First shot of animation: establishing pan over a snow-covered neighborhood

I think this is when the house style is really formed. Something about the colors or the line weight is ineffably “Disney” in a way that this could have come out as late as 95 and I’d believe it. Putting all the fantastic excess in a real setting is special, but the best backgrounds are the dark, muddy streets near the end.

The Siamese cats number is famously racist, but every animal works on the same ethnic logic, down to Boris the borzoi who quotes Russian novelists. Mutts are Americans.

Tony seriously stopped his entire business to throw a romantic dinner for a stray dog he likes, and made Joe join in. They’re the only people regularly seen in full. Lady’s owners show their faces in the happiest moments, and the aunt only has one brief look to let the message of her character design get through.

If this were a contemporary movie there would be an extra scene where the pound dogs are freed. Those dogs die.