- but other than the stunning visuals, there really isn’t anything else appealing for anyone over the age of ten.
The film begins well, with a very festive snowy cityscape of an early 1900s American town. Since the movie begins and ends at Christmas, this is important to remember because, of course, dogs are for life, and not just for Christmas, which is basically the entire point of the film! A wealthy man gives his wife a puppy, and she names her Lady. We see Lady scamper around the house for about ten minutes, and while this is very cute, it is pretty banal, but kids would love it. Lady eventually grows up, realises that she might be made redundant, meets a hobo dog called Tramp, for some bizarre and unexplained reason falls in love with him, and then there’s an entire subplot about a dog pound and a rescue mission, which is, of course, successful, as we have to have a happy ending (but almost don’t!).
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| You can't deny the animation is amazing, and the dogs are very cute... |
Along the way, Lady meets some terribly racially stereotypical characters. The Siamese cats are the most jarringly obvious, since they don’t really have a reason to be in the film except to sing a song in broken ‘lacist’ English which most people probably know better than He’s A Tramp, just because it’s catchier and more memorable. I know the film was made in the 50s, but the characters are shocking: from the I-talian American chefs, to the Mexican Chihuahua dog who talks about his sister Rosita Chiquita something something Taco, it’s quite alarming to view in our ultra-politically correct society. Even the Bulldog has a cocky geezer accent. I guess it makes sense to have the dogs be the nationality of their breed, but even for a film made in the 50s, this was sloppy character development. But I suppose children would enjoy this, since the film was made for children, and surely there’s nothing too bad about covert racism polluting our children’s minds now is there?
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| Watch out! May contain racist stereotypes! |
The story is very slow moving, and oddly enough, the ostensible Tramp is hardly in the movie: Lady really is the main focus. The plot is okay, and moderately interesting, but I wouldn’t want to watch it again. Sure, it’s more interesting than The AristoCraps, not that that is too difficult, but it plods along rather dully, and children would have to be serious dog lovers to want to watch it repeatedly. Lady is a pretty good character, and you feel sorry for her and want her to have a happy ending. The animators sexualise her quite heavily, by making her look ‘beautiful’, so it’s no wonder that there are so many Furries out there, having grown up watching cartoon animals being fetishized so extensively.
The love story between Lady and the Tramp is weak and seems thrown together, mainly because he doesn’t really get enough screen time. It was very enjoyable, and somehow weird to see one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time in context. I knew what to expect and when it was coming, but the whole spaghetti sequence is still rather romantic and enduring. I may always think of The Simpsons’ version first, but it is nice to view the original.
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| The most iconic scene in the movie, and it ends with a kiss... |
Even though it is fairly upbeat, The Lady and the Tramp wouldn’t be a classic Disney animation without some frightening and disturbing moments. The rat that gets into the baby’s bedroom is horrible, and it is upsetting to see the poor bloodhound get run over by the wagon… but luckily he doesn’t suffer the fate of other loveable comic relief Disney characters, and manages to pull through, albeit with a broken leg. It is also never stated what happens to the rest of the dogs at the dog pound. Do they all get put down? It’s never revealed- Lady only saves the Tramp, not the rest of the motley crew- so I assume they all die horribly. This would fit into the Disney pattern: kill off the likeable but expendable supporting roles in order to horribly traumatise children, but perhaps I’m just over thinking it.
As someone who is not a dog lover, the dogs in Lady and the Tramp are pretty cute, even if the story is flimsy. The highlight here is the wonderful and beautiful animation, as well as the catchy (and racist) tunes. Lady and the Tramp may be considered one of the best, and although it serves itself well for purely posterity reasons, in my opinion, it really doesn’t hold up against some of the others, and I really wouldn’t mind if, like some of the characters in the movie, it was also sent to the dog pound for good.
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