101 Dalmatians: 2-Disc Platinum Edition (1961/Animated/Disney DVD)
Picture:
B Sound: B- Extras: B Film: B
Probably
one of the most beloved Disney animated features is 101 Dalmatians (originally One
Hundred and One Dalmatians). 101 Dalmatians was a turning point for
Disney Studios in their animation department using a new style with xerography
(to lighten the animation load) from the art direction of Ken Anderson. Walt Disney did not approve of this style at
first citing it as being too sketchy, but later learned to embrace it and the
use of xerography was utilized in Disney animations all the way up until 1989’s
The Little Mermaid. Being the first Disney film to stray from its
format of using the distant past to emphasize its storylines, 101 Dalmatians used the present day (at
the time) to create a current and more believable atmosphere. The film is detailed, fun, and managed to
create some of the most memorable characters to ever come out of animation
(mainly in the form of Cruella De Vil).
The
animated film that was based on an original literature work by Dodie Smith
follows the adventures of mom and dad dog (Pongo and Perdita) as they try to
save their puppies from the evil dog-napper and fur connoisseur Cruella De Vil. The story of the film starts out as nice as
any other Disney film with a pair of Dalmatians falling in love, and in turn
their owners falling in love. Not before
long the happy foursome is joined by 15 more little faces as Perdita gives
birth to an astonishing 15 puppies; enter Cruella De Vil. A known wealthy eccentric around London,
Cruella demands to purchase the beautiful 15 Dalmatian puppies; but to her
dismay Roger and Anita (the owners) say they are not for sale. Cruella De Vil is not the type who takes no
for an answer and soon hires a couple of bumbling crooks (Jasper and Horace
Badun) to dog-nap the puppies. Roger and
Anita attempt to locate the puppies, but to no avail their efforts are lost. Pongo and Perdita soon put out the ‘Twilight
Bark’ (basically a dog phone chain) all around London in an effort to recover
their stolen pups. Eventually Pongo and
Perdita find their puppies at Cruella’s creepy hideaway, known as Hell
Hall. The puppies are found, but the
journey back won’t be an easy one; you can bet your tail on that.
The 17th
Disney animated feature, admittedly, never caught this reviewer’s attention as
a child and looking back I have no idea why.
The storyline of 101 Dalmatians
is solid, the animation style is inspiring, and the overall sense of adventure
and fun is intriguing. This reviewer is
glad that Disney did not wait until the film’s 50th anniversary in
2011 to re-release the doggy feature, but be sure that 2011 will most likely be
the Blu-ray release. The lack of songs
in the film is an odd choice, but exploring Disney’s history one will quickly
discover that not only did Disney suffer a huge loss from the unpopularity of Sleeping Beauty (now a classic), but at
the time let go over 400 employees. From
this we can see that maybe Disney had bigger things on his mind than music; he
may have been hearing the funeral march
more clearly than Dalmatian music. With
that said, 101 Dalmatians manages to
surmount to an instant classic that any child, adult, or furred friend can
enjoy. Not only does this Platinum release offer another chance to
see the same old greatness that is 101
Dalmatians, but gives the audience a restoration job that is equally as
impressive.
The
technical features on this 2-Disc DVD definitely have both bark and bite, with
the much publicized restoration job being quite excellent. The picture is
presented in an odd choice for Disney as an un-Anamorphically enhanced 1.33 X 1
Full Screen. To this reviewer, however, with the slight image debacle
that was The Jungle Book and having
the tops and bottoms of the picture somewhat missing, this reviewer is happy to
see a full screen that is not seemingly missing a thing. With all dogs accounted for, the quality of
the picture is both bright and fluid throughout, having a good picture flow
with little too no darkness or grit. This reviewer is confident in saying
that this is the best 101 Dalmatians
has ever looked since its 1961 release and can’t wait to see what Blu-ray can
do for it and its original three-strip Technicolor. The sound quality is
excellent (though not as good as the picture) and falls in line with the other
Disney Platinum releases, being presented in the Disney staple of Disney 5.1
Enhanced Home Theater Mix. The film does not have a great number of songs
(only three), but the dialogue is clear and crisp with the action sequences
also holding their own demonstrating a fair bit of ‘pop.’ The technical features of this release may be
surrounding dogs, but are definitely not made for the dogs.
The
extras are also nice and cater to both children and adults alike. The extras include for children a ‘Virtual
Dalmatians Game’ that allows the person to create and take care of their very
own Dalmatian puppy, and a second game that is entitled ‘One Hundred and One
Dalmatians Fun With Language Game’ that centers on teaching children
languages. The two children’s game
features did not excite this reviewer, but who knows the kids may get a kick
for a second or two. The more adult
features include such featurettes as ‘Redefining the Line: The Making of 101
Dalmatians,’ ‘Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney,’ ‘Cruella De Vil: Drawn to be Bad,’
and a fun ‘Pop-Up Trivia Facts’ feature to watch during the film. The first two ‘more adult’ features center on
the actual creation process and Walt Disney’s work with the author of the
original The Hundred and One Dalmatians, and
the third feature is just pure fun to learn a little more than you may have
know while enjoying the film (think Pop-Up Video). Overall, the extras are very nicely presented
and contain a good amount of new and insightful content.
Animation
is a dog eat dog world, this release is sure to gobble up all the competitors.
- Michael P Dougherty II
