Sometimes I wonder why Disney executives even bother to attempt to write sequels for their iconic animated films. Not only does LADY AND THE TRAMP 2: FROM TRAMP TO SCAMP have an extremely long title, it doesn’t even come close to capturing the charm and romance from its classic predecessor. But it tries really hard.
Lady and Tramp and their four puppies are living the life with Darling and Jim Dear. Unfortunately, Scamp (Scott Wolf) has a tendency to inadvertently cause trouble and is often banned to the outside dog house for breaking the rules. He longs to be free from the confines of his home and back yard. One day, he decides to run away where he joins up with a group of mangy mutts known as the Junkyard Dogs. The pack is lead by the rough and rowdy Buster (Chazz Palminteri) who constantly berates Scamp for being a house dog. Scamp will stop at nothing to prove to the pack that he has what it takes to be independent.
Angel (Alyssa Milano) is another reason to stay with the Junkyard Dogs. The street smart blonde has caught Scamp’s eye. Little does he know that he must compete for her love from none other than Buster. Just as Scamp is trying to gain his independence, Angel longs for a loving family and thinks her new friend is selfish for not appreciating what he has back at home. Scamp must decide to live in his new found freedom or return to a family who loves him.
LADY AND THE TRAMP 2: FROM TRAMP TO SCAMP completely falls short in the storyline department. In fact, the writers “borrowed” many plots from the original and just gave it a longer, more obnoxious title. Scamp and Angel have the exact same romance montage, complete with running along a sidewalk (where his parents’ paw prints were still showcased). They even visited the Italian restaurant where they, you guessed it, shared spaghetti. Scamp even rolled a meatball to Angel with his nose. “GET YOUR OWN STORY!” I yelled to my television. “I’VE SEEN THIS BEFORE!”
I understand that it can be sweet to pay homage to the original, but this was ridiculous.
The second tier characters were forgettable too. That’s probably due to the fact that there were so many of them! Scamp’s trio of identical sisters were cute in their own way, but why the writers chose to make one of the triplets ditzy is beyond me. And there were too many Junkyard Dogs in the pack to keep up with, other than Buster who could have easily been in a dog version of the Mafia. Now there’s a Disney story that should be looked in to.
With that said, it was endearing to see Lady and Tramp together again. I wish they had been featured more, but as the mile-long title suggests, this was Scamp’s adventure. Other than the opening song about Independence Day, this film isn’t worth watching or renting. If you want something well written with a sweet message, I would recommend you stick to the original and skip the sequel.
Video: There was one part of Scamp and Angel’s date that featured fireflies. It was pretty cool.
Audio: As I mentioned, the opening number was fabulous. Then it went downhill from there.
Puppy Trivia Tracks (1:09:02): This featurette was like a pop up video for the entire movie. We learn things like: Border collies, poodles and German Shepherds are the smartest dogs. There’s one trivia about every minute.
The Making of LADY AND THE TRAMP II (16:34): The directors talk about how it was an honor to work on such a classic animated film. They used reference material from the original animation to capture their style. They never mentioned that they practically janked the entire original to make their sequel.
Sneak Peeks
