Lady and the Tramp (film)
"Lady and the Tramp" is a 1955 animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions, known for its romantic and adventurous storyline. The film follows the lives of two dogs, Lady, a refined cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a street-smart mutt, as they navigate the complexities of love and family in an early 20th-century small town. The movie is notable for being Disney's first animated feature produced in CinemaScope, a widescreen format that posed unique challenges for animators, leading to the creation of two versions for different theater formats.
The plot centers around Lady's feelings of displacement when her owners, Jim Dear and Darling, welcome a new baby into their home. The iconic spaghetti-eating scene is a highlight of the film and has contributed to its cultural significance, earning it a place on the American Film Institute's list of the "100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time." Despite its commercial success, grossing $7.5 million in its initial release, "Lady and the Tramp" is often viewed as less innovative compared to other Disney classics. The film features the voice of torch singer Peggy Lee, who not only voiced several characters but also contributed to the film's musical score. Ultimately, "Lady and the Tramp" remains a beloved classic, celebrated for its charming characters and memorable music.
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Lady and the Tramp (film)
- Release Date: 1955
- Director(s): Clyde Geronimi; Wilfred Jackson; Hamilton Luske
- Writer(s): Don DaGradi; Erdman Penner; Joe Rinaldi; Ralph Wright
- Book / Story Film Based On: Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog by Ward Greene
Walt Disney Productions turned to romantic musical comedy in 1955 when the studio released the animated Lady and the Tramp. The seventy-six-minute film includes twenty-two songs or musical numbers in its soundtrack while telling a "princess and the pauper" romance/adventure story.
It is also the first animated feature movie to be produced for CinemaScope widescreen theaters. This relatively short-lived innovation in movie formatting was introduced in 1953 and used until 1967. Because CinemaScope nearly doubled the aspect ratio of ordinary movie screens, it presented significant challenges to the animators. For example, shots needed more background detail and activity or the setting would have seemed empty. More importantly, comparatively few theaters had screens designed for CinemaScope, so Lady and the Tramp was released in two versions, one for the widescreen and the other for regular theaters.
The movie began as an idea in the late 1930s by one of Disney’s animators named Joe Grant. Grant had a female springer spaniel named Lady who was displaced by a new baby in Grant’s home. While Grant was developing the story, Disney read a short story by Ward Greene that included a streetwise dog. Disney thought Grant’s tale could be improved by adding such a character, and Lady and the Tramp grew into its final story.
Disney was right—the movie was a huge success when it came out. It is the fifteenth title in the Disney Animated Classics series, and at the time was the top-grossing initial release after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Plot
The story is set at the beginning of the twentieth century in an unnamed small town. Two human characters are celebrating Christmas. The people are called Darling and Jim Dear, as a dog would perceive their names. Jim Dear gives Darling a cocker spaniel puppy concealed inside a hatbox. Darling names the puppy Lady.
Lady enjoys a happy life and makes friends with a pair of neighboring dogs. Jacques is a sharp-witted Scottish terrier, and Trusty is a lovable bloodhound. But one day Jacques and Trusty find Lady feeling depressed because something has changed with Jim Dear and Darling. Jacques and Trusty try to help, explaining that Jim Dear and Darling are expecting a baby. At this point, a mangy gray mutt called Tramp enters the story, claiming authoritatively that the baby will ruin Lady’s home. She’ll soon be yelled at and sent into the doghouse in the yard, he asserts.
Lady sees ever more changes in the household, and finally the baby arrives. Jim Dear and Darling seem to spend all of their time with "it," and Lady feels ever more alone. But when she meets the baby boy, Jim Dear and Darling pat her on the head, and she knows she is still loved.
Later the humans take a trip and leave Lady and the baby with Aunt Sarah, who does not like dogs and has a pair of Siamese cats named Si and Am. The cats cause a destructive mess, and Lady is blamed. Aunt Sarah takes her to a pet store for a muzzle. When Lady runs away from the store, she ends up being chased by three big dogs in a bad part of town. Tramp intercedes at the last second and fights off the three attackers. The next challenge is to get rid of her muzzle. Tramp tricks a beaver at the zoo into thinking it is a tool for hauling logs.
Tramp then takes Lady to a restaurant where they share a bowl of spaghetti in what is probably the best-loved sequence in the film. Later Lady and Tramp fall asleep in a park. On their way back to Lady’s house in the morning, Tramp stirs up a henhouse for fun. They flee from the owner, but Lady is captured and sent to the dog pound. Imprisoned, she is an object of derision for her fancy collar and refined ways. The other dogs also talk about Tramp, and Lady is dismayed to learn how many female friends he has.
Once released to Aunt Sarah, Lady is tied to the doghouse. Jacques and Trusty try to cheer her up, but they leave when Tramp arrives. Lady explodes at him about being in the pound and his ways as a seeming Lothario, and he finally leaves as well. Then Lady sees a rat go into the baby’s room, and she begins to bark. Aunt Sarah ignores her, but Tramp returns. When he learns what she is barking about, he rushes to the baby’s room. Tramps fights the rat. Lady breaks free from her leash and arrives in the room just as Tramp prevails.
Thinking the dogs meant to harm the baby, Aunt Sarah locks them up and calls the pound. Tramp is being led away when Jim Dear and Darling return. They are told Tramp was trying to hurt the baby, but Jim Dear finds the dead rat in the baby’s room and comes to the correct conclusion. Now knowing the truth, Jacques and Trusty chase after the dogcatcher’s wagon to rescue Tramp.
Another Christmas arrives, and Tramp is part of the family. He and Lady have puppies of their own. Jacques and Trusty join them to celebrate the holiday with the puppies.
Significance
Despite its excellent performance at the box office, Lady and the Tramp is not generally considered one of the top innovative animated films from Disney Productions. However, it did help establish the Disney brand as a financial success when it earned $7.5 million in 1955. The movie spawned an enduring comic strip and a sequel. The spaghetti-eating scene is iconic and helped get Lady and the Tramp listed at ninety-fifth of the "100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time" by the American Film Institute, a list that includes only one other animated feature. In 2011 TIME magazine named it one of "The 25 All-TIME Best Animated Films."
One of its most significant attributes is the use of torch singer Peggy Lee as a voice actor and songwriter. She co-wrote all of the original songs with Sonny Burke and sang four of them, in addition to playing four of the roles in the movie.
Bibliography
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Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. New York: Vintage, 2007. Print, electronic, audiobook.
Johnston, Ollie and Frank Thomas. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. Glendale: Disney, 1995. Print.
Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films. Glendale: Disney, 2000. Print.
Pallant, Chris. Demystifying Disney: A History of Disney Feature Animation. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. Print.
Stanchfield, Walt. Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes. Waltham: Focal, 2009. Electronic, print.