“The Lady and the Tramp”, or as we call it: Susi and Strolch. The first Disney live-action movie to launch the Disney + streaming service can’t hide mediocre CGI and a mixed screenplay.
By Susanne Gottlieb
Disney has already gone through the greatest childhood classics with its live action remakes. The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, they have all been in (photo) realistic garb in domestic cinemas for the past three years flickered again over the canvas. But the studio doesn’t have to worry about that. With its pool of old animation classics, it simply digs deeper into the box. And truly, who is not with Susi and Strolch grew up. That film from 1955 that burned itself into our children’s memories with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs and the dreamy chirp from “Bella Notte”?
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Susi and Strolch: real dog actors
To start from Disney +, the in-house answer to streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon, Disney now offers a new interpretation of the dog romance exclusively online. But those who have seen films like The Lion King from 2019 and The Junglebook from 2016 know that it is not entirely without special effects and animation. “This time the dogs are real” may have been the slogan of the 1996 version of 101 Dalmatians. Director Lady Bean unites in Lady and the Tramp two real dog actors, Cocker Spaniel Rose and Mongrel Monte, with CGI extensions.
The reason is simple: On the one hand, the dogs should perform a more complicated trick than a dog trainer could teach them. On the other hand, the mouths should move when talking. Because Lady and the Tramp has a great voice cast in the English original. Tessa Thompsonthat you know from Thor: Ragnarok or Men in Black: International. Justin Therouxwhose face looks familiar from numerous Hollywood comedies. And of course as that of Jennifer Aniston’s ex-husband. singer Janelle Monáe. The Hangover Star Ken Jeong. Actually, that should be a guarantee for a thoroughly entertaining film. And the actors are really good too. But Lady and the Tramp is ailing qualitatively exactly what his sales argument should have been. The small television format.
Nostalgia and boredom
The plot is largely the same. Puppy Lady (Thompson) lives a cozy life in a southern villa with her owners Jim and Darling Dear in 1909. Everyday life gets caught with attention from the owners or with their dog friends Trusty (Sam Elliot) and Jock (Ashley Jensen). All this changes when she gets to know the stray tramp (Theroux), who can also explain to her why the Dears have been acting so strange lately. Darling will soon be a mother and that means, according to Tramp, “The baby moves in, the dog moves out“.
Lady does not want to believe him at first. But when she is really only allowed to play the second violin after the birth of Lulu and then temporarily moves in the nasty Tanta Sarah with her cats, it is over. She runs away and meets Tramp again. As expected, this leads to a carefully staged “Bella Notte” copy to quickly get the necessary nostalgia, but also to an unspectacular finale. A photo-realistic rat threat just doesn’t work as well as in the animation.
Qualitative shortcomings in terms of CGI
The CGI itself does not leave a very good impression either. The animal protagonists alternate between cute in real and computer alienated and disturb the viewer. Likewise, the rather simple plot for a live-action film is just too little and is too long with a running time of 104 minutes. The film wants to tell something about the meaning of cohesion and family sense. He just delivers this message half an hour before the end credits. Everything after that is just a forced conflict that follows the original film.
Lady and the Tramp is fun at certain moments. Most of the time, however, it is an uninspired matter, which spiritually continues the spirit of the old, less qualitative “Direct to Home” films.
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