Janelle Monae is retooling "The Siamese Cat Song" for the Lady And The Tramp remake, thank goodness
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It looks like Janelle Monae has a little more to give to Disney+’s Lady And The Tramp remake. On top of voicing the role of Peg, Monae will also giving a much-needed makeover to 1955 film’s Siamese Cat Song, per a report from Variety. Those who are even marginally familiar with the original song’s wildly problematic depiction of Asian tropes may find this to be a necessary development. Monae will also be submitting a yet-to-be-specified second song for the project.
The remake will also include an entirely new concept for the Siamese duo thanks, in part, to the guidance of Wondaland’s Nate “Rocket” Wonder and Roman GianArthur. While there aren’t many available details as to what this revamping will look like, Variety reports that they will not be cats. The new-and-already-improved Lady And The Tramp will star Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux.
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Kind of interesting that they’re doing the same casting thing as the original – that is, Peggy Lee voiced “Peg”, singing “He’s a Tramp” and she also did both voices for Si and Am, the cats. And sure, offensive now, but back then it was a not-at-all-uncommon-especially-in-cartoons take on non-American animal characters.A new take on this is fine with me, but will Tramp and Lady go out to dinner at Applebee’s instead of an Italian-a restaurant? (Applebee’s is innocuous and non-ethnic, right? I don’t know for sure.)
You do NOT want to order the spaghetti and meatballs at Applebee’s.
It’s true – in 2019 we view those cats as racist and offensive, but in 1955 they were just racist. It was a simpler time.
“The [cats] weren’t racist, the people who drew them were.” – Homer Simpson.
in 2019 we view those cats as racist and offensive, but in 1955 they were just racist. It was a simpler time. That made me laugh. And jeez I hope I didn’t sound like I approved, or thought racism wasn’t offensive or wrong…! I just meant that it was very common, especially in animation, to do that kind of thing,
I really don’t know a lot about Wondaland, is it like Bey and Jay-Z where there are like 20 bands making music for each new Bey album? Are there any other artists I should know who come out of there? My finger could type in a query to Google on this very topic, and yet they do not.
Wondaland is a recording studio, to my knowledge. They have Wondaland Presents, which is a showcase of signed talent to the label. Jidenna is another emerging artist on the album; he was featured in season 1 of Luke Cage, as a performer in Harlem’s Paradise. Classic Man, Long Live the Chief are his two biggest songs, pretty good IMHO.
So they’re getting rid of the racism AND the anti-cat bias? Nice!
If that movie has a villain, it’s the owner of those fucking cats. Growing up, I probably hated her more than Maleficent and Belloq combined.Also, if we’re using the word “problematic” to describe something as overtly racist as “We are Siamese if you don’t please,” then it’s time to give the word a rest.
Nobody ever talks about the anti-cat messages in that movie.
The Mickey Mouse people generally don’t show cats in a great way (the cat in Cinderalla is named Lucifer!), and it’s weird. Just because cats naturally prey on, eat and kill mice? Ppphhht.
If you want a good portrayal of cats in a Disney movie, The Aristocats is an excellent choice (albeit one with an equally problematic portrayal of Asian characters).There’s also Dinah from Alice in Wonderland, Bagheera from The Jungle Book, and Rajah from Aladdin, right off the top of my head.
It’s a general trope, not a Disney thing. Cats may be portrayed either positively or negatively; dogs, almost always positively.
Wait.. so they will be Siamese non-cats? Conjoined cats? Siamese turtles?
That doesn’t make sense. If they aren’t cats you’d obviously have to redo the song.
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And overtly ridiculous political correctness destroys another iconic moment from history with a terrible remake. Score?