Lady and the Tramp - 8.0/10
Another childhood favorite, though I'd forgotten about the bit at the
beginning with Lady as a puppy. This is another one that, like Bambi,
doesn't really have a villain, unless you count the dog-hating Aunt
Sarah, or maybe the cats or the rat. In any case, it's just a love story
of two dogs, but also like Bambi it's very stylistic. Everything is
done from the point of view of the dogs, to the point that we barely
ever see any human faces, and the Lady's owners are literally known only
by their pet names for each other. I think that was a very good choice,
as it takes what is otherwise a very simple story and gives a new layer
to it.
A couple of scenes that hit really hard as a kid still held up pretty
strongly today. The pound was always a huge tearjerker, and though no
manly tears were shed now as an adult, it was still really freaking sad.
Also, the climax was really exciting and the scene right after was even
more powerful than the pound. It would be up there with Mufasa and
Bambi's mom if we didn't see him get better in the very next scene.
All in all a fun movie that puts a new spin on an old formula with a unique perspective and solid execution.
One final note is that they seem to be scaling back the 40s-style choir
with this one. They still did one song during the film and also the
finale, but were conspicuously absent from the opening. That's a first.
I loved this movie as a child and JUST bought the rereleased version for my kids. They love it, too. I too thought the choice to only know the owners as "John, dear" and "Darling" was really cleaver. I hadn't seen this one in so long that I forgot most of it so, as I watched and remembered it was just as magical as when I was a kid. I totally agree about the climax and I think the ending is one of my favorite of any Disney movie.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I love about this one (making it my favourite pre-Renaissance DAC movie) is that it's a better romance movie than any of its human-centred contemporaries, especially when it comes to giving both the male and female lead decent amounts of screentime and character development.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent point. That's the same reason (well, one of them) that I liked "The Rescuers" so much.
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