If you close your eyes and think about the 1955 Disney classic Lady and the Tramp, a few specific things probably pop into your head. You think about the spaghetti scene. You think about the moonlit Bella Notte. Then, almost immediately, that high-pitched, rhythmic chime of a gong starts playing in your brain. You know the one. It’s the intro to "The Siamese Cat Song," and honestly, it’s one of the most complicated pieces of animation history Disney has ever put to film.
Si and Am from Lady and the Tramp aren't just minor antagonists who mess up a living room. They represent a massive turning point in how we look at vintage media. For some, they’re a nostalgic memory of clever, mischievous villains. For most modern audiences and historians, they are a glaring, uncomfortable reminder of the ethnic stereotyping that was rampant in mid-century American filmmaking. They’re lean. They’re mean. And they’ve basically been scrubbed from the modern Disney brand for reasons that go way beyond just "being mean to a dog."
The Origin of the Most Famous Felines in Animation
When Walt Disney was developing the story, which was based on Ward Greene’s short story "Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog," the cats weren’t always part of the plan. They were a later addition to ramp up the conflict for Lady while her owners, Jim Dear and Darling, were away.
Enter Peggy Lee.
People forget how much of a powerhouse Peggy Lee was. She didn't just voice the cats; she co-wrote the music for the film with Sonny Burke. She actually voiced four different characters: Darling, the sultry pound dog Peg, and both of the Siamese cats. If you listen closely to the recording of "The Siamese Cat Song," you can hear the incredible technical skill Lee had to use to create those distinct, piercing voices. She recorded the parts separately and they were layered to create that eerie, unified front the cats present.
The animation was handled largely by Bob Carlson. He gave them those slinky, angular movements that felt distinctly different from the soft, rounded lines of Lady or the shaggy realism of Tramp. They moved like liquid. It was brilliant animation. It was also deeply problematic.
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Why Everyone Talks About the Stereotypes
Let's be real: Si and Am are the "elephants in the room" when it comes to Disney's legacy. Unlike the crows in Dumbo or King Louie in The Jungle Book, where people sometimes debate the intent, the Siamese cats are pretty overt. They were designed with physical traits—slanted eyes and buck teeth—that were common caricatures of East Asian people during the post-WWII era.
It’s uncomfortable to watch now.
The cats weren't just "foreign." They were depicted as deceptive, destructive, and sneaky. In the 1950s, this was a standard, if lazy, shorthand for "villainous outsider." When they sing "We are Siamese if you please / We are Siamese if you don't please," they are asserting a kind of entitlement to a home they don't belong in. They frame themselves as the masters of the house, immediately displacing the "all-American" cocker spaniel.
Historians like Neal Gabler, who wrote the definitive biography Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, have noted that Disney’s work often reflected the prevailing cultural anxieties of the time. In 1955, the U.S. was still grappling with the aftermath of the war in the Pacific and the burgeoning Cold War. The "yellow peril" trope was everywhere in pop culture. Si and Am were essentially feline versions of that anxiety.
The 2019 Remake and the "Erasure" Debate
Fast forward to the 2019 live-action/CGI hybrid remake on Disney+. Disney knew they couldn't just drop the original song back into a modern movie. It wouldn't just be "cringe"—it would be a PR disaster.
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So they changed it. Completely.
In the remake, the cats aren't even Siamese. They’re depicted as a pair of Devon Rex cats, which have a naturally "alien" and wavy look but don't carry the same racial baggage. The song was replaced by a new track called "What a Shame," performed by Nate "Rocket" Wonder and Roman GianArthur (produced by Janelle Monáe). Instead of being ethnic caricatures, they became "gentrifiers." They were just two spoiled, posh cats who thought they owned the place and looked down on Lady for being a common house pet.
A lot of purists hated this change. They argued that by removing the song, Disney was trying to rewrite its own history rather than acknowledging it. But if you look at it from a production standpoint, the original song was so tied to the caricature that you couldn't keep one without the other. You can't just change the lyrics; the melody itself, with its pentatonic scale and gong hits, is built on those same tropes.
The Technical Brilliance We Often Overlook
It’s okay to acknowledge that the animation in the 1955 sequence is incredible while also hating the stereotypes. The way Si and Am move in perfect synchronization is a masterclass in "mirroring" in animation.
Watch the scene again.
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When they jump off the piano, they land at the exact same time. When they walk across the mantle, their tails flick in a rhythmic counterpoint. This wasn't easy to do in the era of hand-drawn cells. Every frame had to be meticulously aligned to ensure they felt like two halves of a single, malicious brain. They represent the "Invasive Species" trope perfectly. They enter a curated, Victorian middle-class home and systematically destroy it—the bird, the fish, the drapes.
They are the perfect foil for Lady because Lady is all about order, rules, and "being a good girl." Si and Am are pure chaos. They don't care about the rules. They realize that in the eyes of Aunt Sarah, they can do no wrong, while Lady—the "alien" in the eyes of the visiting aunt—is the one who gets the muzzle.
It’s a clever bit of storytelling. Lady is the one who actually belongs there, but she’s the one who gets cast out because of the cats' manipulation.
Beyond the Screen: The Real-World Impact
Interestingly, the popularity of the film actually led to a surge in Siamese cat ownership in the United States. People saw the movie and, despite the characters being villains, fell in love with the look of the breed. Siamese cats are vocal, intelligent, and very loyal to their owners, which is the exact opposite of the "sneaky" persona Si and Am projected.
If you go to Disney+ right now and play the original movie, you’ll see a disclaimer. It says: "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now." It’s a bold move. It’s better than cutting the scene entirely, which is what Disney did with Song of the South. By leaving it in with the warning, they allow the film to exist as a historical document. We can appreciate the artistry of the backgrounds and the character design of Tramp while also saying, "Yeah, those cats are a problem."
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're looking at Si and Am from Lady and the Tramp through a modern lens, here is how you can engage with the history responsibly:
- Check the Credits: If you’re a fan of the music, look into the Peggy Lee estate. She fought a massive legal battle against Disney for royalties on the home video releases of the film and won. It’s a landmark case for voice actor rights.
- Contextualize for Kids: If you’re showing the 1955 version to children, use it as a teaching moment. Explain that people used to draw characters this way to make fun of others, and that it’s not how we treat people today.
- Watch the 2019 Version for Comparison: Even if you prefer the original, the 2019 version is a fascinating study in how "villainy" is coded in the modern era. The shift from ethnic stereotyping to "class-based" villainy is a huge tell about where our society's anxieties lie today.
- Identify Genuine Merchandise: If you are a collector, be aware that early 1950s and 60s merchandise of Si and Am is highly sought after but often reflects the extreme caricatures of the film. Modern "Legacy" collections from Disney often redesign the cats to be more "cat-like" and less "human-caricature-like."
The story of these cats is basically the story of Hollywood's evolution. We've moved from a time where these depictions were the "norm" to a time where we can openly critique them while still recognizing the talent of the artists who brought them to life. They remain some of the most effective villains in the Disney canon, precisely because they are so unsettling—just maybe for the wrong reasons.