Here’s a fun fact: adjusted for inflation, the 1961 film 101 Dalmatians is the second-highest-grossing animated film ever. Ever. More than Frozen, more than The Lion King, more than the Shrek movies. Only Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has raked in more cash. Another related fun fact: in the summer of 1991, a mere 3 weeks after Terminator 2: Judgment Day opened to wide acclaim and big box office, Disney re-released 101 Dalmatians into theaters to honor its 30th anniversary. On its opening weekend, it made more money than the opening of Point Break and Boyz N The Hood. It was the 20th-highest-grossing film of the year. Somehow, though, it took the Disney of the 21st century a lot longer than would seem logical to release this beloved and popular adventure on Blu-ray. As mentioned in a Blu-ray review last week, the only other big-name Disney animated film waiting for an HD transfer is Aladdin.
But at least 101 Dalmatians is available now, because its charms are best appreciated in the best possible format. Disney, of course, has a well-known predilection toward favoring dogs over cats, but even to those among us who are cat people, this is a delightful and winning story. (Yes, there’s The Aristocats and Oliver & Company, but those aren’t exactly Disney’s best work.) The story of the dalmatian Pongo and his “pet” Roger Radcliff going from being bachelors to married with 15 puppies (eventually many more) stands apart from most Disney fare, primarily because of its setting. It was the studio’s first contemporary film, and in many ways, even now it seems quite rare. It’s not just that the characters smoke cigarettes or drive cars or watch TV; it’s that those types of objects feel specific to the era. Shows like “What’s My Crime?” and “The Adventures of Thunderbolt” aren’t that recognizable to modern children, but it ties 101 Dalmatians to the year of its release without dragging it down like an anchor.
But, of course, when we think of 101 Dalmatians, we’re not thinking of dogs or the timeliness of the story. We all think of Cruella De Vil, because in spite of the on-the-nose name (thought up by author Dodie Smith, whose book serves as the film’s inspiration), she’s one of the most terrifying and outlandish villains ever created by the studio. She doesn’t turn into a literal dragon during the car chase that ends the picture à la Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, but that’s because she’s an inhuman monster from the get-go. If there’s anything seriously wrong with 101 Dalmatians, it’s not De Vil so much as anyone else being surprised that a character named Cruella De Vil is a bad person. Her quest to make the ultimate fur coat is truly nasty; the way Roger’s wife Anita rebuffs the suggestion that this harridan is anything less than awful is a bit ridiculous.
But no matter. There are minor quibbles to have with 101 Dalmatians, no doubt (even before we meet the other puppies who make up the eponymous group, it’s hard to see all of Pongo and Perdita’s pups as having much of an identifiable personality), but fun is fun. More than any of Disney’s previous animated features, 101 Dalmatians is an exciting and stripped-down adventure. And though it portended an era of cost-cutting visuals–though it was used slightly in Sleeping Beauty, the Xerox process was used in full here, partly to help in animating the puppies’ spots–the film is as much of a speedy jaunt as the modern score from composer George Bruns.
A/V
Those of you who are both Disney obsessives and aspect-ratio nuts (friends!) will be happy to know that 101 Dalmatians is preserved here in the correct ratio of 1.33:1, even though past editions were stretched out to a wider ratio. What’s more, the HD transfer is legitimately quite beautiful. The color stylings by the late Walt Peregoy have been captured gorgeously on Blu-ray, with the greens and muted browns of Roger’s apartment as well as the greys and reds in Hell Hall presented in eye-popping glory. This film may be the beginning of the Xerox era for Disney animation, but it looks lovely in HD. Even if some of the designs are intentionally looser, it doesn’t look nearly as rough (except somewhat in the climactic chase) as some may have feared. The audio is equally solid, from the squeaky “Kanine Krunchies” jingle to Cruella’s shrill, nails-on-a-chalkboard voice to Bruns’ bouncy and jazzy score. This is one of the better Disney transfers in a while, all around.
Extras
As with previous Diamond Editions, a good chunk of the extras come from prior releases, dubbed “Classic DVD Bonus Features.” One missing extra–that wasn’t part of the Platinum Edition DVD, to be fair–is an audio commentary. It wouldn’t be that hard, one imagines, to round up a couple of Disney historians (Leonard Maltin, at least) to do a commentary on such a memorable film. And yet, the most substantive extra here is a 35-minute making-of featurette from the previous release. The new features are a mixed bag, at least. There’s a brief animated short called “The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt” that extends the fake TV show the puppies watch without much fanfare, as well as a nine-minute featurette focusing on Disney Legends like Floyd Norman and Burny Mattinson, who’ve been part of the company for over 50 years.
The best new extra is an episode of the Disneyland TV show, “The Best Doggoned Dog in the World;” this 1961 version of the show features a behind-the-scenes preview of Dalmatians along with a mini-documentary on a sheepdog in the Old West. The worst new extra, by the longest of long shots, is called “Dalmatians 101.” It’s hosted by a Disney Channel star, Cameron Boyce, who lists out “the 411 on 101,” a list of five cool things about the movie you bought. (Why, you may ask, would you need to be convinced that the movie you bought is cool if you already bought it? Never mind.) As luck would have it, Boyce is also playing Cruella De Vil’s son in an upcoming Disney Channel movie. What are the odds?!? The facts Boyce details are covered in the other features on the disc, and in a less condescending fashion. (And they’re also not packaged as a direct ad for something else.)
Overall
Even for those of us who love cats, 101 Dalmatians remains one of the more delightful Disney animated films, even if some of its 1960s-specific charm feels quaint in 2015. Featuring one of the most iconic villains of cinema history, this film’s worth splurging on.
2 thoughts on “Blu-ray Review: “101 Dalmatians””
I would love to see Criterion editions of some Disney movies, including Snow White, Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, and a handful of others. It’ll never happen, of course, but it’s nice to imagine.
Great review. One of my favorite movies and to me the second best Disney animated film besides Pinocchio. Just shared this too.