How swell it is to have a childhood favorite film, one as wonderful as Lady and the Tramp, be remastered, restored and reissued by the Walt Disney company so that our kids and grandkids and generations to come can enjoy such a simple and beautiful story about two dogs falling in love. The entire tale unfolds though the eyes of the dogs and is heartwarming, funny and enlightening as well. The 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD features 2-Discs loaded with extras.

Lady (voiced by Barbara Luddy), the soft, sweet brown-and-white cocker spaniel is lucky to have found a good home. Her owners, Jim Dear (voiced by Lee Miliar, who also voices the dog catcher) and Darling (voiced by Peggy Lee, who also voices Si, Am and Peg), live in a comfortable home and make life quite simple and reliable for Lady. She gets lots of nurturing until Darling has a baby and the couple practically forgets about Lady.  

Already feeling left out, Jim and Darling elicit Aunt Sarah (voiced by Verna Felton) to come housesit for a few days. That might not be so bad had she not brought her two wicked cats who are thrilled to make Lady's life miserable.

When she flees, she meets a likeable street dog by the name of Tramp (voiced by Larry Roberts) and for Lady it's love at first site. When they share an Italian dinner, one of the most popular scenes from this film, and connect through a single strand of spaghetti, and the magical notes of the song "Bella Notte" belt out, it's a touching moment to the human heart.

Tramp is besotted by Lady but has to jump through some hoops to prove his worthiness.   This involves a host of other dogs, good times and some frightening ones as well and more songs - who can forget the words   "I am Siamese" from "The Siamese Cat Song?" The film moves on through lots of chase scenes, a dogcatcher determined to do is job, and life lessons learned by all, okay, maybe not those two dreaded cats, but they soon disappear.

Although I was just a small girl when the original Lady and the Tramp came out, it's one of my favorite Disney's classics that I have enjoyed time and time again. This new 50th Anniversary edition has reminded me once again what a departure it is from today's violence-ridden and obnoxious cartoons, and what a treasure it is to own and watch with new little fans.

Special Features: DISC ONE

• Feature film in both Wide Screen and Full Screen Versions

• Sneak Peeks

Special Features: DISC TWO

• Deleted Scenes - includes two segments Turning the Tables and The Arrival of the Baby and comments from Disney animator Eric Goldberg.
• Music & More - includes two featurettes, The Siamese Cat Song: Finding a Voice for the Cats, in which Goldberg talks the Siamese cat vocals. Kids will like this segment. The other is a new music video of Bella Notte performed by Steve Tyrell.

• Tables - is a featurette about storyboards. Kids will think this is really funny because the dogs command the humans.

• Games & Activities - This segment has lots of games and fun things for kids, although most of them will appeal only to kids 10 and under. Games include the virtual board game Disney Dog Trivia, Going to the Dogs - hosted by Fred Willard who talks about, what else? Dogs and lastly, Your Inner Bark. This is a Q&A that kids 7 - 11 will enjoy, it reveals if your personality more resembles Tramp or Lady.

• Backstage Disney - This segment is packed with as many things to do as in Disneyland itself - well, almost. First up is a documentary Lady's Pedigree: The Making of Lady and the Tramp with several Disney experts, including clips from old Walt himself, explaining everything where Walt Disney grew up and how he came to make Lady and The Tramp to complicated aspects of making the film. This segment is a little over the heads of the young ones.

• Next up is the featurette Finding Lady: The Art of the Storyboard animator Eric Goldberg and filmmakers who talk about story boarded their films.

• The featurette - Original 1943 Storyboards - shows alternate version of Lady that could have been used but wasn't.

• Next up are features of Excerpts from Disneyland TV Shows, a further look at creating the film, and another segment on music on the composers.

Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

Writers: Ward Greene (story,   Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog), Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Ralph Wright, Don DaGradi

Cast: Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Bill Thompson, Bill Baucom, Stan Freberg, Verna Felton

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Rating: G

DVD Release Date: 2/28/2006

Run Time: feature - 76 minutes

Studio: Walt Disney Home Video

Format: Full screen Color