'Lady And The Tramp' Remake Will Have Janelle Monae Revamp That Problematic Siamese Cat Song

When you hear the title Lady and the Tramp, two things likely come to mind. One is the famous scene where the two dogs share some back-alley spaghetti. The other is "The Siamese Cat Song." While dogs eating pasta is still perfectly acceptable (in small doses – don't let your dogs get overweight!), the "Siamese Cat Song" has not aged so well. In fact, it's quite problematic, to say the least.

Disney is about to unleash a new live-action Lady and the Tramp remake for Disney+, and if you were wondering if the "Siamese Cat Song" would make it into the new film, we now have the answer. Janelle Monae is "reinventing" the song, which means it'll probably be completely different, and far less offensive.

Remember this song?

Of course you do – how could you forget? It's an earworm. It's also offensive as hell, which is why Disney isn't eager to have it appear in its original form in their upcoming Lady and the Tramp remake. According to Variety, Janelle Monae and her artist collective Wondaland are "reinventing" the song:

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.

There's no word on just how the song will be retooled, but since the cats in the remake are no longer Siamese cats, I'm going to assume the song will be a complete overhaul from top to bottom.

The live-action Lady and the Tramp remake features Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux as the voices of the main canine characters. Live-action rolesinclude Kiersey Clemons, Thomas Mann, Yvette Nicole Brown, Adrian Martinez and Arturo Castro. Sam Elliott, Ashley Jensen, Benedict Wong and Janelle Monae will also be doing voice work.

Lady and the Tramp follows "an upper-middle-class American cocker spaniel named Lady who meets a streetsmart, downtown stray mongrel called the Tramp, and the two embark on many romantic adventures including that iconic spaghetti smooch scene."

Live-action Disney remakes are commonplace now – the studio already released Dumbo this year, with both Aladdin and The Lion King still to come. But Lady and the Tramp signals the first of Disney's live-action remakes to head to their streaming service Disney+. You can look for Lady and the Tramp on Disney+ starting November 12, 2019.