Lady & The Tramp II – Scamp’s Adventure
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C Feature: C
In the long run, I think it will be apparent that Disney
drive to do a bunch of awful straight-to-video sequels to every animated
feature film they ever made will be seen as the true nadir of the studio’s
output, especially at a time when they were doing so well. It was not that long ago when a former
executive bowed that the classic animated Disney titles would never see the
light of day on DVD. Now, the glut of
sequels are even in reissues as Lady & The Tramp II – Scamp’s Adventure
shows in this re-release.
Loaded with almost as many clichés as a bad Bon Jovi song,
all this can do is repeat a much better film, get crazy about al the
descendents of the original characters who literally look like Xeroxes of them
and worst of all are the padding of some of the most forgettable songs ever to
appear in any Disney production. Though
nothing about this is vulgar or offensive, the whole production is totally
unnecessary and cable TV filler at best.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.66 x 1 image is not as
colorful, sharp or clear as it should or could be for a relatively recent
production and no match for the recently restored original under any
circumstances. The Dolby Digital and
DTS 5.1 mixes are also surprisingly held-back, with even the DTS having
dullness and fidelity limits. The
soundstage is not what the original was, which had cinematic space as a plus. Extras include a few games for children,
song selection, a making of featurette and previews for other Disney DVDs.
- Nicholas Sheffo
