- Starring
- Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O'Malley
- Writer
- Bill Peet
- Directors
- Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman
- Rating
- G (United States)
- Running Time
- 79 minutes
Overall Score
Rating Summary
One Hundred and One Dalmatians begins with aspiring songwriter Roger (Ben Wright) living alone in a small apartment with his beloved dalmatian Pongo (Taylor), who decides to find suitable matches for them both. Pongo tracks down a woman named Anita (Lisa Davis) and her dalmatian Perdita (Cate Bauer), and he arranges for Roger and Anita to meet. This ends disastrously, but the two fall in love and marry anyway. Perdy eventually gives birth to 15 puppies, and shortly after, Anita’s fur-obsessed old school mate Cruella De Vil (Betty Lou Gerson) stops by with intent to take the puppies for fur coats. When Roger and Anita refuse her, she resorts to kidnapping the puppies, and Pongo and Perdy embark on a mission to save their children.
What was immediately striking here about One Hundred and One Dalmatians was its tone – it’s decidedly more sophisticated-adult-skewing than you might expect; this can be seen in small details such as the magazine Pongo looks at when he gets the idea of finding dates for himself and Roger, and again when he looks out the window for the right woman – the designs and the humor surrounding it is hilarious. And it goes beyond just the humor – there’s a surprising anti-capitalist undercurrent and streak running throughout – from the more gritty, contemporary design to everything Cruella de Vil represents, especially in the finale revolving around her dilapidated mansion, almost feeling like an allegory for the one percent and the ruins that they leave behind in all their greed.
Speaking of de Vil, she’s one of the best villains Disney has ever produced. Instantly iconic, she is just delightfully wicked in a way that makes you love to hate her. She is completely relentless in her ultimate end-goal, and does everything with gusto, a smoke, and a sinister cackle to boot. It’s easy to see why she has endured as a Disney icon over the years, The other characters also entertain. Horace (Frederick Worlock) and Jasper (O’Malley), the two burglars hired by Cruella, are great foils to bounce off of her, while Roger is surprisingly snarky and playful – particularly highlighted in his composition ‘Cruella de Vil’, which in and of itself is a great encapsulation of this movie’s bouncy jazz soundtrack. Pongo and Perdy are a loveable canine couple, and it’s uplifting to see the lengths they’ll go to to save their children. The dogs’ perspectives are perhaps the most interesting aspect of this film, and the biggest element that was sorely missed from the 1996 remake. The dogs feel like a cozy little family all by themselves; each puppy, while not all of them stand out individually due to the sheer number, are adorable to watch.
What on the surface seems like a simple story has a lot going beneath the surface, and it makes One Hundred and One Dalmatians all the more interesting, compelling and entertaining to watch. It’s the sort of film that is not only perfect for the holidays, but appeals equally to kids and adults, which is something all great kids and family movies should aspire to do.
still courtesy of Disney
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