In celebration of Valentine's Day, puppy love and the upcoming 50th anniversary edition DVD of Walt Disney's animated classic, LADY AND THE TRAMP, the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood will present a special two-week engagement of the film from Feb. 2-14, debuting a magnificent new digitally restored CinemaScope version of the film.
This exclusive engagement, which spotlights a meticulous frame-by-frame digital restoration of the film with superior picture and sound, will kick-off on Feb. 2 at 7:00 pm with a distinguished panel of experts, including comic legend Stan Freberg (who provided the voice of the Beaver in the film), animators Andreas Deja and Eric Goldberg, among others. A moderator for the evening will be announced shortly. A special 50th Anniversary two-disc DVD limited edition of LADY AND THE TRAMP (Walt Disney Home Ent., $29.99), featuring deleted scenes, new documentaries and commentaries, will be released on Feb. 28th. Preceding every show at the El Capitan will be a special live appearance by Mickey and Minnie. Tickets are available at the box office, by phone (1-800-DISNEY6), or on-line at www.elcapitantickets.com.
Plus in the spirit of Valentine's Day, The Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store, located next to the El Capitan Theatre, will be featuring "The Sweetheart Sundae," made with mouthwatering scoops of Dewar's vanilla and strawberry ice cream smothered in homemade strawberry sauce, a dollop of marshmallow, and topped with whipped cream and Cupid Valentine mix candy.
Lylle Breier, svp of worldwide special events for Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, commented, "The Disney restoration team and John Lowry's group at DTS Digital Images have done an incredible job with LADY AND THE TRAMP and we know moviegoers are going to fall in love all over again with this unique and entertaining classic. The film looks and sounds better than it ever has before and we encourage everyone to join us for this fun-filled engagement."
The Special Edition DVD includes never-before-seen deleted scenes, a newly discovered alternate, original storyboard version of the film; "Finding Lady: The Art of Storyboards;" "Lady's Pedigree: The Making of LADY AND THE TRAMP with rare footage of Walt; virtual board game, virtual DVD-Rom adopt your own puppy feature and more.
LADY AND THE TRAMP, originally released in June 1955, was the first Disney animated feature to be filmed in CinemaScope (it was first designed and shot in a flat version). Directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson, the film follows the adventures of a young cocker spaniel from a respectable house, and her romantic escapades with Tramp, a devil-may-care mutt from the wrong side of the railroad tracks. The film features several enchanting songs by Peggy Lee (who voices the conniving Siamese cats, Si and Am, as well as the characters Darling and Peg) and Sonny Burke including "Bella Notte," "He's a Tramp" and "The Siamese Cat Song."
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
