Drew Turney
Where did we go wrong and stop believing in the sweet innocence of a Disney film? It’s no coincidence that Walk Disney was the most prolific Oscar winner when he was alive but under the stewardship of everyone from Michael Eisner to Bob Iger Mauschwitz has been reduced to just one of many studios churning out CGI cartoons with fast dialogue and pop culture references?
Who doesn’t know the leaving home/Romeo and Juliet parable where coddled housepet Lady goes beyond the front gate of her comfortable world and falls in with a rough and tumble group of streetwise strays led by the canine Brando Tramp? In her adventures falling in with his gang she’ll experience the danger and fear of being a loose dog on the run and the romance and fun to be had when you follow your nose.
Soul? How can they manage to tug your heartstrings with the silhouetted profile of a happy, stupid mutt excited to be taken for a walk, blissfully unaware he’s taking the ‘long walk’? Heart? How can Tramp pushing a meatball across a pile of spaghetti to his erstwhile lover affect you so much?
But that, I’m sad to say, was “Lady & the Tramp” and we’re here to talk about the milk that’s been squeezed from it’s now tender teat, the straight-to-video sequel.
“Lady & The Tramp 2 : Scamp’s Adventure” isn’t anywhere near as good as that special offering from years gone by. Produced way too late in the game, and with an ounce of the production values of the first, it has the son of the titular dogs running away to live like the ‘wild dog’ he wants to be. Bowl of spaghetti works better on us.
Unfussy kids only.
Blu-ray details/extras : The film didn’t need much cleaning up, seeing as it’s a relatively recent film, but still good to see the audio and video transfer embossing a real wallop on Blu-ray (somewhat more than the film itself).
Extras include some kid-friendly bonuses like shorts and an audio commentary.
