Lady and the Tramp (Live-Action)

[Daniel]

From Wikipedia:

The film is scheduled to be released on November 12, 2019, exclusively on Disney+.[25] The film will be have a special one time broadcast on ABC November 27th, 2019[26]

Uh-uh, right. That would be a little too nice of Disney. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE that and it would make sense, but come on. I would sooner believe they would air the original with previews of the remake...

[Ben]

Or...it’s a very clever loss-leader to give D+ a MASSIVE promotion while providing ABC with huge ratings...!

[ShyViolet]

Second trailer:


https://popculture.com/streaming/2019/1 ... ney-night/

[Daniel]

"This is Lulu"... the baby too? Have you no shame, Disney? Wonder if it might be a play on the lullaby from the original; "La La Lu". Oooh, kind of brilliant if so!

Had a feeling the beaver scene wasn't going to be in the remake, but I appreciated the nod. Very clever!

Instead of Siamese we get Sphynx cats. Uh, eww. They ugly. Like Joey said on Friends - "It's not a cat!"

Aunt Sarah , well, there goes that theory of "nicer"...

Jock/Jackie... now with audio to make the change "real" - hate it. Horrible.

"He's a Tramp" snippet. Sounds nice but doesn't hold a candle to Peggy Lee's take.

"Not awkward at all" sounds a little too modern..? Doesn't feel like something Lady would say.

On the whole, I rather liked the trailer. The voices are still a little eh, and seeing them talk a little weird. Yet, it looks like it could be real sweet. The attention to detail is fascinating with the little they've shown, like the babies nursery. Now I kinda wish this was coming to theaters...

[ShyViolet]

Positives:

Jockette’s sweater was really cute.

I liked the animation of the cats purposely knocking over the vase.


That’s it.


Negatives:

Everything about Lady’s voice

Tramp’s voice was suitably street-smart but had none of the warmth/charm of his ‘55 predecessor.

Uncanny Valley.

“He’s a Tramp” was so syrapy and “DISNEY” sounding, nothing like Lee’s brilliantly lusty vocals.

It basically felt like one of those copycat animated films that you can buy on Amazon. Maybe not technically, but definitely in execution. .

[Daniel]

Jackie, as I noted. "Jockette" was Eric's lame nickname...

"lusty" hehee.

[Daniel]

Exclusive scene:



I didn't much care for it. It basically mirrored the original but as often the case, a pale imitation...

Finally get to hear Tony and Joe talk. Well, Joe's no teen! They repeat the joke from the original about Tony understanding Tramp, but it doesn't really work here. In the original, Joe is inside so him being right there kind takes away from it. The way Tony says the line also sounds less stereotypic so that makes the scene less funny. Not to mention the lack of him talking with his hands all exaggerated like. Tony also came off a little rude. Yeah, he yelled in the original, but you really hear the "whack" of the menu when he hits Joe.

Speaking of, weird edit with the menu. After being hit with it, Joe takes it with him when he goes inside. We then see Tony holding it inside. They both come out with the spaghetti, no menu in sight, but after switching to Lady and Tramp the menu is suddenly back! And again, though "nicer", Tony scoots Joe with the menu. That is sloppy.

The little exchange between Tramp and Lady is new since they didn't talk before. Well, they could've, but the scene wasn't focused on them at the moment in the original. Seemed pointless. Now more than ever, I really think Justin is miscast as Tramp. He sounds wrong. In a way, he sounded more like Batman! Lady's, I don't know... doesn't have the same "warmth".

They still refer to Tramp as "Butch", so there's that. As for Lady, this time around they say "lady friend" instead of girlfriend. I kinda like that, but does seem to be taking a cue from Darling...

The last joke with the couple was funny, yet feels too modern again.

So yeah, I'm conflicted. It just didn't feel as magical as the original. It's missing the charm.

[ShyViolet]

I’ll add more comments later, but just wanted to post my first impression:

Tony and Joe look completely insane, because they’re serving dinner on a tiny table with a tiny tablecloth with tiny candles to what LOOK LIKE A COMPLETELY REALISTIC PAIR OF DOGS. You can suspend disbelief while watching the Walt version not only because the emotions were handled so much better but because cute/funny anthropomorphized animals were basically the lifeblood of Disney Animation in the 50s as well as the decades following.

I realize that the cartoon Tony was of course kidding about being able to understand Tramp, but it was just so adorable that he cared so much for Tramp that he almost felt like he could understand him.


In the Walt film it was sweet. Here it’s just creepy.

[Ben]

The menu thing is unfortunate, but given how movies are made, especially CG enhanced ones, it’s easy to see how this was missed. Not that it should have been, but it’s pretty minor.

