Disney has released new images from its Lady and the Tramp live-action remake that highlight the film’s canine stars. In addition to remaking their animated classics for the big screen, the Mouse House is working on a few live-action retellings for its upcoming Disney Plus streaming service. The first one out the gate will be Lady and the Tramp, a re-imagining of their 1955 animated movie based on Ward Greene’s novel, Happy Dan, The Cynical Dog.
Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux are lending their voices to the Lady and the Tramp remake as, respectively, the comfortably middle-class Lady and the street-savvy mongrel The Tramp. Disney released a sneak peek image of the real-life dogs that are playing Lady and The Tramp during their Investor Day presentation back in April. Now, the studio has unveiled additional photos that spotlight the entire canine cast.
People has the exclusive on the latest images from the Lady and the Tramp remake. In addition to the Cocker Spaniel Rose and the dog Monte (who are playing Lady and The Tramp), the photos highlight the dogs playing Trusty the aging bloodhound (voiced by Sam Elliot), Jock the Scottish terrier (Ashley Jensen), Peg the fluffy pup (Janelle Monáe), and Tramp’s Bulldog buddy Bull (Benedict Wong). Take a look in the gallery below.
Based on these photos, the Lady and the Tramp remake will only be making a few changes when it comes to the animal characters from the animated film. It’s been known for a while that Jock will be gender-swapped in the live-action retelling, but otherwise the dogs in the story are pretty much the same in this new version. In some welcome news, People reports these real-life pups are also rescue animals; Monte, in particular, was rescued from a kill-shelter in New Mexico and eventually adopted by one of the film’s animal trainers, Mark Forbes. Real animals are used less often on movies these days over concerns of them being abused, so it’s encouraging to know the pooches in Lady and the Tramp are being treated well right off the bat.
It’s also fun to see Lady and the Tramp is bringing its canines to life by filming real-life dogs and dubbing the cast’s voices during post-production. Whereas The Lion King remake has been criticized for featuring otherwise photorealistic CGI animals that speak but don’t emote like humans, it should be easier for viewers to connect emotionally with real dogs whose thoughts can be heard in Lady and the Tramp. It’s far from the first movie to do that of course (this week’s The Art of Racing in the Rain does the exact same thing), but it’s been an effective strategy in the past and ought to continue to be one here. Not to mention, it should be fun to hear Monáe do her rendition of Peg’s classic song “He’s a Tramp”, in addition to her re-invention of the Siamese cat song.
Lady and the Tramp premieres on Disney Plus’ launch day, November 12.
Source: People
