But it's a lot more than that. For 56 years now, "Lady and the Tramp" has won a devoted following based on a love story that could have worked out just as well with live-action and a romance, but here we have it with two dogs - a pampered cocker spaniel and a street-wise mutt. "Lady and the Tramp" contains the kind of innocence and love story that is unfamiliar with our times today, and it is good to see a masterwork from a bygone era.

I was only a kid when I first saw "Lady and the Tramp" but I still remember that famous kiss scene, you know the one where the two leads are having a beautifully romantic spaghetti dinner and they take hold of a single string of pasta and consume it, unknowingly bringing their faces together in an unwitting kiss. It's remained with me up until now.

I'm a sucker for love stories and "Lady and the Tramp" works, despite its animal characters and Walt Disney family-friendly touch. Lady is the cocker spaniel, who is a gift to a woman from her husband. Lady adores her surroundings and receives the requited love of her owners and a nice home. Six months later, that love hasn't diminished and she is a newly licensed pet. But it's misplaced when she learns that her owners are expecting a child, and suddenly Lady has been unwittingly pushed aside to make room for a new bundle of joy.

From the wrong side of the tracks, it's the street-wise Tramp, a known lady-killer who wins Lady's heart after saving her from other common street dogs. They really hit it off, climaxing with the aforementioned romantic dinner and a wonderful animated shot of the moon from a lover's point. Along for the ride are Trusty, a hound dog with a busted sniffer; Jock, a Scottish terrier; and Si and Am, the two sneaky Siamese cats belonging to the husband's snooty aunt.

Directed by Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson and featuring the voices of Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy and Larry Roberts, the newly restored DVD version with the Platinum Series is the one to get and cherish. I got mine at a Best Buy store today to take advantage of this limited release, and to win a free Tramp plush toy.

I would guess that time has been good to "Lady and the Tramp," if a love story of this pedigree is truly worth the praise due to it. I would recommend this Disney classic to any possible female romantic interest as part of our date... if I could land one.

10/10

Among the long list of classic Disney full-length cartoons, I am pretty sure a lot of folks have forgotten "Lady and the Tramp". It just never achieved the same level of love and acceptance of films like "Cinderella", "Snow White" or "Bambi". This does NOT mean, however, that it's a bad film. In fact, I would rate this as one of the best Disney films of the 1950s--every bit as good as "Peter Pan" and "Cinderella". So why is this? Well, I think the biggest reason is marketability. If you are the Disney Corporation, it's easy to make and market toys and stuffed animals for many of their films but this really was never done much with "Lady and the Tramp". Most folks are most likely to want to spend their money on Mickey watches, Minnie stuffed animals or dressing their girls up as Disney princesses. Most won't buy their kid a stuffed cocker spaniel or a watch with some nasty Siamese cats on it!

The film has a lot going for it. The animation is just lovely, the songs quite good and the story bursts with charm. In fact, I would say that I like it more than many of the classic Disney films. What's not to like about this film?!

This is a beautiful film, and one of Disney's finest. It isn't as heart-rending as Bambi, or as entertaining as the Jungle Book, but Lady and the Tramp is solid in both those departments. The animation is lovely, and so are the songs. The Bella Notte scene, is not only the highlight of the film, but it was one of the most romantic scenes in animation history. The only scene that surpasses this, is the Ballroom sequence in Beauty and the Beast, which is one of the finest pieces of artistry I have ever seen on film. The voice talents are a delight too, most notably Peggy Lee, who was the voice of Peggy, Darling, and those diabolical(in a good way) Siemese cats. Barbara Luddy was wonderful also as Lady, a highly convincing animal protagonist. Also worth noting are vocals by Bill Thompson and Verna Felton. And I mustn't forget the really sinister rat, who never speaks, but you really feel angry when it wants to kill the baby, so I felt a great deal of pleasure when Tramp kills it. The glowing eyes did it for me. All in all, a stunning film that is a must-see! 10/10 Bethany Cox