DVDizzy Forum

Grammy winner Janelle Monae will contribute new music to the Disney Plus streaming title “Lady and the Tramp,” in addition to her voice role in the live-action reboot. Monae will perform two original songs for the film, led by Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux.

Monae’s artist collective Wondaland is also “reinventing” a track from the original 1955 animated movie, individuals close to the project said. That would be “The Siamese Cat Song,” originally recorded by Peggy Lee for the feline duo Si and Am in the animated version. Those characters and their famous refrain — “We are Siamese if you please / We are Siamese if you don’t please” — have long been considered a cringe-worthy depiction of Asian culture. Wondaland contributors Nate “Rocket” Wonder and Roman GianArthur are working on a different take for the pair, who in the new film are not Siamese cats, the insiders added.

Walt Disney Studios confirmed Monae’s musical involvement, as did a rep for the singer. “We’re dealing with Wondaland, her team of incredibly creative writers and producers that she works with. So our director has engaged with her in terms of what the storytelling [of] the song needs to be,” Kaylin Frank, a vice president in Creative Music and Soundtracks at Disney, said at the recent MUSEXPO Creative Summit in Burbank, Calif.

Frank reassured the conference that while the film is set in 1910 and has a blues-ragtime vibe, Monae’s personal sound will be represented. There’s also a possibility Wondaland will do a pass on the film’s signature song “He’s a Tramp,” another individual added.

Sotiris wrote:

JeanGreyForever wrote: I can't see Disney touching Oliver & Company especially since they're already making a contemporary version of Oliver Twist.

Agreed. I see The Rescuers or even The Aristocats more likely to get remade for the streaming service than Oliver & Company.

unprincess wrote: Sure they'll leave Oliver last on the list to make but if the others are successful(keep in mind their success would be measured quite differently from a theatrical film) I really think they will eventually get around to making it. And it would be even cheaper to make since it would be much easier to translate to a current day setting (and NYC to boot) than L&TT and Aristocats.

anyway Im pleasantly surprised they are keeping the origials time period, I really thought they were going to modernize it!

unprincess wrote:I never knew that! That's right, Penny was adopted by a wealthy NYC couple at the end! I would have loved Oliver and Co as a sort of sequel to Rescuers.

Sotiris wrote:Oliver & Co. always had a special place in my heart. The music, the setting, the characters, the '80s sensibility really captured my imagination. To this day it remains my favorite animal-led Disney movie.

Sotiris wrote:

Monae’s artist collective Wondaland is also “reinventing” a track from the original 1955 animated movie, individuals close to the project said. That would be “The Siamese Cat Song,” originally recorded by Peggy Lee for the feline duo Si and Am in the animated version. Those characters and their famous refrain — “We are Siamese if you please / We are Siamese if you don’t please” — have long been considered a cringe-worthy depiction of Asian culture. Wondaland contributors Nate “Rocket” Wonder and Roman GianArthur are working on a different take for the pair, who in the new film are not Siamese cats, the insiders added.