Lady and the Tramp (1955) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Lady and the Tramp
Year: 1955
Director: Clyde Geronimi
Country: US
Language: English

At the time of release, Lady and the Tramp was the highest grossing animated feature since Snow White (an 18 year gap in-between the two films). Walt Disney claimed this was a "fun" picture to make because, like 1940's Dumbo, it was an original story and was easily adjustable as they made the film and got to know the characters - there were no pre-existing storylines. Indeed the film had no expectations to uphold, thus it could be presented as is. 

Lady (Barbara Luddy), a golden cocker spaniel, meets up with a mongrel dog who calls himself the Tramp (Larry Roberts). He is obviously from the wrong side of town, but happenings at Lady's home make her decide to travel with him for a while. 

Another claim to fame for Lady and the Tramp is that it is the first feature-length animated movie to be made in widescreen (2.55:1). Made simultaneously in both a widescreen CinemaScope version and a standard Academy ratio version. The standard version was made because, much to Walt's displeasure, many studios still weren't equipped with CinemaScope. Interestingly enough, the producers decided to use this new widescreen ratio when the film was already in production. This meant that backgrounds had to be extended and the animation format slightly altered.

Upon release Lady and the Tramp recieved lukewarm reviews, but 60+ years later there is no doubt that the film is an animated classic. The spaghetti scene is often imitated, parodied and spoofed in popular culture because it is so iconic. Post WWII racism aside ("We are Siamese") the film sets out to focus on the perspective on the dogs' lives and does it perfectly. The camera never pans above the dog's level of sight and when they are confused by their owner's reactions, so are we. 

Lady and the Tramp has a sweet sentimental simplicity not often seen in cinema. It is a cute warm film about falling in love, nothing more and nothing less. It's not the most complicated picture, nor does it take its time to flesh out the characters, but we love it despite that.