Movie Review: 101 Dalmatians (1961)

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Almost everything, especially Cruella de Vil.

Cons: The animation style isn't my favorite

The Bottom Line:

Great comedy with

Heart stopping suspense with a

famous film villain

A Movie Famous for the Villain

Over the years, Disney has had many memorable villains. It can easily be argued that Cruella de Vil is among their most famous. Her over the top behavior and poor driving stand out in 101 Dalmatians. And considering the film is already filled with great moments, that's staying something.

Life is lonely for bachelor Pongo (Rod Taylor) and his pet Roger (Ben Wright). Roger is a composer living alone in London except for his faithful Dalmatian companion. That changes when Roger meets Anita (Lisa Davis) who just happens to own Dalmatian Perdita (Cate Bauer). Soon the two couples are married and the dogs are expecting puppies.

But all is not rosy. Anita's childhood friend Cruella de Vil (Betty Lou Gerson) has decided a spotted fur coat is the must have fashion statement of the season. When Roger refuses to sell the puppies, she decides to steal them. Soon, Pongo and Perdita are on an all out rescue mission. Can they find their puppies in time?

This movie is a seamless blend of comedy and suspense that kids will love. Most of the comedy comes in the first half as we are getting to know the characters. Heck, even Cruella comes across as more funny then menacing here. The scene where the two couples meet is fun, but my favorite scene is Pongo, Perdita, and their puppies watching TV. It is so clever.

Things turn more sinister in the second half when the puppies are kidnapped. While there are some scenes, including the climax, that still glue me to the screen, it never gets too menacing thanks to the bumbling villains. There's nothing here at should be too much for kids.

Frankly, it is hard to picture this movie working without Cruella de Vil. She is the centerpiece of the movie. In fact, when she leaves a scene, I often feel a little let down. She is the perfect marriage of a great character brought to life by a wonderful voice performance and expert animation. Much is made of animator Marc Davis' drawings, and with good reason. He manages to make Cruella over the top without ever being over the top. She is funny and menacing at the same time without ever being a contraction. But I think equal praise needs to go to Betty Lou Gerson's vocal acting. Without it, the character would have been flat. You can't have one without the other.

This is the first film to use the new (in 1961) Xerox technology. Instead of the animator's drawings being re-inked, they were photocopied directly to the animation cells. When I learned what that really meant, a light bulb came on. This is the first film to feature heavy lines in the animation, a stylized look I always associate with Disney's films of the 60's and 70's. While the animators loved it, I'm not a big fan of the look. Fortunately, I am in good company. According to the DVD, Walt wasn't a fan either.

In fact, the new look was applied to the backgrounds, too. Everything has hard, dark lines. Yet the blending of colors behind those lines gives the film an almost impressionistic look.

There are three songs in the film. Two are sung almost in passing and don't stand out. The most famous one is "Cruella de Vil." The jazzy number is absolutely wonderful. It's funny yet sets up the character so well. It really reminds me of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," from the Grinch TV special.

The film has just gotten its second DVD release, this time with a bonus disc. The first disc features a newly restored copy of the movie, which looks and sounds wonderful. It also features two pop up trivia tracks, one for fans and one for families. They claim to have 101 unique facts each, so combined you'd get 202 pieces of trivia. That number seems high to me, but I didn't count, so I could easily be wrong. Disc two features behind the scenes trivia for fans including a new half hour documentary on the making of the film. That's how I learned what the Xerox process really meant. I also learned something interesting about the cars in this film. (But you'll have to watch to find out for yourself.) There's also a section that highlights the letters between Walt Disney and the author of the original book, Dodie Smith. I found that section truly heartwarming. They include several deleted or retooled songs. As much as I usually love Disney's music, this time they did the right thing by keeping the songs out of the movie. Finally, there are some puppy themed games for kids to play.

This movie has something for everyone, cute animals, funny moments, suspense, and a memorable villain. So gather the family together and watch 101 Dalmatians today.