The classic tail retold for a new generation
Released originally in 1955, this classic story of two dogs from two very different worlds falling in love, has become one of Disney's most iconic films to date. Of course with the recent trend of remaking their classics as "Live-action" movies, Lady and the Tramp was bound to be remade. I went in with very low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. Then again my expectations were a bit kinder as this was released on Disney+ instead in theaters. Chances are if it had a theatrical release, I would be much more harsher with it. Anyway, let's just jump right into this.
The movie starts out much like the original one, Christmas night. Though this time we are given a location for our story. Well, it's at least implied to be set in somewhere in Georgia during the early 1920s. The audience is introduced to the happy couple of Jim Dear, and Darling. One thing that is immediately noticeable, is the fact that there are a interracial couple during the 1920s. What is so silly though, is that this was controversial among some audiences due to the location, and time period not being too kind to interracial couples. This is a very ridiculous thing to complain about though because the movie is literally about talking dogs. Anyway, much like the original, Jim Dear gives Darling a box that inside holds a very adorable Cocker Spaniel puppy. The two decide to name her Lady, and proceed to spoil her greatly. Nearly a year later, Lady is now a fully grown dog living the best life. That morning her owners present her with her new collar and license, and she goes off to show it to her two friends Trusty, and Jock. Not sure why, but for this remake, they swapped the gender of Jock, the Scottish Terrier, it's a change I got used to though. It's also during this part we get to see how the dogs look when talking, and it isn't bad. It isn't Pup Star levels of bad at least, and the animals are much more expressive then the characters in The Lion King (2019). Then again it doesn't take much effort to be better then that beautiful mess.
While Lady lives the pampered life, on the other side of town we are introduced to Tramp. Tramp is a stray Schnauzer dog, who unlike Lady, sleeps in a train yard, has to steal food, and is constantly on the run from the dog-catcher who is obsessed with catching him. His daily routine is interrupted when he has to free his friends from the cog-catcher's wagon. Though by doing that, the dog-catcher begins to chase him. Luckily Tramp is able to jump onto a truck, and ride it until it breaks down in a very different part of town. Seeing how the dog-catcher somehow followed him there he goes off to find a hiding spot. Meanwhile at the same time, Lady's owners are hosting a baby shower. Lady doesn't realize yet that Darling is pregnant, and only sees that her people are acting strange, and not paying attention to her. In a attempt to get attention, she jumps up into Darling's lap, only to get shoved off, and called a bad dog. Lady is then thrown outside where she meets the Tramp for the first time. In exchange for letting him hide in her backyard, he explains to her why her owners are acting so strange. He explains that Lady is going to be replaced by a baby, and that humans are not loyal. Lady of course doesn't believe him, but some time later she starts to doubt herself as the baby is born. Unlike the original where the baby was an unnamed boy, in this version the baby is a girl named Lulu.
The movie skips over to a few weeks later where Jim Dear, and Darling are taking baby Lulu to go see Jim's sister who lives outside the city. They call in the dreaded Aunt Sarah to dog-sit Lady, though Sarah was expecting to be watching Lulu like in the original. As the family leaves, we get to one of my favorite changes in the movie, the cats. In the original, Aunt Sarah's cats were a very racist caricature of Asian people as they were Siamese. This time the cats are two identical Devon Rex cats appropriately named Devon, and Rex, and they are given a new song to sing. The song is called, What a Shame, and the cats wreck the house in a similar manner to the classic film. The song is catchy, fun, and not as awkward as the Siamese Song. Upon seeing the mess, and of course assuming it was Lady that caused the mess, and terrorized her cats, she takes her downtown to get a muzzle for her. While getting the muzzle put on her, she loses her collar, and she panics and escapes from the store. She runs into an alleyway where she is cornered by a larger dog, though with Tramp's help they manage to scare him away. Tramp then agrees to help her get home, but first they need to get the muzzle off. In the original they went to a zoo, and enlisted the help of a beaver to remove the muzzle. Though this time there is no actual beaver, there is a homage to the missing mammal as a statue they use to get the muzzle off. The two take a scenic route to get home, and bond along the way. Before reaching Lady's neighborhood, Tramp comes across his favorite restaurant, Tony's, home of the famous Spaghetti scene. It could've been better. The vibe was kind of ruined by trying to make it comedic, when the scene should be entirely just the music, and them interacting without words. However, the rendition of Bella Notte is very nice to listen to, they even have the chorus from the original mixed in with the new audio. Lady is now wondering if she should even go home at this point, as this night would be the best she had ever had. The night is disrupted though by the dog-catcher, who catches Lady, and takes her to the pound.
Lady is taken to the pound where she is introduced to Peg. Peg then sings her famous, He's a Tramp song. However, unlike the original pound scene there isn't much at stake, shortly after Lady's owners actually come and pick her up. Now home, the couple kick Aunt Sarah out for not only mistreating Lady, but also allowing her cats to wreck their home. Lady also gets a proper introduction to baby Lulu. Later on, Tramp finds that Peg, and the bulldog had been adopted by a kind human. Tramp begins to rethink himself, that maybe not all humans are bad. He visits Lady, but even though Lady loves him she feels that it is her duty to stay home, and be there for Lulu. Tramp leaves as it begins raining. Before Lady enters the house she spots a large rat sneaking into the baby's room. She tries to warn her owners, but they are in a conversation with the dog-catcher. Lady is locked away in a closet, and begins barking frantically hoping that anyone will hear her. Tramp is able to hear her, and goes to her house. She tells him about the rat, and he sneaks inside despite the risk of being caught. Tramp makes it up to the baby's room, and fights the rat. He is injured in the process, and he knock's over Lulu's crib in the process, but he kills the rat. Jim Dear, and Darling don't see the rat though, and think that he attacked their baby. The dog-catcher takes him away to be put down, and thinking it's all over now Jim Dear lets Lady out of the closet. Lady immediately runs upstairs, and shows them the dead rat.
Along with Jock, and Trusty, and with Jim Dear, Darling, and Lulu following behind in their car they chase down the wagon. The wagon crashes, and Tramp is knocked out. Though of course they at first think he is dead, but he gets up because movie. The couple catch up right when the dog-catcher is ready to drag the injured Tramp to the pound. Now knowing though that he saved their baby, Darling makes the decision to adopt him in order to save him. Fast forward to Christmas morning, Tramp is officially part of the family, now having his own collar and license. They also don't have puppies this time, which makes sense because chances are either or both of them must have been fixed at some point. The two celebrate their new life together as we see Jock is a auntie since her owner decided to adopt some puppies from the pound. We cut to the credits as we zoom away from the house.
There is one thing we can agree on, the classic will always be better. Though as these remakes come, and go this so far is the better one Disney has given us. Then again chances are i'd be more harsher if it were a theatrical release. Some of the changes they made really helped benefit the movie. Replacing the Siamese cats was the best change. My least favorite change though is the spaghetti scene, it didn't feel the same. It also felt more tame compared to the original, but overall, this retelling of a classic gets a 3 out of 5 Paws up.
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