101 Dalmatians

101 Dalmatians is one of those rare Disney films that I never really got a chance to grow up with. Viewings of this film were very fleeting, if at all. So of course upon buying a cheap vhs copy, and later the dvd, I eagerly set out to make up for lost time and soaked in this 'rare' film. But did I enjoy it?

Of course!

One of the main things that I had always remembered about this film was Cruella De Vil, and who could honestly forget her? This villainess is an awesome antagonist and one of Disney's best for sure. On the protagonist side of things we get the dalmatian couple Pongo, and Perdita who are willing to do anything it takes to find and rescue their stolen puppies. While these three are our main characters, there is a large cast of other 'main' characters and a supporting cast who all show up for a long enough period to move the story along without slowing things down at all.

101 Dalmatians is one of those Disney films where we don't really get a whole lot in the way of music. The main stand out song, and the one people generally seem to remember the most is 'Cruella De Vil' while we also hear a very brief song at the end called 'Dalmatian Plantation.'

Our story is pretty straight forward, and adapted from the novel of the same name by Dodie Smith. Taking up the most time, watching our heroes escaping from Cruella's manor would almost seem like it could drag on and yet it never does. We manage to watch the parents pull together their vastly expanded brood of puppies and take them on their perilous journey back to London to be reunited with their owners, all while keeping the film enjoyable.

The animation here is quite well done, even if it may not be as well advanced as the films of the 90's, or even have the same intricate detail as films before it such as Sleeping Beauty. Despite this, the film is still really nice to look at and has a very well chosen colour palette to go with it. Our opening is one of the most visually interesting and keeps the credits from being boring to watch.

I think ultimately that while the film can be enjoyable, it doesn't really present that same 'Wow' factor as the other classic films during Walt's era and yet it still does retain a 'classic' feeling at the very least.

4/5