Lady and the Tramp (2019) review (Disney+)

Disney’s brand-new streaming service Disney+ is finally here, granting Disney fans premier access to a vast and varied collection of the company’s legendary filmography along with some exciting new projects from practically every major facet of the Disney universe. And here on Rhode Island Movie Corner, that means that you folks can expect plenty of reviews of Disney+ originals for the foreseeable future, which all begins with a review of the latest entry in Disney’s recent line of live-action remakes. Oh sure, I know some of you probably just rolled your eyes right now given how many of these have been made at this point, but as I’ve made it clear plenty of times by now, I’m all for these new spins on classic Disney stories, which includes today’s installment, a remake of Disney Animation’s 1955 release, Lady and the Tramp. Overall, I’d sum up Lady and the Tramp under the category of ‘Disney classics that, unfortunately, tend to get overlooked sometimes due to some of the other films that came out during that period’. In this instance, Lady and the Tramp, as far as its initial release was concerned, was sandwiched right between two of what are arguably Disney Animation’s most iconic films, Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty. And yet, I think it’s safe to say that this charming little tale of a pampered Cocker Spaniel who falls in love with a street-savvy stray mutt is just as well-regarded as the other Disney classics of its time, especially thanks to its iconic sequence where the titular duo share a romantic spaghetti dinner to the tune of ‘Bella Notte’. This, of course, brings us to its new live-action remake, which is directed by Charlie Bean, a veteran animator who’s worked on several classic shows including Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls. He also made his directorial debut back in 2017 with the considerably underrated LEGO Ninjago Movie, and here, he delivers an earnest and all-around heartwarming rendition of a classic Disney love story.

In a quaint little Midwestern town, Jim Dear (Thomas Mann) gives his wife Darling (Kiersey Clemons) a Cocker Spaniel for Christmas, whom they name Lady. As time goes on, Lady (voiced by Tessa Thompson) becomes incredibly accustomed to her life of luxury, especially after Jim and Darling give her a new collar. However, things start to change when she meets a stray mutt who’s often referred to as ‘the Tramp’ (voiced by Justin Theroux), who informs her that she isn’t going to be the center of her owners’ universe anymore because they’re about to have a baby, and as he puts it, “When the baby moves in, the dog moves out”. Sure enough, Jim and Darling end up having a baby girl named Lulu and Lady soon finds herself getting much less attention than she used to. To make matters worse, an incident in which Lady gets into trouble with Darling’s dog-hating Aunt Sarah (Yvette Nicole Brown) while Jim and Darling are away results in her ending up out in the streets without a collar and far from home. Thus, when she eventually reunites with Tramp, he offers to help her get home and begins to show her everything that he experiences as a street dog all while avoiding Elliot the local dogcatcher (Adrian Martinez), who’s hellbent on capturing Tramp and putting him in the pound. And in the process, an unexpected bit of romance starts to blossom between this most unlikely pair.  

Like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin before it, Lady and the Tramp is another case of these recent live-action Disney remakes where, admittedly, most of its big changes are cosmetic in nature. For starters, instead of rarely showing their faces like in the original, Jim and Darling are featured a lot more prominently in this version whereas Aunt Sarah plays a lesser role than she did in the animated film in favor of a generally expanded role for the dogcatcher as the new main antagonist. But easily the biggest change comes via Aunt Sarah’s pair of Siamese Cats, who receive a considerably major overhaul due to their animated counterparts often being considered as racist stereotypes complete with a new song, ‘What a Shame’. The story, meanwhile, is basically the same as the original with the exact same story beats, from the troublesome rat that constantly pesters the family to Lady’s brief tenure in the pound where she learns ‘the truth’ about the Tramp. And unlike the other recent live-action Disney remakes, this one doesn’t really do much to update the story from a modern perspective outside of the previously mentioned revision of the Siamese Cats and the fact that Jim and Darling are a biracial couple. However, this new film still does a very nice job when it comes to its overall handling of this story and consistently maintains the same pleasant atmosphere of its animated counterpart. Yes, even that iconic spaghetti scene is still beautifully executed even with a live-action/CGI coat of paint.

