If there was
one Disney sub-genera to contend with the amount of Disney Princess films … it
would be their cute-pet centered movies. Certainly not as marketable, but still
just as long lasting, and some of which have remained staples of the animation
company. The one classic under this category which has endured and grown the
most over the years is the 1961 animated classic “101 Dalmatians”. Upon
it’s release it was a monster hit at the box office, one of the studios most
critically successful, and even Dodie Smith, the author of the original book
called this version an improvement over what she initially wrote. Speaking
personally … I think the movie is good, but certainly not a top favorite either. Even on the scale of cute Disney pet-themed movies, I can’t bring
myself to say I like this as much as most of the others. It just seemed to lack
certain highlights that made films in the vain of “Oliver and Company”
stick with me. Also, in a rare case, all my childhood fondness for “101
Dalmatians” revolves around the live-action remake, as that was the version
I grew-up watching as a kid. Still, the original is good … in fact, I think
it’s a little better than some might give it credit for. While I can’t sing the
films praise as one of my favorites of the Disney animation collection, I can
still give credit to a good movie when I see one.
Adapted from the book “The Hundred and One
Dalmatians” by Dodie Smith … Our story begins with a Dalmatian named Pongo,
who’s wanting more than a boring bachelor’s life, while his owner Rodger is too
content in his narrow-minded view of composing music.
Watching this as an
adult, I find myself relating to Rodger more than any other character, as I too
had a problem of being so fixated on my passions, that I often forgot to look
out for people to invite into my life … thank goodness that’s changed. Anyway,
Pongo catches the eye of another female Dalmatian with an equally lovely
owner, and instantly he begins to set a plan to have both owners meet in the
park. This whole sequence with Pongo getting the two owners to notice one
another is honestly my favorite scene of the whole film, and when it wraps-up
with the two becoming an item … it just puts a big dumb smile on my face. Time
passes, both Dalmatians have had a litter of pups, and all seems right with the
world … until she shows up. In comes one Cruella de Vil, a fashion obsessed
nut-case with a special liking for fur coats, and she sees this particular
group of pups as the perfect means for making a new line of spotted fur coats.
When Roger turns down her offer to pay for them, the villain resorts to
stealing them for her own end. Thus, the dog Pongo and his wife Perdita set out
on a quest to rescue the pups, before a new line of coats go on the market.
Let’s just jump right into the most famous
thing about this movie … the Villain. Cruella de Vil has gone on to become an
icon, not just for Disney Villains, but I always see her on just about every
classic movie villain list out there. It’s one of those rare cases in which a
recognizable cartoon villain just took on a life of their own, and grew into
something more famous than even the animators were expecting. Her motivations
are so simple, yet so horrible that we find ourselves hating her more than the
really evil villains with the world dominating motivations. She also has a
great design, as she’s this fragile skinny person who’s almost swallowed up by
this monstrous fur coat. Once again for me personally, I always felt that the
animated Cruella de Vil loomed in the shadow of her
live action counterpart played by Glenn Close, who’s still to this day one of
my favorite live-action Disney villains. Still, you can’t dismiss the original,
and voice actress Betty Lou Gerson dose a great job hamming it up. Let’s not
forget the equally famous “Cruella de Vil Song”, which has likewise become a Disney
staple. Being honest, I never understood the mass appeal of this song, or why
it’s so popular. Sure, I remember it, but I don’t think it’s really that catchy
or fun to listen too either. I do however enjoy her two cronies named Jasper
and Horace, who set the template for wicked goons that come in the pair of a
tall skinny guy, and a short fat guy. Beyond that, these two are so overly
British with their slang remarks, and thick accents … I just love it.
My favorite character … oddly enough, is
this one cat named Tibs, who’s just a small side character, but there’s something
about his determination and resourcefulness that makes him stand out. We see
him put his life on the line to protect the pups, and it’s great … how often do
we see a cat protecting dogs anyway? The remaining characters all play their
parts fine, and are likable … but none too memorable either. Pongo and Perdita
do make for a lovable Disney couple, and it’s cool for once to see a husband
and wife set-off on a quest together to rescue their kids. Then we have the
Dalmatians themselves, who are all very cute, but with so many, the film can
only give us little glimpses of the individuals in the group. I remember
watching this as a kid, and I so badly wanted to see more scenes with certain
pups. Because of this, my sibling and I always preferred watching Disney’s "The Aristocats", as that film only had three
kittens, each with distinct personalities, each given their proper length of
screen time, each with quotable lines, and they just left more of an impression
on us as memorable characters.
