Credit: Amazon.com
Directors:
Darrell Rooney
Jeannine Roussel
Starring:
Scott Wolf ………. Scamp (voice)
Alyssa Milano ………. Angel (voice)
Chazz Palminteri ………. Buster (voice)
Jeff Bennett ………. Tramp/Jock the Scottish Terrier/Trusty/Dogcatcher (voices)
Jodi Benson ………. Lady (voice)
Bill Fagerbakke ………. Mooch (Junkyard Dog) (voice)
Mickey Rooney ………. Sparky (Junkyard Dog) (voice)
Bronso Pinchot ………. Francois (Junkyard Dog) (voice)
Cathy Moriarty ………. Ruby (Junkyard Dog) (voice)
Debi Derryberry ………. Annette (voice)
Kath Soucie ………. Collette/Danielle (voices)
Barbara Goodson ………. Darling (voice)
Nick Jameson ………. Jim Dear (voice)
The Movie
Lady and the Tramp is a Disney classic movie! It’s close to a perfect animated movie as you are going to get. It was made in 1955, but still holds up well today. So why then..make a sequel to a classic movie 46 years later?
There doesn’t seem to be a good reason to make a sequel to Lady and the Tramp, besides the fact that this is Disney and they have produced lots of direct-to-video sequels to quality movies that they have made in the past. But here is the plot of the film anyways. Lady and Tramp now live happily together with their owners, The Darlings. They have four puppies of their own now. They have 3 girls and 1 boy. The girls act like Lady and the boy acts like Tramp, at least the way Tramp used to be. The boy puppy named Scamp is what this film is all about. He likes to get in trouble. Scamp doesn’t like being a “house-dog”, since there are too many rules inside the home. He wants to run free outside. So he runs away from home one day and runs in the streets. He meets a group of dogs known as the “Junkyard Dogs”. Buster and Angel are the main part of this group. Buster, is the leader and soon dislikes Scamp for being a “house-dog”. Angel would love to trade places with Scamp and have a home. Scamp and Angel also begin to like each other along the way. Will Scamp continue to roam free with his new friends or will he run back to his home and his family?
You should probably know the answer to that, but if you don’t..I won’t ruin it for you. There is a good message in this movie. Scamp is like a human teenager. Teenagers usually fight with their parents as they grow up. Parents give them too many rules to follow. The rules are there for the kid’s own good, but the kids don’t see it that way. They want to be “free” of their parents and do what they want to do. The same goes for Scamp. He wants to run away and have a life “without a lease”. A good message to kids growing up, but the target audience of this film may not get that message since they could be a little young to understand. Still..the relationship between Tramp and Scamp as father and son is a good part of this movie.
The animation is just as you would expect. Probably a little better than the original with all the new technology, but there are still some of the same sets and characters from the original that look just the same. In addition to that, the voice work in this movie is excellent for the most part. The new characters in this movie are great. Scott Wolf as Scamp and Alyssa Milano as Angel are fantastic in their roles. The same can be said for the rest of the “Junkyard Dogs”. Too bad they couldn’t have gotten more “screen time”, though. As far as the the original characters, well they don’t talk a whole lot. And as for the voices of the girl puppies. They are just awful! Two of those dogs are voiced by Kath Soucie, the same person that did the voices of Phil and Lil on the ‘Rugrats’. In fact, it’s the same voices. Not good for girl puppies, since they are too high-pitched. But luckily they are only on the screen for five minutes. The top of the movie has excellent voice work by good actors. The quality diminishes as you move down the cast list, though.
Sequels are usually not as good as the original movies. But sequels to classic films and near-perfect movies? That’s not usually good at all. Simply because they will be compared to the original films. The sequel will be judged against the original film and they usually don’t even come close!
That is what happens here. It’s been 46 years, but the events of Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure take place only 6 months after the original movie. All of your favorite characters from the first movie are in place. We get new characters as well, which is needed in a sequel. You still have characters in the movie singing songs in true Disney style. But neither the story nor the songs nor the overall feel of this movie compare to the original movie. It’s not easy stepping out from the shadow of a classic Disney movie. It’s almost impossible and this movie remains in the darkness as you might expect.
Score: 4/10
The Video:
The video is given in anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen animated color that is enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The colors are bright and the animation is on par with the original.
The Audio:
The audio included is in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound or English DTS 5.1 Digital Surround sound. There are French and Spanish language tracks available as well. English subtitles are there too if you need them. No problems here either, even if some of the songs are not that great.
The Extras:
All-New Junkyard Games–
You get three interactive games here. They all take place in the “junkyard” and they are “Ball Bounce”, “Boot Throw”, and “Bone Toss”. The object is to finish all three tasks and catch the dogcatcher in your trap. It’s fun for kids really. But the games are interesting enough for adults to try as well, since they are not that easy. A lot of trial-and-error involved.
All-New Disney Song Selection–
This is your “karaoke” part of the DVD. Here you can go straight to the scenes in the movie where the characters sing. You can sing along as lyrics pop up onto the screen for you. Kids may like this, but the songs in this movie don’t equal the quality of songs in the original.
Making of Lady and the Tramp II–
Just what it says. A interesting look at how the movie was made and why and all of that. If you want to know more about the movie, you need to go here.
Tramp’s Hide-And-Seek Game–
Another game for kids, but this will keep you busy for awhile. A LOT of trial-and-error, which can be frustrating. But if you stick with it, you can finish this off. It may take awhile, though.
Audio Commentary–
This is with the director, Darrell Rooney, co-director/producer, Jeannine Roussel, and director of animation, Steve Trenbirth. They talk about the movie as it plays. You know what it is. Interesting enough.
Classic Disney Shorts–
These are bonus features. There are 3 included here and they all involve Pluto. He’s a dog..you see..and this movie is about dogs. See how that goes together? Anyways the feature shorts are called “Pluto, Junior (1942)”, “Pluto’s Kid Brother (1946)”, and “Bone Trouble (1940)”. Nothing special, but good for a few more laughs. If you like Pluto, you’ll love these. Probably already seen them, though.
Score: 7/10
| InsidePulse’s Ratings for Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure | |
