With Lady And The Tramp, Walt Disney slid his toe into the waters of "real life" but, strangely, has rarely returned since. After movies such as Snow White, Pinnochio and Peter Pan, here was a story set in the everyday world - albeit with talking animals - with a hip, beatnik gang of strays and the sensual crooning of Peggy Lee. It was Walt's version of The Wild One: it's 1955, and the world is changing.
Lady is a sweet little cocker spaniel brought up in luxury in turn-of-the-century Anytown, USA, who happens across the charming Tamp, a mutt who's been around, lives on the edge and doesn't give a stuff about anything very much. An unlikely romance is forged between the pair and, eventually, of course, Tramp's cavalier attitude causes all sorts of mayhem, before the inevitable loving, family-orientated denouement.
Woven around the main duo's adventures is a collection of characters who are among the funniest and most brilliantly observed in the Disney back catalogue. The stuck-up Scots terrier Jock, the sashaying Pekingese Peg, the troublesome Aunt Sarah, the evil Siamese, the lolloping bloodhound Trusty, the simply fantastic spaghetti waiters - everyone's a winner.
