Lady and the Tramp

If there is a single scene that is the most iconic of any Disney film, it may be the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp. It is a classic Disney film that began testing the waters for different movie genres for their animated feature. Up to this point everything had either been a straight forward comedy or a children’s fairy tale. Lady and the Tramp has a romantic comedy vibe to it that allows it to stand out from the rest of the DAC.

Lady and the Tramp hit theatres in June of 1955. It was based on the Cosmopolitan magazine story “Happy Dan, The Cynical Dog” by Ward Greene.

This movie is dead in the center of the Golden Age of the DAC. It has great story telling and good songs. There are characters you love and root for and others that you dislike and love to hate. In other Disney films up to this point you have the theme of falling in love, but this is the first time we get to witness it happening (Bambi may be an exception, but the story was so badly portrayed I don’t feel it counts). Other than what feels like a strange age difference between all the male characters and Lady this movie is wholesome and tells a good story that feels timeless.

I think if there are any rough bits in the movie, it centers around the animation possibly lacking a bit, but that seems to fade as the story takes center stage. We are Siamese is an example of where the music in their films was headed. It is humorous, helps the story, and introduces new characters.

I feel this one eeked out Peter Pan in the end mostly because we don’t have to deal with child abduction and murder. Even though Tramp is from the mean streets it doesn’t have the dark undertones that Disney had trudged through before.

Run Time – 76 Minutes

28th Academy Awards – 0 Nominations – 0 Wins

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Lady and the Tramp 6-22-1955

2. Peter Pan 2-5-1953

3. Dumbo 10-23-1941

4. Cinderella 2-15-1950

5. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

6. The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 10-5-1949

7. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

8. Fun and Fancy Free 9-27-1947

9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

10. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

11. Alice in Wonderland 7-26-1951

12. Melody Time 5-27-1948

13. Bambi 8-13-1942

14. Fantasia 11-13-1940

15. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944