The Dark Truth Behind Si And Am: 5 Shocking Facts About The Siamese Cats In Lady And The Tramp
The animated sequence featuring the two villainous Siamese cats, Si and Am, from Disney’s 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp is one of the film's most memorable moments, but it is also its most criticized. For decades, the scene, centered around the infamous “The Siamese Cat Song,” has been a lightning rod for controversy, criticized for its overt use of deeply offensive anti-Asian stereotypes and cultural appropriation. This article, updated in December 2025, dives into the complete history of the characters, from their creation and the central role of legendary singer Peggy Lee, to Disney’s complete and dramatic removal of the cats from the modern 2019 live-action remake in a definitive move to address the film’s problematic legacy.
The story of Si and Am is a perfect case study in how classic Hollywood cinema often relied on harmful caricatures, and how a major studio like Disney has been forced to re-evaluate and correct its past in the modern era of streaming and social justice. What many fans remember as a catchy, mischievous villain song is now widely recognized as a cultural misstep that required major intervention.
The Full Biography of Si and Am: The Original Characters
The twin Siamese cats, Si and Am, appear midway through the original 1955 animated film, Lady and the Tramp, during a pivotal moment in the protagonist Lady's life. They are the pets of Aunt Sarah, a stern and well-meaning but ultimately misguided woman who comes to care for Lady while her owners, Darling and Jim Dear, are away on vacation.
- Names: Si and Am (a clear phonetic play on "Siam," the former name of Thailand, where the Siamese cat breed originated).
- Owner: Aunt Sarah.
- Role in Film: Minor antagonists who frame Lady for destroying the house. Their mischievous and destructive actions lead Aunt Sarah to muzzle Lady, setting up the main conflict that drives Lady into the streets and into Tramp's path.
- Voice and Song: Both cats were famously voiced by jazz legend Peggy Lee. Lee also co-wrote six of the film’s songs with composer Sonny Burke, including "Bella Notte," "He's a Tramp," and the controversial "The Siamese Cat Song."
- First Appearance: The cats slink into the living room, singing "We Are Siamese," a catchy but unsettling tune that describes their cunning nature and their plan to cause chaos.
Peggy Lee’s involvement is a crucial detail. She was not merely a voice actor; she was a creative force behind the film's iconic soundtrack. The fact that an artist of her stature participated in the creation of a sequence now deemed racist highlights how normalized these stereotypes were in 1950s America.
The Problematic Legacy: Why the Siamese Cats Became a Racist Caricature
The controversy surrounding Si and Am is not about their villainous nature but about the specific way they were drawn, animated, and voiced. The characters are a textbook example of racist Asian stereotypes prevalent in mid-20th-century Western media.
The Visual and Vocal Stereotypes
The animation of Si and Am employed several visual cues that caricatured Asian people, specifically East Asians, rather than just depicting a cat breed.
- Exaggerated Facial Features: The cats were animated with heavily slanted eyes and, in some frames, even buck teeth, features commonly used in racist propaganda and media to mock people of Asian descent.
- Stereotypical Accents: Their dialogue and singing were delivered in a heavily affected, vaguely "ching-chong" accent, which was designed to sound foreign and sinister.
- The Song's Context: The lyrics of "The Siamese Cat Song" furthered the narrative of the cats as sneaky, untrustworthy, and alien invaders who come to a peaceful American home to cause mayhem. The line "We are Siamese if you please / We are greater than these" establishes them as outsiders with contempt for the domestic order.
This portrayal aligns with the historical context of the 1950s, a period marked by the Cold War and a lingering "Yellow Peril" fear in the West, which often depicted Asian people as cunning, deceitful, and a threat to American life.
The Historical Irony of the Siamese Breed
Ironically, the actual Siamese cat breed was extremely popular and fashionable in the United States during the 1950s.
The breed, known for its distinctive colorpoint coat, striking blue eyes, and vocal nature, had been introduced to America in the late 19th century and saw a major surge in popularity in the post-war era. The film’s decision to take a popular, exotic pet and turn it into a racist caricature is a stark demonstration of how cultural anxieties can be projected onto animals in media.
Disney’s Modern Response: Dropping the Cats from the 2019 Remake
In a powerful and necessary acknowledgment of the controversy, The Walt Disney Company made a definitive choice regarding the characters of Si and Am for the 2019 live-action/CGI remake of Lady and the Tramp, released on the Disney+ streaming service.
Complete Removal and Replacement
The key update for modern audiences is that the original Siamese cats were entirely dropped from the 2019 film.
- New Scene: The entire sequence was revamped and replaced with a new, non-controversial scene.
- New Characters: Instead of Si and Am, the scene features two new, non-Siamese cats. While their specific names and breeds were not given the same prominence as the originals, the crucial point is their design was completely free of the racist visual caricatures.
- New Song: "The Siamese Cat Song" was removed and replaced with an original song. The new track was written and performed by Grammy-winning artist Janelle Monáe, who also voiced the character of Peg (another one of Peggy Lee's original roles).
The decision to replace the entire sequence, rather than simply redesigning the cats, signals Disney’s commitment to distancing itself from the original scene’s offensive content. The new song and characters maintain the chaotic, mischievous element of the scene—the cats still cause trouble for Lady—but they do so without relying on harmful cultural stereotypes.
The Disney+ Content Warning
For those who wish to view the original 1955 animated classic, Disney has taken another step toward addressing its problematic content. When viewing the film on the Disney+ streaming service, a content warning is displayed before the movie begins.
This advisory, part of a larger effort by the studio to contextualize older animated features, states that the program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. It further explains that these stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now, and rather than removing the content entirely, the studio chooses to acknowledge its harmful impact and spark conversation.
The Evolution of an Iconic, Yet Problematic, Scene
The story of the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp perfectly encapsulates the cultural evolution of classic cinema. The original 1955 characters, Si and Am, were a product of their time, created by a team that included the legendary Peggy Lee, yet they were undeniably rooted in racist Asian caricatures that have caused pain and offense for generations.
Today, the legacy of the original film is complex, requiring a content warning to contextualize its stereotypes. However, Disney's definitive action to completely remove and replace the cats and their song with new, non-offensive characters and music in the 2019 remake demonstrates a major shift in corporate responsibility and cultural awareness. The iconic scene remains a powerful, if uncomfortable, reminder of Hollywood's past, but its modern adaptation ensures that future generations can enjoy the classic love story of Lady and the Tramp without perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
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