Day 17: One Hundred and One Dalmatians

This film begins the next era in Disney animation: the Xerography Era.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

Starring: Rod Taylor, Cate Bauer, Betty Lou Gerson, Ben Wright, Bill Lee, Lisa Davis, Martha Wentworth, Frederick Worlock, J. Pat O'Malley, Thurl Ravenscroft, David Frankham, Barbara Baird, Mickey Maga, Sandra Abbott, Mimi Gibson, Tom Conway

Songs: "Cruella de Vil," "Kanine Krunchies," "Dalmatian Plantation"

One Hundred and One Dalmatians is the seventeenth Disney Animated film.  It is based on the book by Dodie Smith, who always secretly hoped her book would become a Disney cartoon.  The story begins with bachelor Roger and his bachelor dog, dalmatian Pongo, meeting and falling in love with human Anita and her dalmatian Perdita.  Soon the dogs have fifteen puppies, which are stolen by the conniving Cruella de Vil and her henchmen, so the dogs go on a rescue mission to bring their puppies home.

One criticism leveled at yesterday's film Sleeping Beauty is that it was pretentious and aimed to be too realistic, but that is not a criticism you can make here.  The art in this movie is very modern -- bold, stylized, and fun.  But it is a lot like Sleeping Beauty in that it is fairly unique in its look.  This was the first film to make extensive use of the xerography method, which used the xerox machine to copy the animator drawings onto sells, as opposed to inking and painting them, as was the traditional method.  The xerography method not only gives the movie a different look, with bold, blacker lines, it also allows the audience to see more of the animator's original work because it cuts out that middle step of inking and painting.  There are times when you can see construction lines on the screen... that's really exciting for an animation nerd!

This movie is also different in that it is the first to have such a thoroughly, unmistakably modern setting.  And the lack of songs (though it is scored throughout) is also something different from most of the earlier features.

This was and still is one of my favorite Disney movies.  When I was little, I got a dalmatian puppy myself, and he became my best friend.  His name, of course, was Pongo... so now that that dog is gone, sometimes this movie can feel bittersweet, but I do still love it.

What I Liked:  Again, I could say everything.  But... I love how Pongo and Perdita refer to their humans as their pets... you just know that's how our animals think of us.  And i also like that when you look at the backgrounds in Roger and Anita's townhouse you see that they have numerous framed photos of their dogs on the walls.  That's precious to me.  Also, Anita's outfit when they take the dogs for their evening walk.  I mean, hello:

What I Disliked: Hmm... let me get back to you on that, as nothing springs to mind.  Well, I mean, I do hate when people put a red collar on Perdita and a blue collar on Pongo, because in the movie it's clearly the other way around.

Should You Watch This Movie: Absolutely.