By Todd Garbarini
The first Disney movie that my family
owned was Dumbo (1941) on the
Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED), RCA’s long-defunct pipe dream home video
format that began production in 1981 and ended in 1986 after seventeen years in
development, an also-ran in the kiddie’s seat while the recordable VHS sat at
the grown-up’s table. The picture
quality of CED was nothing to write home about though it was arguably better
than the aforementioned recordable cassette. CED was a stepping stone, albeit in the analog realm, to a future of
home video viewing in the form of movies on a disc. While Disney offered a considerable number of
their most beloved titles on VHS, the sheer lack of decent picture quality
never sat well with me. I was beside
myself, however, when most of their best known works made their way to the
superior laserdisc (still an analog format), especially Lady and the Tramp (1955), which looked wonderful in the
letterboxed format. This image was
improved upon with the DVD releases in 1999 and 2006, but even they pale in
comparison to the new Diamond Edition Blu-ray, which is jaw-droppingly beautiful
thanks to a frame-by-frame restoration and easily worth the price of the
upgrade. Just about every detail and
every nuance can be seen in this version.
Generally overshadowed by Disney’s
other features Snow White and the Seven
Dwarves (1937) and Sleeping Beauty
(1959, in its gorgeous Technirama splendor), Lady and the Tramp, which was released theatrically on June 22,
1955 and was the first animated feature filmed in CinemaScope, is a fun film
for the whole family. Based
upon Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog by
Ward Greene, which Walt Disney read in a 1943 issue of Cosmopolitan, the story concerns Lady, a cocker spaniel who is
given to Darling Dear by her husband, Jim Dear, on Christmas morning in
1909. The center of attention until a
new baby is born, Lady trades in her digs for time with other dogs from the
neighborhood: Jock, a Scottish Terrier; Trusty, a bloodhound, and Tramp, a
mutt. When the couple leaves the baby in
the care of ailurophile Aunt Sarah (a questionable maneuver given the infant’s
age) who despises dogs, Lady gets into a tussle with her Siamese cats,
prompting Aunt Sarah to buy a muzzle for Lady. A lot of hijinks ensue: think Tom and Jerry but without the over-the-top
violence as Lady and Tramp make a run from the house to a fancy restaurant in a
scene that earned the film a place at number 95 on the American Film
Institute’s list of “100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time.â€
Lady ends up the in the dog pound and discovers
that having a license is her ticket out while getting an earful about Tramp’s status
with other female dogs. Bailed out by
Aunt Sarah, Lady returns home and castigates Tramp for his checkered past. After a rat makes its way into the baby’s
crib, Tramp knocks the crib over, setting in motion a series of misinterpretations
by Aunt Sarah who has pegged Tramp as a troublemaker and sends him to the
pound. Jock and Trusty come to the
rescue, but not without Trusty nearly losing his life in attempting to save
Tramp. All’s well that ends well when at
the following Christmas Lady and Tramp are the proud parents of four puppies.
There are a good number of musical
numbers in the film, one of the most memorable being “We are Siamese if You
Please†by the titular cats, and all the animals only speak among themselves.
Lady
and the Tramp
comes in three flavors:
3-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray +
DVD + Digital Copy) = $44.99 U.S./$51.99 Canada
2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD) = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
1-Disc DVD = $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada
Here is a listing of the features on the Blu-ray:
Blu-ray Bonus: Disney Second Screen: Inside
Walt’s Story Meetings*
Audio Commentary: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings
Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad
Three Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
Never Recorded Song: “I’m Free as the Breezeâ€
Classic DVD Bonus:
- Lady’s Pedigree: The Making of Lady and the Tramp
- Finding Lady: The Art of the Storyboard
- Original 1943 Storyboard Version of the Film
- PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs
- “The Siamese Cat Song,†Finding a Voice for the
Cats
- “Bella Notte†Music Video
- Trailers
- Excerpts from “Disneyland†TV Shows
DVD Bonus: Diane Disney Miller: Remembering
Dad
PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs
Digital Bonus: Diane Disney Miller:
Remembering Dad
Three Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs
Click here to order 3 disc Blu-ray special edition from Amazon