"We must treat these dog characters with the same respect we show human characters... no condescension, no looking down, no breaking character for the sake of a gag." And that, my friends, is part of the reason why Walt Disney's legacy on film has stood the test of time. After the jump, find deleted scenes and a nifty video culling notes from Disney's story meetings with collaborators on 1955's Lady and the Tramp.
In newly released deleted scenes (found on the Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition DVD and Blu-ray, out today), envision what might have been via sketched storyboards for moments that didn't make it into the final cut.
Scrapped from the final film, Russian wolfhound Boris was at one point to em-bark (groan!) in a love triangle with Lady and Tramp. At this point in development, the character of Tramp was called Homer.
Deleted Scene: "Boris meets Lady"
Lady's troubles begin when owners Jim Dear and Darling find they're expecting a baby and no longer can give her their full attention, but in this deleted scene Lady shares in her master's excitement.
Deleted Scene: "Waiting for Baby"
Fascinating character development chat abounds in this dramatic recreation of Disney's story meetings on crafting the character of Lady, based on original transcripts.
"Creating Lady"
And a brief peek inside the process of developing the Beaver character, envisioned as a near-sighted salesman caricature -- "A satire on the 21st century and what they think up..."
"Creating Beaver"