Lady and the Tramp (2019)

I am known for not being a fan of the Disney live action remakes of their animated classics. They present a bit of a double bind. They either stick too close to the source material and never quite capture the magic of the thing they are copying, or they vary too much and don't tell as interesting a story. Whatever the path they pale in comparison with their inspiration.

Lady and the Tramp isn't different. It is not as magical as the 1955 classic but in many ways it just didn't annoy me as much as the other recent remakes. As I watched it I found myself enjoying it far more than I expected and far more than the cinematic remakes Disney has been pushing out lately.

Sure it follows the formula they continue to stick to, generally following the same story but updating many features such as removing the racism, making the films more ethnically diverse, and giving more agency to the female characters. All of that is appreciated. There is no Siamese Cat song here (probably for the best) as it is replaced by a new song (not nearly as memorable) which accomplishes the same plot point without the racism. Lady has far more personality than she does in the original. Tessa Thompson's attitude is delightful and the chemistry she has with Justin Theroux is compelling. All the real life dogs (actual strays I understand) are adorable. The film sticks pretty damn close to the original story although it does flesh it out a bit more. Whether or not that fleshing out is needed is up for debate.

But you find yourself in that spaghetti in the alley moment and the idea of the excitement of meeting someone special for the first time is brought into clear and beautiful focus.

Perhaps the film just wasn't quite as ambitious or pretentious as some of it's peers. Perhaps it is the stars' energy which bring life to this telling. Perhaps it was Yvette Nicole Brown's scene stealing cameo that did it for me. I don't know what made it work for me more than previous remakes, or at least not not work. But overall I think it was just the sheer charm of the animals and the enduring appeal of the story which made me not hate Lady and the Tramp in "live action."

Lady and the Tramp
Starring: Tessa Thompson, Justin Theroux, Yvette Nicole Brown, Janelle Monae, Thomas Mann, Kiersey Clemons, F. Murray Abraham, Adrian Martinez, Sam Elliot, Ashley Jensen, Benedict Wong, Clancy Brown, Ken Jeong
Director: Charlie Bean
Writers: Andrew Bujalski, Kari Granlund