Highlights: I always forget how much I really enjoy Lady and the Tramp until I watch it again. In real life I’m a cat person not a dog person, but the dogs in this movie are just adorable. The two neighborhood dogs that Lady associates with are pretty funny, too. It has one of the most famous romantic scenes ever… I’d say not just from a Disney movie, but from any movie: the spaghetti scene. And there are just funny little bits thrown in throughout the movie, like Lady referring to her owners as “Darling” and “Jim Dear” because that’s what they call each other.
Low points: my husband has an issue with this movie because she fell in love with him almost instantly. I tried to point out that that happens in almost every movie, but he said he still doesn’t like it. And it’s true, their love doesn’t necessarily make sense, but maybe that’s why it’s good 🙂 The only other low point is that a lot of the other dog characters are interesting, but we don’t get to see much of their lives or personalities. I would love to know more about them!
Music: There are actually a few pretty decent songs from this movie, though none have really gone down in Disney legend like some of the major tunes. “Bella Notte” is probably the most famous one, sung by the Italian restaurant men. I really enjoy the jazzy feel of “He’s a Tramp,” a fun song sung by the super talented Peggy Lee. She does the voice for a number of characters in this film, including Peg. The other song worth mentioning is “The Siamese Cat” song – while not a fantastic song, for some reason or another it’s fairly well known.
Villain rating: The Siamese cats are definitely the biggest villains in this one. I’m definitely a cat person, but they made me angry. They are complete jerks for no reason, and frame Lady and get her into all sorts of trouble. Apparently in earlier versions of the movie they showed some remorse and helped out at the end, but that didn’t happen this time. Also, even though Aunt Sarah is supposed to just make some mistakes because of circumstances, she actually turned out to really make me mad. Who watches their sister’s house and puts a muzzle on the dog while she’s gone?
Fun fact: When deciding what to name the male dog, the names “Bozo,” “Rags,” and “Homer” were considered. When the writers settled on Tramp they were worried that it wouldn’t be acceptable because of the possible sexual connotation, but Walt approved the name.
Where in the World: The only real connection here is a restaurant located in the Magic Kingdom. It’s called Tony’s Town Square, and it’s an Italian restaurant that is supposed to be modeled after the restaurant in the movie. It has a large fountain in the front of Lady and Tramp. We ate here on our honeymoon for a romantic atmosphere!
My rating: 8.5 out of 10. I think a great word for this movie is “charming.” It may not be the most memorable of Disney movies, but it’s just got a special something that makes you feel good when you watch it. At least for me!
It’s not a fave of mine, but I do think it’s really enjoyable and nigh perfect.
Did she really fall in love with him “instantly”?
Ha, well that was the view my husband had. It was obviously a short period of time but that’s what happens in movies!