While the film may look kind of basic on
the surface, the film actually marked a big change in animation that had never
been done before ... a little process called Xerography. This allowed the
animators to copy their characters into the film without the whole inking
process, and it saved the studio a lot of money. Especially with all the
Dalmatians on screen, it saved a lot of time and cost to re-use the same
drawing of a dog character in a single frame. As far as individual animation
highlights are concerned, one of my favorite scenes, strangely enough … is
actually the opening credits. Most Disney movies of the time seemed to have the
exact same, by the numbers, opening title card sequence, but “101 Dalmatians”
begins with something completely original, and features a distinctly unique
design and layout. This also marked the very first animated Disney movie to be
set at the exact same time-period of it’s release. It was the first-time seeing
things like car-tunnels, or TV’s in Disney animation. I actually love the scene
with the family watching TV, as it feels like a real lived-in moment, and too
often I feel movies forget to just have moments like that. On that note, the TV
becomes a character in of itself, with a gallery of distinct TV programs and
adds. For whatever reason, there’s nothing in this movie more memorable to me
then that “Kanine Krunchies” add,
with that annoying, yet delightful jingle.
This dose lead me to one issue I have with
the film … a noticeable lack of songs. Yeah, aside from that silly jingle, and the
famous villain song, there really isn’t anything else musically related to look
forward to. There’s the final “Dalmatian
Plantation” song, but that’s nothing too special either. Say what you
will about either “The Aristocats” or “Oliver and Company”, but
those films absolutely had their musical highlights that kept bringing me back.
Now with that said, the lack of songs is compensated with some rich atmosphere.
I do love the quiet moments in which the music track is silent, and we just hear the sounds.
The Twilight Bark sequence is a great example of this movie
choosing atmosphere over a song number, and it really works to create an
effective mood. I love how it transitions from this busy wide shot of dogs barking in the city, to the quiet countryside, where the silence is broken by a single dog passing the message along. It's hard to explain, but there's something really absorbing about this moment. This scene also makes good use of character cameo’s from “Lady
and the Tramp”. Another great scene follows after the mother Perdita has her litter of pups, and they fear they lost one in the proses. Any contemporary movie would play this scene up with huge reactions and a loud emotional music score, but this film again takes the quiet approach, and makes you feel like your in this uncomfortable moment. All we hear is the sound of a rain storm, there's a clock swinging it's pendulum, and the characters are in this frozen calm ... and it's really effective.
The third act of the movie is a subtle cat
and mouse game, as our pups disguise themselves, and sneak aboard a truck. It
actually builds some good tension, as the pups have to go in small groups, all
while the villains might spot them at any second. Once their cover is blown, it
leads into a memorable car-chase climax. Kind of a rare treat to get an action
set-piece of this sort in a Disney cartoon, and the animation on display once
again was very inventive for its time. The cars for example were painted model
objects, that were inserted into the animation environments. Also, I distinctly
remember this chase scaring me as a kid all because of that one close up or Cruella’s
psychotic angry face.
In the end, “101 Dalmatians” is one
of those special little Disney movies that I feel sneaks up on me. Unlike most
other Disney films, this one has never been a personal favorite, thus I don’t
think about it. However, when I find myself watching it, I’m delighted to
rediscover just how cute and lovable the film actually is. You really need to
set certain expectations for a film of this sort, as it’s a cute little
adventure with these adorable puppies out-running a fun villain, and for such a
simple premise, it somehow just works. There's a lot of quiet suspense, with characters sneaking around, and it brings to mind movies like "The Great Escape", in which the appeal comes from seeing all these characters make it out safe. It’s almost by default that it can’t measure
up to other Disney films with more compelling characters, or more songs, and larger
stories. Still, the film at least has its own charm factor, as well as some rich
atmosphere. It’s a movie to be taken for what it is … which is still a
reasonably cute, and delightful experience.
Thanks for reading my review of Disney’s 1961 classic “101 Dalmatians” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
