A delight for the juveniles and lots of fun for adults, Lady and the Tramp is the first animated feature in CinemaScope and the wider canvas and extra detail work reportedly meant an additional 30% in negative cost. It was a sound investment.
This time out the producer turned to members of the canine world and each of these hounds of Disneyville reflects astute drawing-board knowhow and richly-humorous invention. The songs by Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke figure importantly, too.
Characters of the title are a cutie-pie faced and ultra-ladylike spaniel and the raffish mutt from the other side of the tracks. In ‘featured’ roles are Trusty, the bloodhound who’s lost his sense of smell, and Jock, a Scottie with a sense of thrift. Both have a crush on Lady but her on-and-off romance with Tramp finally leads to a mating of the minds, etc, and a litter basket.