A lot of this has to do with the film’s unique method of bringing its animal characters to life. While it clearly could’ve been quite easy to just have all the dogs portrayed solely through CGI since that is what many films tend to do nowadays for animals, Lady and the Tramp instead manages to go the extra mile by casting real dogs (many of them rescues), with the utterly adorable duo of rescues Rose and Monte taking on the title roles. And while the film does obviously use CG to have them talk and to give them digital doubles for certain sequences, it’s so well implemented that it’s often legitimately rather hard to distinguish between scenes where the dogs are either real or fully CG. It also helps that Lady and the Tramp are given an excellent duo to voice them in Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux, respectively, as both do a wonderful job in making these two incredibly lovable and effortlessly charismatic while also sporting some lovely chemistry. They’re then backed by an equally solid supporting voice cast headlined by the likes of Sam Elliott as Trusty the old bloodhound and Janelle Monáe as Tramp’s flirtatious friend Peg the Pekingese (Monáe, of course, performs the classic ditty that is ‘He’s a Tramp’ and also helped write the Siamese Cats’ new song). As for the film’s human cast, Thomas Mann and Kiersey Clemons have solid chemistry that’s on par with Thompson and Theroux as Jim and Darling even if they still end up playing the same generally passive roles that their characters had in the original. After that, you have some nice supporting turns from Yvette Nicole Brown as Aunt Sarah despite her significantly reduced role in this version of the story and Adrian Martinez as the dogcatcher, who manages to be an effectively menacing villain without being too campy.

Many of these recent live-action Disney remakes have extensively used CGI to help bring the fantastical worlds of their stories to life. Lady and the Tramp is not one of those films since, just like the original, it is still very much an old-fashioned love story set in a practically picturesque Midwestern town like the ones that Walt Disney himself grew up in. As such, its use of CGI is a lot more limited compared to the other films of its subgenre which, even as someone who has loved all these recent Disney remakes, I have to admit is a nice and refreshing change of pace when it comes to these films. In other words, it could be argued that this new version of Lady and the Tramp eschews what has become the traditional process of remaking a Disney classic in favor of a pleasantly nostalgic ‘back to basics’ approach. However, if there is one thing that this film has in common with the other recent live-action Disney remakes, it’s that it’ll ultimately once again be the subject of controversy amongst those who are fully against this current cinematic trend. It also doesn’t help that this version of Lady and the Tramp doesn’t really do much to update its story for a new generation outside of abolishing some racist stereotypes. Ultimately, though, while it may not necessarily be the best of these live-action Disney remakes, Lady and the Tramp still thoroughly succeeds at being an immensely heartwarming crowd-pleaser thanks in large part to its extensive use of actual dogs instead of CG creations. But if you are one of those folks who still prefer the animated incarnations of these Disney classics, you’ll be pleased to know that the original Lady and the Tramp is also readily available for your streaming pleasures on Disney+. In fact, the same can be said for all the Disney classics that have received remakes these past few years. I’ve always argued that these remakes can peacefully co-exist with their animated counterparts and I’m pleased to say that Disney+ is now proving that this is, indeed, possible.

Rating: 4/5

A Star is Born (2018) review

After years of being one of the most prominent leading men in the film industry, Bradley Cooper has now taken his first step behind the camera. And for his first directorial effort, he goes the ‘old-school’ route with a new spin on a famous tale of a sweet but tragic romance. Yes, this happens to be the fourth rendition of A Star is Born, which sees an aging celebrity take an aspiring ingenue under his wing while also falling in love with her at the same time. First, there was the 1937 film centered around the film industry, with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March in the leading roles. The film was well-received upon its release and earned an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It was adapted again in 1954, where the focus was shifted more towards musicians. This version was most notable for being touted as the big comeback for the one and only Judy Garland, and she ended up earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress as did her co-star James Mason for Best Actor. A third adaptation of the story was produced in 1976, now focusing on rock stars, and starred Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in the lead roles. But while the film was a financial success and spawned a Platinum-selling album featuring music from the likes of Paul Williams and Kenny Loggins, it was ultimately a flop with critics, many of whom felt that it was a blatant vanity project for Streisand and her then-husband, producer Jon Peters. With all this in mind, this now brings us to the 2018 version of this classic story. Not only does Bradley Cooper direct it, but he also stars in it alongside music superstar Lady Gaga. And with their terrific chemistry, fantastic musical performances, and a strong sense of emotional depth, this new take on A Star is Born ultimately proves to be one hell of a directorial debut.

