Charming, Laid-Back & Entertaining

Rating: 7/10 (16 September 2015)

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.