“Lady and the Tramp” (2019) Movie Review

    With “The Mandalorian” seemingly taking the world by storm, it is easy to forget that the streaming service Disney+ also launched with two original movies, a live action remake of the Disney classic “Lady and the Tramp” and the Christmas themed “Noelle”.  Being a huge dog person, I had to check out “Lady and the Tramp” for myself.

    The film opens with a dog named Lady as she quickly warms her way into her owner’s hearts (and bed).  Lady is part of the family and enjoys being an indoor dog with all the comforts that come with it.  By contrast, we are introduced to a canine simply known as the Tramp who seemingly enjoys the freedom he has being a street dog.  Lady and the Tramp soon cross paths when Lady helps the Tramp escape a dog catcher who has it out for him.  Soon after their encounter together, Lady finds her place in the home threatened when a new baby is born and takes all of her owner’s attention.  When Lady ends up getting loose one day, the Tramp ends up helping her find her way back home as she worries if she even has a home to return to.

    The film is more or less a more politically correct live action update of the classic cartoon.  The new film removes the controversial ‘Siamese Cat’ song with an updated new song.  While I certainly understand and even support some of the changes in the film, it still leaves the film feeling as if they played everything a little too safe.  I am not saying Disney films need or should be edgy, but a little cultural subtext like Disney cartoons used to have wouldn’t be the worst thing either.  Maybe that is just the cynical adult of me talking though.

    The dog actors used in the film did an incredible job (with some help from the cgi department).  I loved the fact that Disney actually used real life shelter dogs for this film and the studio was smart enough to spin that into headlines.  Good publicity can go a long way.

    The remake has currently been hit with mixed reviews stating it lacked the heart of the original cartoon classic, much like the criticism of the latest “The Lion King” remake had.  While I fully admit that I think the cartoon is overall superior to this live action remake, I still found this film to be quite entertaining and I think it had the same amount of “heart” as the original did.

    This remake was enjoyable overall and a fine attention to Disney+.  While I do wish the new streaming service had more original content out of the gate, I do prefer quality to quantity.  “Lady and the Tramp” won’t change your life or make you think but it will provide you (and especially your young ones if you have them) a cute movie to enjoy for a few hours.

Grade: B-

“The Lion King” (2019) Movie Review

    One of my favorite Disney movies growing up was “The Lion King”.  It had great music and was just an entertaining animated feature.  The film also came out when I was around nine years old so it was a newer Disney film compared to movies like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” or “Cinderella”.  When I heard they were doing a live action remake, I was intrigued, especially since it was going to be directed by Jon Favreau.

    For the few people who haven’t seen the original Disney film, “The Lion King” tells the story of Simba, the young son of King Mufasa, as he learns about the circle of life from his father.  Unfortunately, Mufasa’s brother Scar wants to rule and he will do anything to be the new king, even if it means killing his brother and nephew.  Simba manages to escape Scar’s wrath and is raised by Pumbaa and Timon.  After growing up, Simba’s old friend (and new love interest) Nala runs into him and persuades Simba to return and reclaim his rightful place as king.

    For the most part, this is a pretty faithful remake and plays out pretty much beat for beat.  I really enjoyed the film and thought it was pretty well done.  Most critics have trashed the movie and the general consensus among them seems to be the film ‘lacked heart’.  I, for one, felt the movie had plenty of heart and while the movie looks more realistic, I don’t feel like that takes anything away from the film as a whole.  I am not the biggest Disney fan ever but I really enjoyed this film.

    Now, one thing I do want to discuss really quickly is the fact that this is being labeled a live action remake.  The phrase ‘live action’ is being used very liberally here since the film is mostly computed animated.  Yes, it is meant to feel real and the characters are modeled after real animals, but that doesn’t change the fact that the label of ‘live action’ is a bit false.

    While the film is largely computer animated, it does feel awfully real most of the time.  There are a lot of shots that feel straight out of a National Geographic or Disneynature documentary.  It’s these moments with small details that really help sell the movie and set it apart from the original animated version.

    The voice cast all did a great job.  Casting Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, as Simba was an inspired choice.  I was a bit surprised how small Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s part was but she did well with what she was given.  I loved that James Earl Jones returned as the voice of Mufasa.  James Earl Jones has such an iconic voice that it would have been nearly impossible to replace him.  Lastly, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner knocked it out of the park as Pumbaa and Timon.  Timon and Pumbaa were easily my favorite characters in the movie.

    Ultimately, “The Lion King” doesn’t have much new to offer besides it’s new realistic look and feel but would anyone really want them to change the classic film too much anyway?  Just sit back, repeat to yourself ‘hakuna matata’, and just enjoy the film.

Grade: B+