101 Dalmatians (1961)

***One Hundred and One Dalmatians*** is a 1961 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the 1956 novel *The Hundred and One Dalmatians* by Dodie Smith. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wolfgang Reitherman, it was Disney's 17th animated feature film. The film tells the story of a litter of Dalmatian puppies who are kidnapped by the villainous Cruella de Vil ("deVille"), who wants to use their fur to make into coats. Their parents, Pongo and Perdita, set out to save their children from Cruella, in the process rescuing 84 additional puppies that were bought in pet shops, bringing the total of Dalmatians to 101. The film was originally released in theaters on January 25, 1961, and was a box office success, pulling the studio out of the financial slump caused by *Sleeping Beauty*, a costlier production released two years prior. Aside from its box office revenue, its commercial success was due to the employment of inexpensive animation techniques—such as using xerography during the process of inking and painting traditional animation cels—that kept production costs down. Disney would later release a live-action adaptation named *101 Dalmatians* in 1996 and its sequel, *102 Dalmatians* in 2000. A direct to video animated sequel to the 1961 film named *101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure* was released in 2003. A live-action spin-off/prequel called *Cruella* directed by Craig Gillespie is scheduled to be released on May 28, 2021.

## Plot:

Roger Radcliffe is a songwriter who lives in a bachelor flat in London, with his pet Dalmatian, Pongo, who decides to find a wife for Roger and a mate for himself, because he is bored with bachelor life. While watching various women with their female dog look-alikes out the window, he spots the perfect pair, a woman named Anita and her female Dalmatian, Perdita. He quickly gets Roger out of the house and drags him through the park to arrange a meeting. Roger and Anita eventually fall in love and marry with their dogs.

Later, Perdita gives birth to a litter of 15 puppies. That same night, they are visited by Cruella De Vil, a wealthy former schoolmate of Anita's. She offers to buy the entire litter, but Roger says they are not for sale, leading to a falling out. A few weeks later, she hires her henchmen, Jasper and Horace, to steal them. When Scotland Yard is unable to find them, Pongo and Perdita use the "Twilight bark", a canine gossip line, to ask for help from the other dogs in London.

The message is spread to the countryside; where it is received by an Old English Sheepdog named Colonel, along with his compatriots, a gray horse named Captain, and a tabby cat named Sergeant Tibbs, who find the puppies in a place called Hell Hall (Cruella's abandoned and dilapidated family estate, also known as The De Vil Place in Suffolk), along with 84 other Dalmatian puppies that she had bought from various dog stores. When Tibbs learns they are going to be made into dog-skin fur coats, the Colonel quickly sends word back to London. Upon receiving the message, Pongo and Perdita leave town to retrieve their puppies. Winter has arrived, and they must cross the Stour River which is running fast and laden with slabs of broken ice. Meanwhile, Tibbs overhears Cruella ordering Jasper and Horace to kill the puppies that night out of fear the police will soon find them. In response, Tibbs attempts to rescue them while Jasper and Horace are preoccupied watching television, but they finish their show and come for them before he can get them out of the house. Pongo and Perdita break in and confront Jasper and Horace just as they are about to kill the puppies. While the adult dogs attack them, the Colonel and Tibbs guide the puppies from the house.

After a happy reunion with their own puppies, Pongo and Perdita realize there are dozens of others with them, 99 altogether including their own. Shocked at Cruella's plans, Pongo and Perdita decide to adopt the other 84 puppies, certain that Roger and Anita would never reject them. The Dalmatians begin making their way back to London through deep snow, as all open water is frozen solid. Other animals help them along the way, while Cruella, Jasper, and Horace chase them. In the town of Dinsford, they cover themselves with soot to disguise themselves as Labradors, then pile inside a moving van bound for London. As the last of them board, melting snow clears off the soot on Lucky and Cruella sees them drive away. Enraged, she follows the van in her car and rams it, but Jasper and Horace, who try to cut it off with their van, end up colliding with her. Both vehicles crash into a deep ravine, leaving Cruella and her henchmen stranded and defeated at last as the moving van drives away.

Back in London, Roger and Anita are attempting to celebrate Christmas and his first big hit, a song about Cruella. They miss their canine companions, but they hear barking outside and the house is filled with dogs after their nanny opens the door. After wiping away the rest of the soot, they are delighted to realize their pets have returned home. After counting 84 extra puppies for a total of 101 pets, they decide to keep all the puppies and use the money from Roger's song to buy a larger house in the country so they can have a Dalmatian plantation.

## Cast:

* Rod Taylor as Pongo
* Cate Bauer as Perdita
* Betty Lou Gerson as Cruella De Vil and Miss Birdwell
* Ben Wright as Roger Radcliffe
	+ Bill Lee as Roger Radcliffe (singing voice)
* Lisa Davis as Anita Radcliffe
* Martha Wentworth as Nanny
* Frederick Worlock and J. Pat O'Malley as Horace and Jasper
	+ O'Malley also voiced The Colonel
		- Worlock also voiced Inspector Graves
* Thurl Ravenscroft as The Captain
* David Frankham as Sergeant Tibbs
* Mimi Gibson as Lucky
* Barbara Beaird as Rolly
* Mickey Maga as Patch
* Sandra Abbott as Penny
* Mary Wickes as Freckles
* Tudor Owen as Towser
* George Pelling as Danny
* Queenie Leonard as Princess
* Marjorie Bennett as Duchess
* Barbara Luddy as Rover
* Rickie Sorensen as Spotty
* Tom Conway as Collie
	+ Conway also voiced the Quizmaster
* Ramsay Hill as the Labrador Retriever
* Paul Wexler as Car Mechanic
* Basil Ruysdael as Truck Driver
* Paul Frees as Dirty Dawson
* Lucille Bliss as TV Commercial Singer
* Junius Matthews as Scottie