One Hundred and One Dalmatians

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This article is about the animated film. See The Hundred and One Dalmatians for the original novel. For the 1996 live-action film, see 101 Dalmatians.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Directed by Clyde Geronimi
Hamilton Luske
Wolfgang Reitherman
Produced by Walt Disney
Written by Dodie Smith (novel "The One Hundred and One Dalmatians")
Bill Peet (story)
Starring Rod Taylor
Cate Bauer
Betty Lou Gerson
Ben Wright
Lisa Davis
Martha Wentworth
Frederick Worlock
J. Pat O'Malley
Tudor Owen
Tom Conway
George Pelling
Thurl Ravenscroft
David Frankham
Ramsay Hill
Queenie Leonard
Marjorie Bennett
Barbara Baird
Mickey Maga
Sandra Abbott
Mimi Gibson
Barbara Luddy
Paul Frees
Music by George Bruns
Mel Leven (songs)
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s) January 25, 1961
Running time 78 min.
Language English
Budget $4,000,000 USD (estimated)
Preceded by Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Followed by The Sword in the Stone (1963)
IMDb profile

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians) is the seventeenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was made and produced by Walt Disney Productions, and it was originally released to theaters on January 25, 1961 by Buena Vista Distribution. It is based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. It also appeared in 1961 as a Walt Disney comic book based on the animated film.

The film features Rod Taylor as the voice of Pongo, the first of the Dalmatians, and Betty Lou Gerson as the voice of the villainous Cruella De Vil. The plot centers on the fate of the kidnapped puppies of Pongo and Perdita.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Production

The production of the film signaled a change in the graphic style of Disney's animation. This occurred with the introduction of Xerography which eased graphic reproduction requirements, but at the price of being unable to deviate from a scratchy outline style because of the new (and time and money saving) technology's limitations, recognizable by its thick black lines. Since the line would not have fit the "round" Disney drawing style used until then, a more graphic, angular style was chosen for this, and subsequent film. Rotoscoping, a technique formerly used for tracing live action human characters into animated drawings, became less important.

The technology change also happened when Disney cut its animation department after the economical failure of the very expensive Sleeping Beauty, resulting in a reduction of staff from well over 500 to less than 100 and fewer resources put into the movies. Walt Disney, who at this point had started to direct his attention more towards television and his amusement park and less on his animated features, disliked this development. The current look of animation would therefore be the norm for years until the technology improved prior to the release of The Rescuers to allow a softer look. In later animated features the Xeroxed lines could be printed in many different colors.

[edit] Re-release schedule and home video

The film was the highest grossing film of 1961 and one of the studio's most popular films of the decade and was re-issued in 1969, 1979, 1985, and 1991, the last re-issue being one of the top 10 films of the year at the box office in a year when the studio had few hits. The film was released on video in 1992 (using 1988 Classics logo; it was also the first movie to have a new "Feature Presentation" graphic, with a lilac blue gradient background and white handwriting) and March 9, 1999 (using 1993 WDHV logo), and on DVD on November 9, 1999 as part of Disney's Limited Issue series. A Platinum Edition DVD release was originally scheduled for March 2007, but it was unexpectedly replaced by Peter Pan, as revealed from the Platinum Edition DVD of The Little Mermaid. [1] It is most likely postponed to March 2008, as the October 2007 time slot has been occupied by The Jungle Book.

