Disney Movie Challenge: 101 Dalmatians (1961)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

101 Dalmatians

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

After the gamble with Sleeping Beauty didn’t pay off, Disney was about to give up on Feature Animation. But he had recently bought the rights to the book “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” and really wanted to turn it into a film. Walt ended up being very hands off the process for the film and it led to a movie that is very different from previous Disney Films. It had a more modern feel (it’s the first time a TV is in a Disney Animated Feature), a modern jazz score from George Brun, almost no songs, and used a new animation technique called Xerography. Walt ended up disliking almost everything about this movie. He was specifically annoyed by the look of the background animation and told production artist Ken Anderson that he would never work in an art department again. Despite what Walt thought the movie would become the highest grossing animated yet for Disney.


The movie is about two dalmatians Pongo and Purdita and their owners Roger and Anita. Purdita gives birth to 15 puppies. Anita’s “friend” Cruella de Vil says she wants to buy the puppies to turn them into a fur coat. When Roger and Anita decline the offer Cruella sends two thugs to kidnap the puppies. The puppies are taken to an abandoned house where there are 84 other puppies. While Scotland Yard is unable to produce any leads the dogs use the “twilight bark”. The twilight bark has dogs spreading information to one another. Eventually word reaches a sheepdog named Colonel, who lives in a barn with a horse named Captain, and a cat named Sergeant Tibbs. They notice some suspicious activity at the old de Vil house. Sergeant Tibbs goes to investigate and finds the puppies. They use the twilight bark to send news back to Pongo and Purdita who set out to rescue the puppies themselves. After a few close calls they escape from Cruella and her henchman. Roger and Anita are happy to have their puppies home and decide to adopt the rest of them for a total of 101 Dalmatians.


The biggest thing this film is known for is being the first to use Xerography to make an animation feature film. Xerography is a way of photocopying artists drawings and bypassed the inking and painting process. Ub Iwerks, a long time collaborator with Disney, saw the potential of Xerox’s process for film. He helped transition it from just paper copies to animation. This saved money (also cost a lot of people in the inking department their jobs) but also gave a look that some consider less artistic. For years the animators would work on making very tiny lines and could get great detail in the characters. With Xerography every sketch had thick black lines around them and kind of lost that detail. It also made it easier to animate 101 dogs since one drawing could be photocopied multiple times in different sizes. One of the things they had going for them was that the dalmatians are black and white so the black lines kind of get lost on them and it’s not as noticeable. But, in Walt Disney’s eyes it was less artistic and more cartoony. No matter what your take on the artistic quality is, the process gives a different feel and would be how Disney would make films for another 30 years. Here are a few videos describing the process. 

https://youtu.be/CWwU8jd04-I
https://youtu.be/edfM5OuJqks

The movie is also a departure from other Disney films in terms of genre. While Disney films usually are fantasy or fairy tale films this one feels like more of an adventure movie. It’s about a rescue mission and an escape. Adventure films are only as good as their villains and Cruella de Vil is obviously one of Disney’s most iconic villains. She is completely over the top, has a unique style, just a great presence on screen (it’s no wonder why Glenn Close would want to play the villain in the 1996 live action version).

There is a fun bit in the beginning when they showed a bunch of dogs and each dog resembled their owner. Also, Roger writes a funny Cruella de Vil song (the only real song in the film) which is kind of catchy. But the fun really starts when the dogs take matters into their own hands (or paws at it would be). While the action is kid friendly and nothing too over the top, I think it keeps the story movie and interesting. There are a bunch of close calls during the escape and the movie is able to keep the tension.

Overall: The movie is a fun adventure. I thought it was well done and a different film for Disney. George Bruns is proving to be a master at scoring Disney films.  I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. You can see a decline in quality with the animation but they made it work in this film.

Random Facts:

The screenplay was written by Bill Peet. It was the first Disney Animated film written by one person.

The movie was a huge hit and because it cost less ended up making the studio a lot of money.