For many years, singer Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) has had much success in the music industry. However, as the years have gone on, he has slowly descended into alcoholism and drug abuse, a trait that was partially inherited from his father, while also suffering from gradual hearing loss due to tinnitus. One night, during a drunken stint in a Los Angeles bar, he meets Ally (Lady Gaga), a waitress and aspiring singer-songwriter. However, despite showing much potential as a songwriter, Ally tells Jackson that she’s consistently faced rejection from all the big record labels because they feel that while she has an amazing voice, she doesn’t quite have ‘the look’ of a music star. Regardless, the two begin to bond and Jackson ends up inviting Ally onstage at one of his shows to sing a song that she had recently written. This little stunt of his proves to be a major success, and soon enough, Ally starts getting major attention from all over the country to the point where she eventually gets signed to a major label and begins a solo career. And while Jackson and Ally continue to fall in love, to the point of them getting married, this romance soon finds itself put to the test due to the vastly different trajectories of their respective careers. Plus, Jackson also begins to have some major issues regarding the decisions made by Ally’s manager Rez (Rafi Gavron) to give her an overly sexualized persona.  

At the time that I’m writing this, I haven’t seen any of the other versions of A Star is Born, though I have at least read up on their plots. As such, and without spoiling anything major, if you have seen any of the other films, then admittedly this one isn’t that different in terms of its overall plot, especially when it comes to its ending. To be clear, though, this is not a bad thing in this instance as the film is ultimately a showcase for Bradley Cooper’s excellent direction. From a technical perspective, everything in this film is very well-handled. The cinematography is solid as is the editing. And as a musical, this film is second to none when it comes to its soundtrack. Performed live on set (per Lady Gaga’s request) instead of the more traditional lip-sync method that’s commonly seen in musicals, the musical numbers in this film are fantastic and really showcase the vocal talents of its two main leads. Gaga, of course, has already made a name for herself as one of the most iconic singers of her generation, but Cooper majorly impresses in his first big musical, showcasing the fact that he clearly prepared for his role. And even with a rather hefty runtime of nearly two and a half hours, the film very much succeeds at fully engrossing you in this tragic story of two sympathetic but flawed musicians whose budding romance ends up going astray because of their respective careers going in entirely different directions. This is then bolstered further by some additional emotional depth that delves into themes like the fear of one’s voice being lost when forced into becoming something that they’re not.

Chemistry is also a key factor in producing a strong romantic drama, and Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have quite arguably some of the best onscreen chemistry that I’ve seen in recent years. Their camaraderie is so strong that while the film is, of course, primarily a drama with emotional moments that are handled beautifully, it also leads to a lot of strong humorous moments as well, arguably making this one of the best ‘dramedies’ in recent years. More importantly, though, is the fact that neither lead overshadows the other, providing an excellent balancing act when it comes to the two main characters’ efforts to support one another. Bradley Cooper excellently conveys his character’s southern charisma along with the emotional gravitas of someone who’s quickly becoming a ‘lost soul’. And as for Lady Gaga, in her first leading role in a feature film after some cameos in a few Robert Rodriguez films and her role in the fifth season of American Horror Story, she is fantastic. She holds her own against Cooper and perfectly captures Ally’s vulnerability and the confidence that she gains over the course of the film; in other words, it’s an emotionally raw and extremely captivating performance. The film also boasts some highly memorable supporting roles, with the most prominent of these being Sam Elliott as Jackson’s older brother/manager Bobby Maine. And while he may not be the main character here, his scenes with Cooper are some of the most emotionally powerful in the entire film given the story arc surrounding their strained relationship. Other notable standouts include Andrew Dice Clay as Ally’s supportive father Lorenzo and Dave Chappelle as an old musician friend of Jackson’s who helps him out during one of his many ‘low points’ in the film.

