Scenes from Lady and the Tramp

By Josie Millikan

Lady and the Tramp has always been one of my top Disney movies. I remember watching it many times at my grandparents' house as a young girl, sitting on the floor in front of their giant box TV. My grandma loved this movie as well, and she would watch with me as she knitted in her corner recliner, her many dogs snoring beside me. Lady and the Tramp would fill my head with dreamy sequences that would stick with me until the next time I watched it, and this remains the same today.

One aspect of this film that makes it great is the clear sound and music. The sound design in this film creates powerful emotions for each scene as you are guided through the story. Think about the scene where Tramp fights the rat in the baby's room, when Trusty is hurt by the coach and Jock howls into the still night air, or during "Bella Notte" when the camera pans upwards to the laundry lines in the moonlight as the music swells. These moments are made emotional largely because of the sound which swells and fills the air, taking you out of your world and straight into theirs. However, the sound design would not be able to complete the feeling of any scene without thoughtful background art. We'll focus on a few moments of background art, and if you know this movie, I'm sure the sounds and music will come to you as you look at these pieces.

The movie opens and ends on picturesque Christmas scenes, like an old postcard. You see an expansive view of their town and close in slowly on Darling and Jim Dear's house. A horse-drawn sleigh jingles by, and every house has warmly-lit windows reflecting in the snow. The background indicates a vastness behind the town, but all of the focus is on the smallness of the buildings and their close proximity to one another, creating a warmth even in the cool-colored palette.

Inside Darling and Jim Dear's house, we have a sense of grandeur in any room that we're in. This is heavily due to the fact that we're seeing their home from Lady's low perspective, which is a very clever way to use scale to create drama in the backgrounds. The result is a feeling of wonder in every scene that pulls the viewer to discover what's behind every corner.

The neighborhood that Lady lives in is picturesque and every detail is done with care. It's noticeable in the differences between the design styles of Lady's house and Trusty's porch - each fit perfectly to the characters' personalities.

My favorite background piece of all is the panoramic view of the town from the hill where Lady and the Tramp stargaze and wake up in the morning. It's just absolutely lovely night and day. Wouldn't it be magical to find a view like this in real life? 

As Trusty's grandpappy, Ol' Reliable, used to say, treat yourself to some time with this classic and enjoy the dreamy feelings that come with it!