Even when you get those occasionally dated moments in a film, there’s something about those classics that just rings eternal…

In its brand new Signature Edition; Lady And The Tramp is still a delightful ode to those best friends that curl up at the foot of our beds every night and in spite of the occasionally dated moment it simply a universal delight for young and old.

Lady is cocker spaniel who is spoiled like no other by her owners ‘Jim Dear’ & ‘Darling’ and is living the good life…or so she thinks.  When a baby comes into the picture of this family, Lady feels like she is getting pushed to the background.  With ‘Jim Dear’ & ‘Darling’ out of town on a romantic getaway, Lady finds herself at home with the baby, Aunt Sarah and her two troublemaking Siamese cats that Sarah just adores and after an unfortunate altercation finds herself on the mean streets with no clue.  Soon taken under the protection of Tramp, a local and likable stray mutt the two begin to form an unlikely romance but their many difference and even more drama at Lady’s house threatens to keep them separate forever.

While it would be easy to list of the litany of first and accomplishments that Lady And The Tramp has achieved in its now 64 years of existence it feels important to boil this down to the bare essence of loving those canine companions that many of us have in our lives.

A very personal film for Walt Disney at the time (we’ll see more on that in the special features) and the very first Disney film filmed in the Cinemascope process it’s no wonder that Disney had the then dream team of Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske working as the direction team whose credits include Bambi, Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan and a litany of other animated classics.

The narrative has a smooth flow to it and the animation is exceptionally crisp and vibrant as this story of unlikely love really plays in a sweet and unforgettable manner.  With some delightful musical numbers (although I don’t think that the Siamese Cat song would play all that well today) and strong vocal performances from Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy and Larry Roberts we actually get some character depth and get invested in the love story going on in front of our eyes.

Picture and sound quality are through the roof on this release as expected but the real gem of this new release is the ‘Multi-Screen Edition’ feature.  There’s the regular theatrical version of the film, a sing-along version where you can join in and sing along with any moments in the film and ‘Inside Walt’s Story Meetings’ which is essential a dramatic recreation of notes and transcription taken during production meetings on Lady & The Tramp which turns it into a unique sort of commentary track behind the scenes of it all.  On top of that there’s a featurette about Walt Disney and his dogs, a look at his iconic office where so, some fun facts about the film, a talk with Diane Disney Miller remembering her Dad, deleted scenes, a never recorded and cut song from the film “I’m As Free As The Breeze” and a preview of the classic bonus material available when you download your digital copy of the film.  All in all this Signature Collection edition of the Blu-Ray is the ultimate way to own this animated classic.

It might be a cliché to say that this new Blu-Ray edition allows you to fall in love with Lady And The Tramp all over again, but it does let you fall in love with everywhere imaginable and it is the ultimate edition of this movie that needs to be owned by anyone who still gets weak in the knees for an old fashioned love story, because we just don’t have enough off them these days.