Blu-ray Review: LADY AND THE TRAMP Is Disney Magic at Its Best!
Disney's Lady and the Tramp has arrived on Blu-ray in a beautiful Diamond Edition. This classic animated film features the voice work of Barbara Luddy (Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians), Larry Roberts, Peggy Lee, Bill Thompson (Peter Pan, Alice In Wonderland), Bill Baucom (The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Judge Roy Bean), Stan Freberg (Stuart Little, Looney Tunes: Back In Action), Lee Millar (I Love Lucy, The George and Gracie Allen Show).
Lady and the Tramp is a timeless tale of romance that people from any generation can relate to. The story follows "a lovely young pedigreed cocker spaniel named Lady, who lives a pampered life, finds herself falling romantically for Tramp, an amorous street-smart pooch without prospects. Although they have fun together on several dates, including a sentimental spaghetti dinner by moonlight at Tony’s restaurant, their relationship is strained not only by Lady’s loyalty to her human family and their newborn baby, but by Tramp’s devil-may-care attitude that eventually gets Lady in trouble and tossed into the dog pound."
What makes this film so easy to relate to is the simplicity of the story. After a few minutes of watching, you start seeing Lady and the Tramp as people instead of dogs. The voice cast is one of my favorites from a classic Disney film. When I watched this film as a kid, I remember being so scared by the Policeman on the same level I was frightened by the forest fire in Bambi. Lady and the Tramp has so many classic moments. The moment between Lady and the Tramp at the restaurant with the spaghetti will live on in my mind forever. It was cool to see that scene again after so many years with my wife. Another memorable scene was the Si Am sequence. I have always liked dogs more than cats (sorry cat lovers), and that scene may be a reason why. The rat in the film is so dark and vicious and scared me as a kid.
This is a must-own disc for animation lovers. The Diamond Edition Blu-ray adds new life to the colors, as they seem to jump off of the screen. The colors are not bright and dazzling like a modern-day animated film. The classic muted tones are superb for this story. This form of hand-drawn animation took so many people and so much time, and it shows. The animators got the dog movements perfectly. The animation coupled with the work of the voice actors create such a memorable film that will stay with you long after it's done. The film would have looked fabulous in "Cinemascope" wide-screen in theaters, but it looks beautiful on Blu-ray.
Special Features:
The film is great alone, but the special features make this disc well worth the price of admission. The Making of the Lady and the Tramp is my personal favorite feature. Having grown up in Missouri, the video takes audiences on a journey into the creation of the film and into Walt Disney's life. This video extra is the longest of the features, and has multiple sections. Every question you could ever want to know is answered by The Making of the Lady and the Tramp. Learn about the story, the animation, the dogs, the voice actors and much more with these in-depth bonus features.
In Conclusion:
Take a journey back in time with this beautifully animated and crafted story. Lady and the Tramp is such a wonderful addition to any DVD collection. After re-watching this film, Lady and the Tramp has jumped to the top of my list of favorite Walt Disney movies. This is a perfect film to watch on Valentine's Day, but is a great film to watch whenever you need a dose of classic hand-drawn animation. Lady and the Tramp is currently available in Diamond Edition Blu-ray and DVD for a limited time.
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