The story is based on a novel entitled The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, an english novelist and playwright, that is without question her most successful story. The 101 Dalmatians was a turning point for the animation style that Disney was known for up to that point. Disney was now evolving and focusing on television, their amusement park and even live action films. Animation was becoming too pricey and there was a need to find a more cost effective method. This new method was Xerography, a more sketchy graphic style that was visually different then the more romantic rounded style that Disney was known for. This new style solved their budgetary problems and become the norm for many years to come. It should also be noted that at the time, Walt Disney hated the new style. It is said it was not until the film was released and the film was a box office hit, did Walt have a change of heart.
The animation style isn’t the only unusual and unique aspect of this Walt Disney animation. It was the first Disney animation to take place in the present time and not in fantasy or another era in history. But that’s not all, although Pongo’s owner Roger is a struggling songwriter, there are very few songs. In fact there are only 3 songs in all with only the song, “Cruella De Vil,” having a big part in the film. Speaking of our villainess, another little tidbit is the fact that Disney almost faced their first animation to not have a G rating. This due to the new MPAA criteria for smoking, if you are not familiar with Cruella De Vil, she smokes like a chimney through the film.
With all of that in mind, you are now ready to pick up the just released edition of Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians on their special Two-Disc Platinum Edition. Disney knows how to take care of their legacy and every so often they mine their vaults to release new discovered nuggets. This is an all-new digital restored edition featuring an enhanced picture and sound, along with bonus features for the adults and the kids.
On disc one we have the main feature, but a few extras are here to keep you entertained before you go to more of the meat and potatoes found on disc two. On disc one you have 101 Pop-up trivia facts. One option for the family and one for the fan, these little balloons pop-up through the course of the film to keep you even more entertained on second and third viewings. The one for the family focuses on the differences between the novel and the animated adaptation. Whereas the one for the fan is more of a behind the scenes look in the making of this animated classic. The other bonus feature on disc one is for the kids. This is an all-new music video and song adaptation by Disney Channel star Selena Gomez, performing the classic tune, “Cruella De Vil.” I’m not going to judge the tune since it’s for the kids and not for me.
On disc two they are broken down basically by three categories – Games & Activities, Music & More and Backstage Disney. Under games we have “Disney’s Virtual Dalmatians,” “Puppy Profiler,” and the “101 Dalmatians Fun With Language Game.” All of these are geared towards the younger audience, so to be honest I did not even go into this section. Besides there is plenty of other features to keep the adult busy.
The Music & More section, we have over a half an hour of deleted songs. There’s six deleted songs total that included alternate takes and even an alternate direction for the “Cruella De Vil” tune. It’s interesting they had this many songs in the works, since 101 Dalmatians is so light on tunes. I personally didn’t miss the lack of tunes in this animation. If anything, this shows Disney could keep you entertained by story and the animation performances and they didn’t need to throw a song in to make the movie work.
In Backstage Disney, we get over a half an hour documentary dived into seven chapters entitled, “Redesigning the Line: The Making of 101 Dalmatians,” a in depth history in the production of the film. Also include are two featurettes. The first is a seven minute one called "Cruella De Vil: Drawn To Be Bad," on of course one of the best villainess ever created by Disney or anyone for that matter. Next up we have a twelve minute one called, "Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney," which is an interesting featurette on the letter correspondence Walt and the author, Dodie Smith had before, during and after the production.
Last but not least, there are several trailers, radio spot and seven art galleries on everthing from “Character Design” to “Visual Development.” This disc has everything you’ll probably ever need to know or experience from the original Walt Disney release.
101 Dalmatians was a big step for Disney Studios and for Walt himself back in 1961. You can see this new style pop-up and perfected in their later film, “Aristocats.” So if you are a fan of Disney and their animated classics, this new release is a no brainer. The film looks great and I can only imagine how it will look one day on beautiful blu-ray. In fact that day might not be too far off, Disney has already announced they are going to release one of their classic animations, “Sleeping Beauty,” on blu-ray later this year. So it’s only a matter of time before Disney starts all over and releases these classics onto the medium of the future.
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