Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have loved "Lady and the Tramp" all my life, and approached this DVD with anticipation and a little bit of fear, knowing I was likely to be disappointed. So far, of all the Disney sequels, only Peter Pan II has been really satisfactory because even Disney is bound to the rules and restrictions of the Children's Hospital in London, which owns the copywrite. Bambi II wasn't too bad, either. This film, however, doesn't hit the mark.
There were, to be fair, a couple of good things. The Edwardian-era look of roughly 1900 to 1910 was well done and the original house from the first movie was beauitifully preserved. There was some amusement in the parody of the famous spagetti dinner scene because the two puppies ate spagetti as sloppily eager as normal dogs would, not the gentile way Scamp's parents once did. It was also interesting that this time dogs were the villans (notably Buster and the pit bull), and this time the pound was not filled with heartbreaking hard-luck cases (abandoned strays, unwanted puppies, or purebred dogs who for whatever reason were no longer welcome in their homes), but with nasty, unpleasant street dogs. In fact, the whole analogy to teenage rebellion and the lure of street gangs was interestingly described, and in terms that kids could understand. On this level, it succeeds remarkably well.
Most of the younger children will probably like the film because the flaws won't be so obvious. And while I hate to be a party pooper, let's look at 'em.
The first thing that annoyed me were the...songs. Disney classics have always been known for their songs, and the original "Lady and the Tramp" had some wonderful ones. But these song simply do not work. They are not in the style or mood of the originals at all, and I was reminded more of "The Aristocats" which is admittedly NOT one of my favorite Disney films. The picnic scene was far too reminescent of the awful old cliches in Disney films of the 70's which invariably had dogs wreak havoc at large human gatherings. Aunt Sarah (speaking of the picnic scene) clearly didn't care much for a troublesome puppy like Scamp, even if she was accepting of the other dogs, but it nevertheless bothered me that a woman as fond of her own pets as she was, would actually take her two beautiful siamese cats to an outdoor picnic, in a park full of people and dogs. This is so unbelievably irresponsible for an cat owner that I shudder in horror.
And what they did to the established dogs that we know and love so well! Tramp, himself once an abandoned dog (go back and listen to the dialog in the original film), is grateful for a loving home as most formerly-abandoned dogs often are, but he didn't sound or feel like Tramp very much. The old spark simply wasn't there. Scamp's three sisters, were clearly drawn in a more modern style than that of the 1950s, and were not sweet puppies, but annoying ones whose greatest joy in life seems to be getting a bath . Jock and Trusty are mere shadows of their former selves. Jock has nothing new to add, and Trusty is just terrible. He is shown here as just an old dog with a feeble howl, nothing like the blood-chilling bay of a bloodhound on a scent that he had only several months earlier (I suppose the puppies are about eight months old if you do the math from the original film).
I also have to wonder about "Jim Dear" and "Darling"! They now have an absolute pack of dogs - seven in all, if you count Angel - but not one word about the obvious need to spay and neuter a few dogs before they find themselves up to their eyebrows in unplanned puppies! Even in "The Aristocats", one got the distinct feeling that O'Malley had been neutered at the end. As a dog and cat owner, this sort of thing really bothers me - particularly since the original film had a heartbreaking scene of a litter of unwanted puppies locked up in the pound: as good an advertisement for spaying your dog as I can think of. And how come Jim and Darling know the street names of Tramp and Angel? Do they speak Dog? And what of the curious implication at the end that they are also possibly the owners of Jock and Trusty? We already know otherwise from the original film.
Oh yeah...and the Dogcatcher! This "nice little New England town" has had serious problems with roaming packs of stray dogs, something established in the first film, and leash laws are strictly enforced. In the original film, the principle dog catcher was a shadowy, sinister figure in the eyes of the dogs, who is only revealed as a decent guy when he takes Lady from her cell and comforts her as he takes her away to be reclaimed by Aunt Sarah. In this film, however, the Dogcatcher looks and talks like Don Knotts, and is a comical figure who seems possessed in catching any and all dogs, and takes pleasure in the pursuit. He isn't sinister, and we don't even get to see a more sympathetic side of him. He's just silly and slightly annoying.
I can't exactly say this film is bad, because it does have its good moments, but I could have lived easily without it - just as I could have lived without "Aladdin II". On the good side, it shows the importance of family and home and the foolish dangers of running away and getting involved in gangs. But the negatives tend to get in the way.
I hate to say this, but the real highlight of the DVD are the three Pluto cartoons at the end. They are wonderfully doggy, funny, and actually look as if they might be set in the same town as Lady and the Tramp. Get the DVD for those, if nothing else.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Lady and The Tramp II - Scamp's Adventure (2001)
From the impeccable pedigree of Disney's beloved classic Lady And The Tramp comes an all-new story "Lady And The Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" told with the same stunning animation, charming musical style and purebred fun.Along with their well-behaved girl puppies, Lady and Tramp are busy raising mischievous Scamp who's always in the doghouse.Longing for freedom, Scamp ventures far from home and meets a lovely, reluctant stray named Angel. She introduces him to the Junkyard Dogs, led by streetwise Buster.When Buster challenges Scamp to the ultimate test of a collar-free life, Scamp finds himself torn between a world of adventure and love for the family he's left behind.All-new music and star-studded voice talent headed by Scott Wolf and Alyssa Milano make this irresistible, heartwarming tale a whole new breed of Disney magic.
Click here for more information about Lady and The Tramp II - Scamp's Adventure (2001)
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