Lady and the Tramp

 Lady and the Tramp is one of the most successful Disney films, both commercially and artistically. It made almost as much money as Snow White, so therefore it's a commercial success, but whereas that film today feels really dated and is only important as a historical artifact, Lady and the Tramp continues to succeed as a piece of art. The great thing about it is that it's completely from the perspective of a rather spoiled dog. Lady is an unreliable narrator. We see the story and the events of the story, but there's no guarantee that that is actually what happened. She doesn't even know her owners' real names, she just refers to them as Jim dear and Darling. We barely see the faces of any of the human characters. Another thing that struck me is that the story obviously takes place about 30 to 40 years before the film was released in the 1950s. We see old-fashioned cars, telephones and a rather dated domestic life both for the richer residents of the city and the poor residents of the city. But the era in which the film occurs is just never mentioned, and I think that's a departure from more modern films where even if it's obviously the city of London or Paris we need a subtitle telling us where and when we are. Even the worst part about this film kind of makes sense in terms of storytelling. The film is full of racist stereotypes not only about Asians, although that is the most glaring example but about the Scots, Southerners, Italians and many more. But a dog like lady would be incredibly racist, and she would think in those terms. I think a more modern version of the story would maybe do a better job of depicting her as more of a racist against cats rather than a human racist, but it does make sense for her character. I also liked the fact that it is clear that the two main characters have an attraction towards each other, and it's a couple that makes sense, which is a really strange thing to say about a pair of dogs, put the romance makes sense. One odd thing is that Tramp, is a homeless dog, can read signs written in English. A lot of older Disney movies do not bear rewatching, this one definitely holds up.

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