Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure

Forty six years after Lady and the Tramp debuted, Disney released a sequel: Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure. It was obviously direct to video, starring Scott Wolf, Roger Bart, Jeff Bennett, Jodi Benson, Mickey Rooney, and Cathy Moriarty.

Scamp (Wolf), the son of Lady (Benson) and the Tramp (Bennett), desires to be a wild dog. One day, he breaks free of his chain and joins a gang of junkyard dogs (Alyssa Milano, Chazz Palminteri, Bill Fagerbakke, Rooney, Moriarty, and Bronson Pinchot). Meanwhile, his parents try to find him.

That’s pretty much it.

This film is a complete mess. First off, it’s 66 minutes long, but sitting through it feels like an eternity.

Secondly, they actually show the faces of the humans whenever they’re on screen. The beauty of the first film being from the perspective of Lady was that the faces of the humans was never shown, unless it was absolutely necessary. This really takes away from the film being from the perspective of a dog.

And then there’s the character of Buster. He was apparently Tramp’s protégé when he was a stray. But he was never in the first film at all. It’s a classic case of “remember the new guy?”

The music for the film is also atrocious. It’s not Tom and Jerry: The Movie levels of bad, but it’s pretty forgettable.

There’s not a lot to say. I guess that’s because it was just a forgettable and terrible movie.

#68

The Fox and the Hound

Daniel P. Mannix’s novel The Fox and the Hound was Disney’s 1981 animated release. Starring Kurt Russell, Mickey Rooney, Pat Buttram, John Fiedler, and Pearl Bailey, it was the most expensive animated film at the time. It won the 1982 Golden Screen Awards and was nominated for the Best Fantasy Film for the Saturn Awards and Best Motion Picture – Fantasy or Comedy – Family Enjoyment for the Youth in Film Awards. The film received a midquel in 2006.

The plot features an old woman ( Jeanette Nolan) taking in an orphan fox, who she names Tod (Keith Mitchell, later Rooney). At the same time, her hunter neighbor brings home a hound dog named Copper (Corey Feldman, later Russell). He intends on raising him to be a hunting dog, however Tod and Copper become best friends. However, this raises conflict between their owners and after the two grow up, they find themselves on opposite sides after the hunter’s other dog, Chief (Buttram), is injured.

There is also a subplot about a couple of birds trying to get a caterpillar.

Those who have been following my reviews know that I can’t stand when movies are cute for the sake of being cute. This film doesn’t do that. We do get cutesy scenes, but it’s meant to portray the innocent and idyllic childhoods of Copper and Tod and work very well when juxtaposed with the latter half of the film, where Copper goes to great lengths to track down Tod to avenge Chief. You find yourself wanting the serenity and innocence of those early scenes. The ending is also done very well, with the bear attack and Copper realizing that his lust for vengeance has blinded him to what he used to value. It makes for good character development and redemption.

The subplot with the two birds is simply there for comic relief. And that’s not bad considering the overall tone of the film. People need to have something to laugh at when the heavier moments are making us all think about love, life, and friendship. It’s not overused, nor do they overstay their welcome.

Speaking of the tone, I feel it could have been heavier. Copper gets bloodlust when Chief is injured falling off train tracks. But he still lives. Copper’s call for Tod’s head and subsequent realization might have been more meaningful had that dog actually died. It could be argued that with Chief simply being hurt, it shows that Copper and the hunter are being irrational in breaking a few laws to hunt down Copper, but it makes sort of lessens Copper’s redemption. Instead of “he hurt my friend, but this fox is also my old friend and I realized what I’m doing,” it could have been, “He killed my friend, but this fox is also my friend and I forgive him.”

When the widow gives Tod up, he eventually runs into a female fox, who is his primary love interest. While I enjoy that they don’t immediately fall in love, I feel that when they do, it’s too quick, which made it feel forced. But eventually, it grew to feel more natural.

 As for the songs, “Best of Friends” is ok, but everything else isn’t very memorable.

Final call: Not as heavy as it should be, but exceeds in what it does. #3

Pete's Dragon

1977 would see yet another hybrid put out by the Disney Corporation. Pete’s Dragon was an entirely live action musical, save for the animated dragon, Elliot, who would often disappear. The first Disney film to be recorded with Dolby Stereo, it was directed by Don Chaffey and Don Bluth and starred Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, and Mickey Rooney. “Candle on the Water” was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to “You Light Up My Life.”

In the early 20^th century, the orphan Pete (Sean Marshall) is on the run from the Gogans (Shelley Winters, Charles Tyner, Gary Morgan, and Jeff Conaway), a backwoods family that bought him as a slave. His only friend is Elliot, a friendly dragon that doesn’t speak, but can fly, breathe fire, and turn invisible. He’s always looking out for Pete and the two make their way to Passamaquoddy, Maine.

No one believes in dragons, usually because Elliot is invisible, which causes problems for Pete. Pete is taken in by Nora (Reddy), the daughter of lighthouse keeper, Lampie (Rooney). Elliot hides out in a nearby cave.

Pete tells Elliot about Nora’s fiancé who is lost at sea, hoping he can find him But Doctor Terminus (Dale) arrives and his lackey, Hoagy (Red Buttons), learns about Elliot. Terminus realizes the medicines that can be used by dragon compounds and seeks to capture him. Then the Gogans arrive in town and the two combine their forces. Everything comes together one stormy night and the townspeople learn that Elliot is real.

This movie is a complete mess.

Remember when I said in my review of Mary Poppins that the animated sequence was unnecessary? It’s even more so with this film. Constantly, you’re seeing the effects of what Elliot has done. Fence posts are destroyed, footprints in cement, two holes in the schoolhouse, and the townsfolk even drop a net over him at one point. The first shot you see in the film is Pete riding on an invisible Elliot in the woods. The only time Elliot should have shown up in the movie is during the action at the end, when everyone finally believes Pete.

The songs, while catchy, overstay their welcome to the point that the original focus of the songs are lost and people are singing just because this is a musical. The only exception is “Candle on the Water.” Also, most of the acting just isn’t very good. The only two characters who are acted well are Nora and Terminus, mostly because Reddy is able to pull off a strong willed woman quite well and Dale seems to realize how corny this movie is and just goes to town on going so over the top that the character seems like a realistic snake oil salesman.  I expected better from Mickey Rooney, but then look at what he was given.

Something also must be said about this film’s pacing, which is so slow that it’s just hard to get through. I feel like this film could have been about a half hour to 45 minutes shorter.

It was thanks to Pete’s Dragon (and Popeye’s failure three years later) that Disney didn’t put out another live action musical until Newsies in 1992 and was the main reason Don Bluth left the company. This film just isn’t that good and shows how out of touch the company was in the 70s, because what would you rather see? A musical about a boy and his semi-invisible animated dragon? Or Star Wars?

Final Call: Not completely terrible, but not at all good. It’s been a while since a film crossed the Edge of Dissatisfaction. #27.