Disney Looking to Cast People of Color in Lady and the Tramp Remake

Disney Looking to Cast People of Color in Lady and the Tramp Remake

by Hannah Shaw-Williams – on Jun 30, 2018 in Movie News

Disney is reportedly looking to cast people of color in the live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp, which is set to be directed by The LEGO Ninjago Movie's Charlie Bean. Released in 1955, the original film is considered to be one of Disney's great animated classics, and the scene in which a strand of spaghetti plays Cupid for the two dogs is an iconic moment in the history of animated cinema. However, the film is also somewhat dated, featuring a pair of mischievous and crudely stereotyped Siamese cats, so Disney is doubtless looking to update it a bit for modern audiences.

As the name suggests, Lady and the Tramp is about a pampered pedigree cocker spaniel called Lady who crosses paths with a mongrel stray called Tramp. In the original film, Lady was voiced by Barbara Luddy (who was also the voice of Kanga in the early Winnie the Pooh films), and Tramp was voiced by Larry Roberts.

Related: Disney's Live-Action Mulan Casts Mulan's Love Interest

That Hashtag Show reports that Disney is looking to cast people of color in Lady and the Tramp, particularly in the title roles (though obviously those actors won't appear on screen). Voiceover work is expected to begin in July, so we probably won't have to wait long to find out who will be providing the voices of Lady and Tramp. According to OmegaUnderground the movie will begin shooting in Atlanta, Georgia in September of this year.

The live-action Lady and the Tramp is being made for exclusive release on Disney's new streaming service, along with a Sword in the Stone remake, a Don Quixote adaptation, and several other projects. Disney plans to produce four to five original movies for the platform every year, though obviously they will have slightly less lavish budgets than the live-action remakes headed for theatrical release, like Mulan and Aladdin.

Lady and the Tramp is expected to debut on Disney's as-yet unnamed streaming service in fall 2019. Not much is known about the movie the moment, but it will be interesting to see whether the two cats, Si and Am, will be quietly removed from the story or simply reworked so that they're no longer racist stereotypes (in the original movie they were voices by popular singer Peggy Lee). Hopefully it won't be long before we find out who has been cast as Lady and Tramp, and who will be playing the movie's various human characters.

More: All The Live-Action Disney Remakes In Development

Source: That Hashtag Show, OmegaUnderground

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