It's hard to believe that Uncle Walt nearly shelved this delightful canine romance because he didn't think it had that certain Mickey magic. Luckily, the fledgling idea of a cocker spaniel called Lady was saved when Disney came across a short story about a scruffy dog and was inspired to add his own cheeky mongrel to the film, creating the studio's first truly original tale and a stone-cold classic that still endures all these years on.

Scrubbed up for its 50th anniversary with needle-sharp images and beefy, Dolby 5.1 sound, the story of two mutts from different sides of the tracks forming a cinematic romantic bond as timeless as Bogie and Bergman is one of Disney's most personal projects. It's a love letter to the small Missouri town Walt grew up in and features some of Animation's most celebrated money-shots. Kids and adults alike will still get wibbly over Lady and Tramp's spaghetti-slurping date, gape at the feline duplicity of the Siamese cats and snivel at the heartbreaking heroism of pooch sidekicks Trusty and Jock.

DVD Extras:

And the bite is as good as the bark, with exhaustive extras covering both nipper-friendly diversions (the Virtual Puppy and doggie personality tests are superb) and grownup goodies: rangey and riveting docs on history and legacy, original storyboards revealing the arcane toil animators had to endure pre-computers. The tone is always evangelical but, for once, it's justified.

Seven Featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Dog Trivia Game
Virtual Puppy CD-ROM
Making Of Original Storyboards and Trailers