Recent news coming out about Disney projects has lately been about whatever classic animated feature they’re adapting into a live action film next or the latest and greatest project they’re working on to coincide with the launch of their streaming service in 2019. Well, today’s your lucky day because the latest news from Disney checks both those boxes!
The Hollywood Reporter is now, um, reporting that Charlie Bean, the filmmaker behind “The Lego Ninjago Movie,” is set to direct a live-action remake of the classic “Lady and the Tramp” for the upcoming Disney streaming service.
Now, when we say “live-action,” what we really mean is everything will be real except the titular characters that will be CGI. Obviously, CGI is clearly another form of “animation.” Let’s not even bring up the “live-action” “Lion King” that will feature an entire cast of animated animals, but I digress.
For those that were robbed of a childhood, “Lady and the Tramp” tells the story of a prissy dog named Lady and a streetwise dog named Tramp. The movie is best known for a scene that features the two dogs eating a spaghetti dinner and sharing a noodle, which leads to a kiss. Are you ready to see two photo-realistic CGI dogs eat spaghetti and kiss? Have you seen dogs eat spaghetti? They don’t slurp it up, in a calm manner. They tend to growl at other animals who come near the food and eat it in as little number of bites as possible, creating a mess along the way. I’m ready to call shenanigans on the whole scene unless it’s depicted in a wholly realistic way.
The remake of “Lady and the Tramp” is written by Andrew Bujalski and produced by Brigham Taylor. If there is one bright spot to this news, it’s Taylor’s involvement. The producer was also part of “The Jungle Book,” which was a fine movie. Hopefully, he can sprinkle a little bit of that magic over this project, which joins the long list of animated classics that Disney is now remaking.
“Lady and the Tramp” is another of a variety of projects that will be seen exclusively on the Mouse House’s streaming service, including the recently announced live-action “Star Wars” TV series from Jon Favreau. Disney is clearly betting big on this service, creating content that will attract fans of all ages.