One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Better Late Then Never

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I really like this movie. Among my favorite from outside the Disney renaissance. Very memorable characters and a pretty solid story. And last, but absolutely not least, one of the greatest Disney villains! Cruella De Vil is both stylish, menacing and versatile in her performance, both exposing her psychotic driving and sugar sweet and slimy voice and her yelling at her goons. You know she is up to no good right from the start. The slow pacing gives time for some good suspense when our main dogs try to escape Cruella and her goons' clutches. That also leads up to great chase scenes. Watch it. It is funny, cute, full of suspense and great characters.

This famous Disney film tells the story of a litter of fifteen Dalmatian puppies that are stolen by Cruella De Vil, a wealthy lover of fur coats, to be turned into a coat. Despite the fame, I don't think it's particularly appealing. The story is basic and has nothing special, besides a lively attack on the use of animal skins. About three-quarters of film's lenght are occupied by the puppies' escape, the remainder being divided between a brief prelude and a predictable outcome. The film also has problems of cinematography, because the drawings are a little coarse and ungainly, very unpleasant to the eyes. Contrary to the usual Disney movies, music isn't a strong point here. With the notable exception of "Cruela De Vil", the film has no notable music. The best of this film is the work of voice actors and Cruella, one of the best villains ever created by the studio. She makes the film really funny and is the most remarkable character, even more than the puppies themselves.I've never been interested in this movie in my childhood. I knew it existed, but it never caught my eye, I'm not sure why. Only now, as an adult, did I have the curiosity to watch it. I wasn't disappointed but also wasn't expecting anything better.

This is a Disney film I first saw as a kid and I liked it. Several years later, I watched it again and I still like it. It's a charming film with a laid-back quality and more contemporary look and feel than any of the Disney movies that came before it.The animation certainly doesn't compare to the animation in the Disney films that came before it such as Sleeping Beauty and Lady & The Tramp, but it works well enough on its own. The characters (both human and animal) are drawn with more of a sharp and angular look and the backgrounds are drawn with that same kind of style as well.The opening credits sequence is fun to watch even though it mostly consists of using Dalmatian spots as a series of visual puns, but the sequence does help to get you to look forward to the rest of the film.The songs are a nice delight to listen to, despite that this movie isn't really a musical like most Disney films, but the two songs (Cruella De VIl & Dalmatian Plantation) are catchy and kind of memorable. The rest of the music works fine with the movie. My favourite part is during the opening credits sequence.Cruella De Vil is a really fun villain and a lot of that comes from the way she's drawn, animated and voiced. She is probably the best character in the movie. The rest of the human characters are fine, but nothing outstanding. The main Dalmatian characters are fun to watch (especially during the scene where they're watching TV or when they have to disguise themselves as Labradors to get past Cruella's evil clutches) and most of the other animal characters have some fun moments as well. The plot is a bit out-there, but it works fine for a family film.Overall, 101 Dalmatians is a charming, laid-back and entertaining movie that has been enjoyed by kids and adults in the past and should continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.

What really bothers me about this film is the fact we had just gotten a much better film about animated dogs from Disney. It was called Lady and the Tramp, and it was amazing. As such, a tale about even more dogs, this time without the warmth and the charm of the previous ones, just didn't feel as successful.Problem number one, Pongo and Perdita. I just don't get these two. They're supposed to be the main couple, the heroic parents who save their children, but I don't get anything from them. Their owners, Roger and Anita, are a great couple, one of the best of the so called beta couples Disney has ever done. But the main couple. Nope, don't work.The second problem, the copying. A lot of this movie's plot lines and scenes have been copied from previous Disney movies. Mainly from Lady and the Tramp. It's not really all that noticeable if you don't watch them back to back, but if you do, it's kind of blatant. Plus the animation style utilizes a lot of copying because of the new Xerox method of animation that allowed them to animate all those individual dalmatian puppies without going stark raving mad. Which I give them props for. This movie looks noticeably rougher when compared to the ones before it, but it is a very impressive technical achievement anyway.The first good side, the villain. Cruella De Vil has since achieved almost legendary status as a Disney villain, and for a reason. She's petty, nauseatingly glamorous without any of the grace that usually goes with it, just one push away from cuckoo land and absolutely mad about fur even when not pushed. In a word she's memorable, even though her actual plan is really not that ambitious when compared to her brethren. She just wants a coat.The second good side, the music. This film has some great tunes, from the classic Cruella De Vil to the opening scene with its early 20th century London suburbia.As a whole this movie is something of an uneven package. It has definite upsides, but also equally as definite downsides. It is a very good film, don't get me wrong, great even, but only when not compared to other Disney films too vigorously. Still, definitely a classic children's film by any meaning of the term.