Lady and the Tramp (2019 film)

Lady and the Tramp is a 2019 American romance film directed by Charlie Bean and written by Andrew Bujalski and Kari Granlund, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is a live-action adaptation of Walt Disney’s 1955 animated film of the same name, which was based on the Cosmopolitan magazine story of "Happy Dan, The Cynical Dog" by Ward Greene. The film stars Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux as the voices of the titular characters. It is dedicated to Chris Reccardi, co-creator of the Modifyers, and a storyboard artist who died in May 2019.

The film was released on November 12, 2019 on Disney+, making it the first Disney remake to not receive a theatrical release.

Plot
Lady and the Tramp is set to tell the story of "an upper-middle-class American cocker spaniel named Lady (voiced by Tessa Thompson) who meets a streetsmart, downtown stray Schnauzer called the Tramp (voiced by Justin Theroux), and the two embark on many romantic adventures including that iconic spaghetti smooch scene."

Cast

 * Thomas Mann as Jim Dear
 * Kiersey Clemons as Darling Dear
 * Yvette Nicole Brown as Aunt Sarah
 * Adrian Martinez as Elliot, a dog-catcher
 * F. Murray Abraham as Tony
 * Arturo Castro as Joe
 * Ken Jeong as Doctor
 * Curtis Lyons as Foreman
 * Kate Kneeland as Jock’s Owner
 * Darryl Handy as Trusty’s Owner

Voices

 * Tessa Thompson as Lady, an American Cocker Spaniel
 * Justin Theroux as Tramp, a Schnauzer-mutt
 * Sam Elliott as Trusty, a Bloodhound
 * Ashley Jensen as Jock, a Scottish Terrier
 * Janelle Monáe as Peg, a Pekingese
 * Benedict Wong as Bull, a Bulldog
 * Clancy Brown as Isaac
 * Nate Wonder as Devon
 * Roman GianArthur as Rex
 * James Bentley as Chance
 * Jentel Hawkins as Dame
 * Ara Storm O’Keefe as Dodge
 * Aemon Wolf O’Keefe as Ollie

Animal cast

 * Rose as Lady
 * Monte as Tramp

New versions of the Siamese Cats are also set to appear in the film, though the characters won't be depicted as Chinese due to their perceived racial stereotyping.

Development
On February 8, 2018, it was announced that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action adaptation of the 1955 animated film Lady and the Tramp. The film was expected to premiere on the then-unnamed upcoming streaming service that was set to launch in the fall of 2019. On March 19, 2018, it was announced that film was set to be directed by Charlie Bean from a screenplay by Andrew Bujalski with Brigham Taylor serving as a producer.

Casting
In July 2018, it was announced that Ashley Jensen, Justin Theroux, and Sam Elliott had been cast in the voice roles of Jackie, Tramp, and Trusty, respectively. Additionally, it was reported that Kiersey Clemons was in talks for the live-action role of Darling, Lady's human owner. In August 2018, it was reported that Tessa Thompson and Benedict Wong had been cast in the voice roles of Lady and Bull, respectively, and that Thomas Mann had been cast in the live-action role of Jim Dear. In September 2018, it was announced that Yvette Nicole Brown and Adrian Martinez had been cast in the live-action roles of Aunt Sarah and the dog-catcher Elliot, respectively. In October 2018, it was announced Arturo Castro had been cast in the live-action role of Marco and that Janelle Monáe had been cast in the voice role of Peg.

The production utilized real dogs to portray the film's titular characters with a dog named Rose portraying Lady in the film. About three months prior to the start of filming, the animals started their training for the film. Tramp is physically portrayed by Monte, a rescue dog, while Jackie was renamed Jock shortly before filming began.

Filming
Voice work for the film begin in July 2018 with principal photography of the film's live-action externally filmed portions last from September 10, 2018 to November 7, 2018 in Savannah, Georgia. Locations were set to include Johnson Square and Wright Square. Filming on an indoor soundstage took place through December 2018.

Music
The film was going to feature a new version of "The Siamese Cat Song", performed by Janelle Monáe. The song was to be re-written by Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Roman GianArthur, and Monáe due to both its modern-day perceived racist connotations and to fit the characters' depictions in the film. The song was ultimately reworked as a blues song titled "What a Shame". Monáe will also perform two new songs for the film. On August 23, 2019, Joseph Trapanese was revealed to be composing the film's score. The soundtrack, featuring Trapanse's score, as well as songs from the original film performed by the remake's cast, will be released on November 12, 2019.

Release
The first trailer for the film was released on August 23, 2019. The film is scheduled to be released on November 12, 2019, exclusively on Disney+. On October 14, 2019, a second trailer featuring new footage as well as the song "He's a Tramp" was released. On November 6, 2019, Disney released a featurette which presented each of the dogs chosen to portray the main characters and how they were all rescued from animal shelters and foster homes.

Lady and the Tramp was released on November 12, 2019 as part of the launch content library for Disney's streaming service, Disney+.

Reception
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 64% and an average rating of 6.21/10, based on 33 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Lady and the Tramp's cute dogs and likable cast work well enough, but the live-action update lacks some of the magic that made the original 1955 film such a delight." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."