In short, there’s a lot of good things that I can say about this film. Even as the fourth rendition of a classic romance story, Bradley Cooper’s take on A Star is Born, for lack of a better term, hits all the right notes. It eases you in with the wonderful chemistry of Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, producing some solid bits of humor to lighten the mood. Then, it rouses you up with its fantastic musical numbers that use the vocal talents of its two main stars to their fullest effect. Finally, it dives into the most emotional moments of its plot, resulting in the heartbreaking conclusion to this tragic story of star-crossed lovers. This all comes together nicely thanks to the phenomenal direction from Cooper, showing that he clearly has a lot of potential as a director. And like I said before, it’s really saying something of how effective this film is at conveying all its emotional depth considering that this isn’t the first time that this story has been told. Thus, any way you look at it, this new rendition of A Star is Born is a worthy update of its source material. And just like the three films that came before it (yes, even the 1976 film won an Oscar for Best Original Song despite its mixed reception), this film is sure to be a major frontrunner at this year’s Oscars for its direction, musical numbers, and most importantly, its performances.     

Rating: 5/5!

The Good Dinosaur (2015) review

What’s this? Two Pixar films in one year? Yes folks, for the first time ever, the animation giants have achieved the feat of having two new films open up in the same year. Of course back in June we got the truly amazing ‘Inside Out’, which was easily the company’s best film of the past few years, and now here in November, we have Pixar’s second 2015 effort, ‘The Good Dinosaur’. However, the reason why this film ended up getting released the same year as ‘Inside Out’ could be regarded as a rather troubling one. For you see, this film was originally supposed to be Pixar’s 2014 release directed by Bob Peterson AKA the voice of Dug the talking dog in ‘Up’. However, in August of 2013, it was announced that Peterson had been removed from the film and that it was being completely reworked after he had been having trouble with the final act, with fellow Pixar employee Peter Sohn (AKA Emile from ‘Ratatouille’) taking over as the new director. Now for the record, this isn’t the first time that this has happened with Pixar. Production of the first ‘Toy Story’ was briefly shut down after the edgier take on the story suggested by Disney’s then-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg proved to be a disaster. Its first sequel, ‘Toy Story 2’, was not only reworked from its initial direct-to-video state but the final product was completed in just nine months. But from today’s perspective, pair all of that production turmoil with the middling reception of Pixar’s post ‘Toy Story 3’ run and basically you have a lot of people predicting that this film was going to be a disaster. But in the end, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ very much proves its critics wrong because while it may end up being one of Pixar’s simpler stories, it’s still a very charming and beautiful effort from the studio.

‘The Good Dinosaur’ sets up a world in which the infamous meteor that resulted in the extinction of all dinosaurs ends up missing Earth entirely, allowing the dinosaurs to live on and further evolve. 65 million years later, a young Apatosaurus named Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) lives on a farm with his family; his father Henry (Jeffrey Wright), his mother Ida (Frances McDormand), and his siblings Buck (Marcus Scribner) and Libby (Maleah Padilla). But because of his fearful nature, Arlo continually finds it difficult to help his family around the farm so that he can truly earn his ‘mark’ (a mud-print on the farm silo). His father tries to help him overcome his fears by giving him the job of dealing with pests that try to steal their food. But after a flash flood in which Henry is tragically killed, Arlo ends up getting washed far away from home when he falls into the river right next to the farm. Remembering what his father told him about ‘using the river to find his way home’, Arlo soon comes across a feral cave-boy who he names ‘Spot’ (Jack Bright), who ironically happens to be the same pest that Arlo was trying to stop and was inadvertently responsible for the events that led to Arlo’s father’s death and Arlo getting swept away from his home, and the two become friends as they brave the wilderness and all sorts of potential threats, including a group of carnivorous pterodactyls, as they try to get back to Arlo’s home.