[edit] 101 Dalmatians theatrical release history

[edit] Worldwide release dates

[edit] Characters

  • Pongo: The protagonist and the father of the Dalmatian puppies
  • Perdita: Pongo's mate and the mother of the Dalmatian puppies
  • Roger: Pongo's owner and a struggling songwriter; eventually becomes rich when creating a song about Cruella de Vil, who is Anita's social parasite.
  • Anita: Perdita's owner and Roger's wife. She is something of an artist and rather fond of Roger.
  • Cruella De Vil: The villain of the film; an eccentric rich woman who has the puppies kidnapped in order to turn them into fur coats. She is a social parasite; she visits her ex-classmates, keeping a pretence of friendship, while taking advantage of their fears. She has an obsession for pelts, but in fact is only shown wearing a single, voluminous white coat. Beneath this, she wears a skintight swimming suit. Cruella smokes constantly and has no scruples to either commit blackmail or bad driving. She drives a long red car and is known for operating it recklessly.
  • Jasper and Horace Badun: Cruella's henchmen who carry out the kidnapping. Jasper is tall and thin, while Horace is short and fat; otherwise, they are obviously twin brothers. They argue often. Horace is the more intelligent of the two, but is absolutely intimidated by Jasper, who has the more ready tongue. Jasper has a closed mind to the possibility of sapience in dogs-- as well as the equal possibility of cleverness in his brother. He drinks alcohol, whereas Horace eats sandwiches. Both enjoy watching a weekly television programme called "What's My Crime?", wherein the misdeeds of lawbreakers are guessed by a panel of contestants. One of the guest stars of this programme, Percival "Meathead" Faunsquater, is an acquaintance of theirs.
  • Nanny: Roger and Anita's maid. Very maternal and fussy. Detests Cruella, has no patience for teasing, and is very attached to the puppies. Worthless in a crisis except to give the alarm.
  • Patch and Lucky: Two of the 99 Dalmatian puppies. Patch has a black eye; Lucky is obsessed with TV and has a horseshoe-shaped pattern of spots on his back. Their favorite television serial features a police dog named Thunderbolt, who while quite alone fights and captures a fat thief known as Dirty Dawson.
  • Cadpig: In the book and TV series, she is the runt dalmatian who nearly dies immediately after being born. In the film, however, Cadpig's role is played by Lucky. He is given the name "Lucky" because of being revived by Roger, who thawed him out by means of friction.
  • Rolly: Another puppy; always hungry.
  • Freckles: Another puppy; has a pattern of spots over the bridge of the nose resembling freckles on a human child.
  • The Colonel, the Captain, and Sergeant Tibbs: A dog, a horse, and a cat who help mastermind a rescue mission to save the puppies from Cruella

[edit] Voice cast

Cruella DeVil, Jasper, and Horace.
Enlarge
Cruella DeVil, Jasper, and Horace.

[edit] Directing Animators

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

After Roger and Anita (and Pongo and Perdita) get married, Perdita gives birth to 15 Dalmatian puppies. Cruella De Vil, who is known to Anita from their school years, offers the human couple a large sum of money in return for the puppies so that she can make dog-skin coats out of them. The human couple refuses, but Cruella, who won't take no for an answer, hires Jasper and Horace Badun to kidnap the puppies. Once the puppies are kidnapped, it is up to Pongo and Perdita, along with the help of some animal friends they meet along the way, to rescue them along with the 84 other puppies in Cruella's possession.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Sequels and Spinoffs

1999 DVD cover of 101 Dalmatians.
Enlarge
1999 DVD cover of 101 Dalmatians.

101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure is a sequel to the original 1961 film, released on January 21, 2003.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians was remade in 1996 as 101 Dalmatians, a live-action film starring Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil. None of the animals talked in this version.

102 Dalmatians is a live-action sequel to 101 Dalmatians was released on November 22, 2000.

101 Dalmatians: The Series is a cartoon television show series based on the original 101 Dalmatians film.

The Starlight Barking is the sequel written by author Dodie Smith.

[edit] Title in different languages

[edit] Goofs

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

At the park in the beginning of the movie, Pongo drags Roger from the bench where his hat is sitting beside him. He leaves the hat there, but a few seconds later it is on his head.

In the same scene when Anita is removed from the pond, the book she was carrying has turned into a purse.

In a lot of scenes there are a lot more than 101 dalmatian puppies; like in the ending scene, there are well over 150 of them.

In the scene where Cruella tries to convince Roger to sell her the puppies, she sets her purse on the table to write out a cheque. After Roger refuses and she rips up the cheque and storms out of the house, she doesn't pick up her purse to bring it with her. Later on, she has the purse again.

In the same scene, Cruella splatters ink all over Pongo and Roger. In the next shot, the ink disappears and they are clean.

When Jasper picks up a glass bottle and throws it at a cat, the bottle is half full of wine. When the bottle misses the cat and hits the wall, it is empty and no wine spills out when it shatters.

In the scene where Pongo puts his puppies to bed, there are seven of them sitting in front of the television. However, only five puppies actually go through the door to bed.