I’m not minding this at all. I think on a big screen with the proper sound, it’ll come across as intended, the warmth of the music will elevate the emotion, and I didn’t mind the voices either. With the recent trailer, I’ve actually done a 180 on this and think it will be cosy and cute.

Vi's obviously never had a doggie? I understand my pooch perfectly, and he even wore a bow tie for my wife's birthday yesterday. When we let him have the crumbs after a bit of cake, he waits patiently until we put it on his little table (really a stool) and then eats when he’s told he can. I can totally see our Branston in Butch in that clip, right down to how they have animated the tail reactions. It’s pretty neat, actually.

The only thing to slightly annoy is the synth-sounding music. This is a pet peeve (no pun intended) of mine. It could be that my pad speakers are not giving me the full sound, but that doesn’t sound like a real orchestra, and that kind of thing can kill a movie dead for me. I’ve never been able to truly enjoy The Princess Bride, for instance, because of the completely cheap synth score, which should have been a rousing swashbuckling pastiche. Producers think they can scrimp on the music, but it really does make a difference, especially with the strings. Again, it might just be my speakers, but It’ll be a shame if this doesn’t have a full, lush-sounding score, and another indication that D+ movies might not be theatrical releases on the small screen, but simply dressed up TV movies.

[Daniel]

Think you hit the nail on the head with the music. I kinda feel the same way. Reminds of Pokémon and the original Japanese score, and how its differs from the dub. Such beautiful organ pieces replaced with synth-sounding music. It's just there.

Back to Lady, the music sounds like it loops itself after a few seconds. Doesn't strike me as memorable. It's giving me a little Lilo & Stitch vibe, but something else that I can't quite put my finger on...

[Daniel]

Interview that starts out with a clip:



Much the same with a few differences... "killer"? Funny, but really? Tramp doesn't refer to Lady as "pigeon", that's kind of a bummer. Lady saying "street dog" felt a little mean-spirited. Maybe if it was said after finding out about his old flames, even still. I don't recall her ever saying that in the original. She said it in the sequel, but it wasn't a put-down.

"When a baby moves in, the dog moves out." wasn't altered, but they did axe what came before - "A human heart has only so much room for love and affection." The music bothered during that part. In the original, there's none. I don't see how adding generic music helps. Makes the scene more goofy and takes away the impact.

[ShyViolet]

Vi's obviously never had a doggie? I understand my pooch perfectly, and he even wore a bow tie for my wife's birthday yesterday. When we let him have the crumbs after a bit of cake, he waits patiently until we put it on his little table (really a stool) and then eats when he’s told he can. I can totally see our Branston in Butch in that clip, right down to how they have animated the tail reactions. It’s pretty neat, actually.

Oh no I didn’t mean that people can’t ever understand their dogs, I just meant like “read their minds” or know their exact thoughts. (Meaning that building a little table for them with candles/tablecloth looks kinda weird in that both Lady and Tramp were designed to look “real” rather than Walt’s cute heroine/hero. But then this IS supposed to be a fantasy, of course, so... )

I still don’t like Lady or Tramp’s voice, but Tony and Joe do seem very charming and were well cast, even if they don’t exactly fit into the mold of their animated counterparts.

Also that is just so cute to give him (Branston) a bow tie! And I love his name! . (Kinda reminds me of Punky Brewster’s dog, “Brandon.”)

On clip...yeah, that was really mean of Lady to call Tramp “street dog.” WHAT?? Eww, she’s not right for you, Tramp. Go back to Peg!


EDIT: Oops sorry Ben didn’t see the part about your dog having his own table....that’s actually really adorable, not weird at all. Actually...just forget everything I said about this silly non-issue to begin with.

[Daniel]

Branston is a cute name. I'm guessing named after the pickle?

[Ben]

Here’s the story...

As a kid I loved the Branston brand of pickle (and still do!). When I saw One Hundred And One Dalmatians, I always felt it was sad that the old English sheepdog, The Colonel, didn’t have an actual name. Branston, to me, felt like like a good, sturdy, solid old English name that a dog like that might have had, so I always imagined that the Colonel's name was really Branston, but just that no-one ever called him that.

Flash-forward many years and, my wife knowing that story, said that when we decided to get a pup, "oh, well, we have to call him Branston!", which was not only a nice nod back but also, I wager, a sneaky way for my wife to make me feel comfortable with him (before this, I’d not been the biggest doggie fan).

It turns out, being the playful pup he is (we jokingly call him Peter Pup, for the dog that never grew up!) that the name suits him perfectly: he is indeed a strong, solid Branston...and a cheeky little pickle! I love him to bits!

[Daniel]

Aww, how cute. Thanks for sharing!