Boy meets girl, boy offends girl, boy rescues girl, boy gets girl into a sticky situation, girl snubs boy, boy risks everything to save the day. This is Lady and the Tramp (1955) in a nutshell: a classic romance with one of those loves that crosses class boundaries. Forget about dogs, and what you have is just what the title tells you: a finely-bred Lady, influenced by her social upbringing and her well-meaning but haughty neighbors, and a street-wise, flirtatious Tramp from literally the wrong side of the tracks. These two, against all odds, seem made for one another. Their spaghetti date is one of cinema's iconic romantic scenes, and even pops up today in shows such as Glee.
Now forget forgetting about dogs. Even as a cat person, I find this movie cute. While I would never choose a cocker spaniel for myself, Lady as a clumsy puppy is undeniably precious. Then she grows up and I have to wonder why she ever stopped tripping over her ears. Ooh, ooh, idea: maybe she should take flying lessons from Dumbo! Now the Tramp is a mutt, but nearly every other dog in the movie has a very specific breed. In fact, a large chunk of the humor (or offense, depending on the viewer) comes from associating breeds with ethnic stereotypes. Of course, a lot of the humor would be lost on someone who doesn't know their breeds; you have the Scottish terrier, the German dachshund, the Mexican chihuahua, the English bulldog, the Russian borzoi--and of course the Siamese cats, with their buck teeth and their poor command of the English language.
I was going to say that the idea of the pound dogs singing to cover the sound of the dachshund digging was borrowed from The Great Escape (1963), but seeing as that movie didn't come out for another eight years, this is obviously not the case. For the most part, though, the dogs act like dogs... dogs that can talk to each other. The "dog" humor is subtle, more along the lines of Bambi learning about his surroundings than actual jokes. Their understanding of humans is the topic of nearly every conversation, and the way Lady knows her owners only as "Jim Dear" and "Darling" shows that the writers put some thought into this dog's perspective. They chase chickens for fun and have to face muzzles and dog catchers. You know--dog stuff.
As for the music, "Bella Notte," "The Siamese Cat Song," and "He's a Tramp," are memorable, but that's about it. There is a weird kind of spoken internal monologue Lady does to music, called "What is a Baby?, but it reminds me too much of "Can You Read My Mind?" from Superman (1978). At the beginning and end there is also Christmas music, but you can hardly call it a Christmas movie since the whole thing takes place over several months (or is it just one year?)--enough time to have a creepy-looking baby, anyway. Seriously. They could have animated the baby. They should have animated the baby, just as they did Jim Dear, Darling, and every other character. But did they? No. What you get instead is an absolutely still image of a baby's head that looks like it was cut out of greeting card. Why doesn't it move?!
Speaking of babies, I feel I should point out that this is one of the most sexually suggestive Disney animated movies. Think about it--Lady and the Tramp stay out all night, which could be harmless or not. I personally don't think they did the deed, but how can one be sure? Lady has to endure a walk of shame--she is literally in the doghouse--after spending the day behind bars and learning of all the Tramp's previous girlfriends from a dog who looks as much like a hooker as a dog can, only to be proposed to by her friends out of pity and in an effort to save her reputation. Hmm... how scandalous...
Now Lady and the Tramp, like Alice in Wonderland (1951), has no real villain. Sure, there's the rat that for some reason likes attacking babies, but it's appearance is really random, more like a force of nature than a character. Sure, there's Aunt Sarah, who clearly hates dogs, but her dislike of our heroes is due to a lack of understanding, not evil intentions. Sure, there are the Siamese cats and the angry street dogs, but after their respective scenes, they never reappear. Even the dog catchers can't be blamed. More along the lines of Bambi (1942), this is a story of understanding life, love, and the world (a world without magic, I might add).
Going back to the Siamese cats, they can be summed up by looking at this line from their song: "Do you seeing that thing swimming round and round? Maybe we could reaching in and make it drown."
1. Their English is atrocious. Seeing? Reaching? Really?
2. They are not only curious, but murderous... at least when it comes to potential food.
3. They are dumb. You can't drown a fish!
The good thing is, parts 2 and 3 could be attributed to their being cats rather than to their being Siamese, leaving only their buck-toothed appearance, poor grammar, and the style of the song as stereotypes. Either way, they're among the most memorable parts of the movie.
With a classic love story, adorable animals, and an ending that will make you first incredibly sad, then incredibly happy, I approve of Lady and the Tramp. It's not the type of Disney movie you want to watch on repeat like the Disney Renaissance movies, and it has its un-PC moments, but it also has a depth of emotion that, as with Bambi, is cathartic. I enjoyed this movie as a child and I enjoyed it even more now that I can read deeper into it.