To be perfectly frank, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ is a much simpler story compared to some of Pixar’s other films. It’s basically just a story about the main character trying to get home. But even with that said, I feel that there’s much more to this film than just that. For one thing, it genuinely is a very unique take on the classic ‘boy and his dog’ story, except in this case the boy is ‘the dog’ and the dog, in this case a dinosaur, is ‘the boy’. But then it also carries some really strong themes, mainly the idea of being able to overcome your fear, resulting in a great character arc for Arlo as he very much finds himself outside of his comfort zone. Though at the same time, the film also stresses that fear is a natural thing and as one character puts it, “If you ain’t scared… you ain’t alive.” There have been some who said that the film is too ‘kiddie’, that it’s the first Pixar film that’s ‘just for kids’ (which therefore gives me the assumption that they apparently forgot about ‘Cars 2’, which was the ‘real’ first Pixar film to get that ‘description’ by critics). But quite frankly that’s far from the truth as this film is a great ‘coming-of-age’ story that gives us a great friendship between the two main characters, Arlo and Spot, even though it starts out with Arlo being angry at Spot for getting them lost in the first place. But as time goes on, the two grow closer as they look out for each other in this dangerous world of dinosaurs and, without giving anything major away, this leads to some very emotional moments as one would normally expect from Pixar films.

This film feels very much like ‘Wall-E’ in that it focuses more on visual storytelling than it does with dialogue, especially in a great scene in which Arlo and Spot lament about their lost families. And of course, the animation is the usual Pixar level of excellence, even though there have been some who felt that the more cartoony characters don’t mix very well with the photorealistic environments, something that I didn’t really have any major problem with. The film’s voice cast was another element of the film that got redeveloped along with the story. Initially, the film was going to star, among others, John Lithgow, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Hader, and Judy Greer. But from this initial cast, only Frances McDormand stayed on as the voice of Arlo’s mother while Lithgow was replaced by Jeffrey Wright as Arlo’s father and Harris, Hader, and Greer’s characters, Arlo’s original three siblings, were replaced in favor of just two siblings, his brother Buck and his sister Libby. But just like how the film works great without a whole lot of dialogue, the film’s small voice cast is, in a way, able to stand out more because of it. Arlo was originally voiced by Lucas Neff before the filmmakers switched him with Raymond Ochoa to give Arlo a younger voice and that’s definitely a good idea because it better reflects how the character matures over the course of the film. Wright and McDormand are great as usual in their small roles as Arlo’s parents and the film features some very memorable side characters, including director Peter Sohn as a Styracosaurus named Forrest Woodbush who ‘owns’ a bunch of animals that reside on his horns and Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, and A.J. Buckley as a trio of T-Rex ‘ranchers’.

Given the film’s current rating of 78% on RT, this is definitely going to be one of the more polarizing entries in Pixar’s lineup alongside films like ‘Brave’ and ‘Monsters University’. Some have accused this film of being ‘simplistic’ and that it’s only ‘for kids’, which is an argument that unfortunately has been made from time to time over the years by certain people when it comes to animated films. But I’m going to concur with an argument made by my friend Kyle over at ‘Kyle’s Animated World’; what’s so bad about Pixar making a film that isn’t a complete masterpiece? I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t ‘hate’ ‘Cars 2’ and feel that both ‘Brave’ and ‘Monsters University’ are solid efforts from the company even if they aren’t amongst their absolute best. ‘The Good Dinosaur’ is another fine case of that. Yes it’s one of the simpler affairs from the studio but there’s more to it than what some may claim. As a film that’s more about visual storytelling than dialogue-based storytelling, it perfectly executes its themes of courage and friendship through the main character Arlo’s main story arc and his overall relationship with the feral cave-boy Spot. And of course like many Pixar films, it features amazing animation and some genuinely emotional moments that I guarantee are going to make you tear up. Similar to how Marvel managed to overcome some production troubles with this year’s ‘Ant-Man’, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ managed to overcome its initial production troubles to become yet another great effort from Pixar that’s great for the whole family and not just for kids as some of its critics claim it is.

Rating: 4.5/5

For those who have already seen the film, please check out my friend Kyle’s ‘spoiler’ review of it in the link provided below;

http://kylesanimatedworld.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-great-dinosaur-pixar-does-it-again.html