One Hundred and One Dalmatians (film)

• Release Date: 1961
• Director(s): Clyde Geronimi; Hamilton Luske; Wolfgang Reitherman
• Writer(s): Bill Peet
• Book / Story Film Based On: One Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith

One Hundred and One Dalmatians is an American animated film targeted for family audiences. Told from the dog’s point of view, the story follows the kidnapping and rescue of Dalmatian puppies. The film was a big box office hit for Disney Animation Studios and received some of the best reviews of any Disney film. The film was notable for Disney in that it was lighthearted, and included one of film’s greatest villains, Cruella de Vil.

It is one of the last films that Walt Disney worked on and was the first to use the new technique of xerography in its animation process. Disney did not care for the results of the xerographic technique but xerography was a less expensive method of animation. The studio had to make budget cuts after Sleeping Beauty flopped at the box office.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians was the first Disney film with only one man, Bill Peet, creating the story. Usually there were closer to fifteen people on the story crew. Dodie Smith, author of the book The One Hundred and One Dalmatians, felt the movie actually improved her story.

Disney animated films prior to One Hundred and One Dalmatians were set in a fantasy or fairy tale world. One Hundred and One Dalmatians was set in a contemporary world for its 1960s audience, with televisions and automobiles. The backgrounds were modern, too, with an angular look.

The music for One Hundred and One Dalmatians was also contemporary. This was the first Disney film that was not a musical; however, it did have an award-nominated soundtrack. The music was not romantic but instead had a jazz feel.

Plot

Pongo is a Dalmatian who lives with his human, Roger, in a London apartment where Roger spends his days trying to compose songs. Pongo decides Roger needs a wife and entangles his leash with that of a lady Dalmatian and Anita, her owner. Roger marries Anita and Pongo marries her dog, Perdita, who soon gives birth to fifteen puppies.

Anita’s old classmate, Cruella de Vil, demands to purchase the puppies but Roger refuses, even though they are poor. He makes up a song about how evil Cruella is but Anita thinks he is being silly. One evening, while the humans are walking Pongo and Perdita in the park, Cruella’s two minions sneak into the house and steal the puppies. Roger calls the police and Scotland Yard, but no one can find the puppies.

Pongo asks for help by barking an alert to all dogs on the "Twilight Bark." Each dog sends the message on to the next until it is received by Colonel, a country sheepdog, who learns that the puppies are being held at the nearby de Vil mansion. Pongo and Perdita struggle across the snowy countryside to rescue them. Meanwhile Colonel and his cat friend, Sergeant Tibbs, learn that Cruella wants to use the puppies’ fur to make herself a coat. She has acquired eighty-four other puppies and orders her minions to kill and skin them all before the police find them. Colonel and Sergeant try to help the puppies flee the mansion but they are cornered. Pongo and Perdita crash through a window and fight to free them, finally escaping into the cold night with all ninety-nine puppies.

Pursued by Cruella and her minions, the dogs slide down an icy creek, shelter in a dairy barn, disguise themselves with black soot, hide in a van, and eventually arrive home safely. Cruella and the minions crash their vehicles in a ravine during the chase. Roger and Anita decide to adopt all of the puppies and purchase a new home in the country with the money Roger has made from his hit song about Cruella de Vil. They gather around the piano as Roger composes a new song about their "Dalmatian Plantation."

Significance

One Hundred and One Dalmatians earned more than six million in its first year and over $215 million over the years since it was released. It only cost four million dollars to make because the studio used xerography, a new animation technique that cut costs in half.

Xerography is a form of photocopying that made it possible to reproduce the artist’s work directly onto a cel without hand inking. Ub Iwerks, head of special processes, knew that the new machines from Xerox were duplicating images onto paper, and wondered if it would be possible to duplicate an image onto a cel. He experimented and discovered he could make it work with modifications to the Xerox camera. The black and white process was perfectly suited to reproducing the multitude of black and white Dalmatians; however, each dog’s unique spots still had to be hand inked. The characters were then placed against colorful painted backgrounds.

The new technique was also used to capture the vehicles in the car chase. Animators made white models of the cars and outlined the edges in black. They then filmed the models, moving them forward, running them up sandy hills, and crashing them in simulated ravines. Each frame of the film was then photocopied onto a cel and placed against the appropriate backgrounds. These techniques continued to be used for years to come.

The film’s villain, Cruella de Vil, is not only considered to be one of Disney’s greatest villains, but she is considered to be one of the greatest villains in any American movie. She is ranked thirty-ninth on the American Film Institute’s (AFI) list of AFI’s 100 Years . . . 100 Heroes & Villains. AFI considers the characters to have "made a mark on American society in matters of style and substance. They also elicit strong reactions across time, enriching America’s film heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences."

One Hundred and One Dalmatians won a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award for best animated feature. The soundtrack was also nominated for a Grammy for best recording for children. The music and lyrics were by Mel Leven, the music was composed by George Bruns, and it was performed by Bill Lee.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians was remade with live actors in 1996, with Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil. Close also starred in the 2000 live-action sequel, 102 Dalmatians. A video sequel to the animated version was made in 2003 called 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure. The movie also inspired an animated television series in 1997, as well as several video games.

Bibliography

Finch, Christopher, and Walt Disney. The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms and Beyond. New York: Abrams, 2011. Print.

Johnston, Ollie, and Frank Thomas. The Disney Villain. New York: Hyperion, 1993. Print.

Smith, Dave. Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia. New York: Disney, 2006. Print.

Smith, Dave, and Steven Clark. Disney: The First 100 Years. New York: Hyperion, 1999. Print.

Smith, Dodie. The Hundred and One Dalmatians. 1956. Reprint. London: Egmont Heritage, 2012. Print.

Thomas, Bob. Disney’s Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules. New York: Hyperion, 1997. Print.