During final car chase, Jasper and Horace see the large truck approaching the intersection from their right, but when they collide, the truck has come from the left.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

  • Much as clownfish were later popularized in Finding Nemo, One Hundred and One Dalmatians popularized the Dalmatian breed. Many families sought Dalmatians, although Dalmatians are not known for being particularly good with children (they are very high-energy and require a lot of exercise), many were returned or abandoned. [2] The breed also suffered due to backyard breeders looking to profit from the trend. [3]
  • Cruella's car in this film was not a Panther De Ville Convertible. Although they look similar, the car was not produced until 12 years after the film's release.
  • Cruella De Vil's name is a play on words to sound like her personality: Cruel Devil.
  • When the Baduns are talking on the phone to Cruella, they are holding a newspaper. The only headline on the front page (minus the dognapping) is CARLSEN SPEAKS and a picture of a capsized ship. This headline helps us to date the story: since the Carlsen in question is Henrik Kurt Carlsen, captain of the freighter Flying Enterprise that sank after a prolonged struggle in the Atlantic. The sinking of the freighter was the media event of the year in January 1952.
  • Cruella's design was a manic take-off on the flamboyant actress Tallulah Bankhead that included some of her personality quirks.
  • When Pongo and Perdita arrive to rescue the puppies, the puppies can be seen watching What's My Crime?, a parody version of What's My Line? on television.
  • Two of the local yokels of Westport from the Disney short The Saga of Windwagon Smith, which was released the same year as this film, resemble the Baduns.
  • Unlike many other Walt Disney animated features, One Hundred and One Dalmatians only features one song in it, "Cruella De Vil." But even this song isn't sung to its entirety. The only other one that comes close is Dalmatian Plantation, which only contains two lines and is sung as a closer.
  • In the Squaresoft game Kingdom Hearts, the Dalmatians' world has been destroyed; consequently, Pongo and Perdita are, at first, the only residents in the mansion where they stay in Traverse Town. The puppies are trapped inside treasure chests scattered throughout the worlds. Every time a player rescues a bunch of puppies, Pongo and Perdita give rewards to the player.

[edit] External links

Disney theatrical animated features
Official canon (Walt Disney Animated Classics)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) • Pinocchio (1940) • Fantasia (1940) • Dumbo (1941) • Bambi (1942) • Saludos Amigos (1942) • The Three Caballeros (1944) • Make Mine Music (1946) • Fun and Fancy Free (1947) • Melody Time (1948) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) • Cinderella (1950) • Alice in Wonderland (1951) • Peter Pan (1953) • Lady and the Tramp (1955) • Sleeping Beauty (1959) • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) • The Sword in the Stone (1963) • The Jungle Book (1967) • The Aristocats (1970) • Robin Hood (1973) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) • The Rescuers (1977) • The Fox and the Hound (1981) • The Black Cauldron (1985) • The Great Mouse Detective (1986) • Oliver & Company (1988) • The Little Mermaid (1989) • The Rescuers Down Under (1990) • Beauty and the Beast (1991) • Aladdin (1992) • The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • Hercules (1997) • Mulan (1998) • Tarzan (1999) • Fantasia 2000 (1999) • The Emperor's New Groove (2000) • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) • Lilo & Stitch (2002) • Treasure Planet (2002) • Brother Bear (2003) • Home on the Range (2004) • Chicken Little (2005) 
Upcoming:  Meet the Robinsons (2007) • American Dog (2008) • Rapunzel (2009) • The Frog Princess (20??)
Live-action films with animation

The Reluctant Dragon (1941) • Victory Through Air Power (1943) • Song of the South (1946) • So Dear to My Heart (1949) • Mary Poppins (1964) • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) • Pete's Dragon (1977) • Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) 
Upcoming:  Enchanted (2007)
DisneyToons Studio animated features

DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) • A Goofy Movie (1995) • Doug's 1st Movie (1999) • The Tigger Movie (2000) • Recess: School's Out (2001) • Return to Never Land (2002) • The Jungle Book 2 (2003) • Piglet's Big Movie (2003) • Teacher's Pet (2004) • Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005)
Other theatrical animated features

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) • James and the Giant Peach (1996) • Dinosaur (2000) 
See also: Pixar


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