maybe not the 'best', but certainly a lot of fun

Rating: 8/10 (23 November 2014)

Disney's 101 Dalmations is fine for kids. Whether it really holds up for adults I'm not sure - I actually haven't seen the whole film in quite a while. But it holds up, for what it's worth, in my mind as a fun spectacle for kids. There are so many Dalmatians, naturally, not all of them can get personalities. Most of them don't, really. The real focal point though is the villain - Cruella DeVille - and of course with villains like her, who needs strong heroes? She, and the actress voicing her, Betty Lou Gerson, are eating up scenery with the large fur coats and wild,crazy eyes. Even her design is creative and just a bit warped in that villainous way to hold up well; I still remember her driving in the climax and that being as memorable a set piece as any in the classic Walt Disney animation era (that is, before his death).
And it's enough that the Dalmatians can get around with some direction - and some help of furry friends (the shaggy dog Colonel and the cat Segreant Tibbs, are very entertaining and funny supporting characters) - to get through the narrative. So that even if they aren't always as great as the villain, they have enough to keep things moving. The animation itself is not as 'polished' as the widescreen epic that came before it, Sleeping Beauty, but that's fine.
More than fine; this is a cartoon, and it has some of the rough contours of the animation studio trying to find their way, and, usually, getting there. Apparently Xerox was also used to make copies of all the dogs, and there's kind of a hypnotic quality to the shots of them all running in unison, one after another after another. It's scratchy, and this would continue for a number of movies (Aristocats for one), but I liked the look - it's taking a chance on a different style, and it connects in the way to the high-velocity adventure style of the story.
So, for the kids? Sure. For adults? Well, there's always Cruella.