Disney Era Analysis – 101 Dalmatians

Posted on by Leave a comment

As mentioned in the first blog post in this series, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 60+ Disney animated feature films and their film making eras.

The third era is the Silver Age, which ran from 1950 to 1967 and started with Cinderella. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Silver Age is also known as the “restoration age,” as the films during this era returned to Disney’s roots of feature-length narratives and adaptations of famous narratives, having high-art animation, being approachable (cartoonish gags, music from contemporary artists, and a lighter approach to storytelling), steering clear of intense scenes, and being heartwarming with happy endings, good morals, and catchy songs.

So how well did 101 Dalmatians measure up to these famous features?

Returning to Disney’s roots of feature-length narratives and adaptation of famous narratives:

101 Dalmatians is an adaptation of Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel of the same name.

Having high-art animation:

101 Dalmatians is the first Disney animated feature film to use xerography for the animation of its film, as opposed to the traditional cel animation used in its predecessor films.

The xerography process included overlaying cels of line drawings over painted backgrounds to match the xeroxed cels of the characters. The use of xerography resulted in reducing production costs, and setting a new visual style for Disney’s animated feature films for years to come – a scratchy, hard outline look. According to the film’s IMDb page, Walt Disney disliked the rough drawing style that resulted from the xerography process.

According to the film’s IMDb page, animation on this film was more of a team effort in comparison to Disney’s previous animated feature films, with seven animators working on Perdita. One notable thing I noticed about the animation was the colour palette – Roger and Anita were surrounded by a softer colour palette (beiges, yellows, neutral colours), in contrast, Cruella was surrounded by brighter and bolder colours, specifically in her home.

Much like Disney’s predecessor films, live action references were also used for this film.

Being approachable (cartoonish gags, music from contemporary artists, and a lighter approach to storytelling):

Cartoonish gags:

Some of the cartoonish gags in the film included: the various women and dogs at the beginning of the film looking alike, Cruella’s driving, Cruella’s pen ink spraying Dalmatian-like spots on Roger as she’s using it, and Captain kicking Horace and Jasper into the wall. I’d also argue that some of the violence of the film, specifically towards the end with Horace and Jasper, is slapstick and cartoonish.

Music from contemporary artists:

Interestingly, according to the film’s IMDb page, 101 Dalmatians is regarded as a non-musical film and there are only three songs in the film: “Cruella De Vil”, “Kanine Krunchies”, and “Dalmatian Plantation”. These songs were composed by Mel Leven.

A lighter approach to storytelling:

I believe that the lighter approach to storytelling in this film is present through Pongo’s narration, the matching design of the owners and their dogs (specifically female owners and their dogs at the beginning of the film), Pongo and Perdita’s relationship mirroring Roger and Anita’s and being almost human-like, and Cruella De Vil’s caricature-like nature.

Steering clear of intense scenes:

This film didn’t steer clear of intense scenes. Some intense scenes included: Horace and Jasper’s behaviour as they go to kill the puppies, Pongo and Perdita fighting Horace and Jasper, and the car scene chase between Cruella, Horace, Jasper and the truck carrying all the Dalmatians towards the end of the film.

Being heartwarming with happy endings, good morals, and catchy songs:

I believe that Pongo and Perdita’s relationship and their determination to rescue their puppies, as well as the stray puppies they come across along the way, provides the heartwarming element to the film. Pongo, Perdita, and all the puppies making it back to Roger and Anita safely, with Roger and Anita deciding to adopt all the puppies provided the film’s happy ending.

Some of the good morals that can be taken away from the film include the importance of taking initiative, working as a team, and family sticking together.

I believe all three of the film’s songs were catchy in their own way. I loved the humour of “Cruella De Vil” and “Dalmatian Plantation,” whilst “Kanine Krunchies” was catchy in the way a commercial song should be.

My overall thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed 101 Dalmatians for many reasons from the dual love stories between Roger and Anita, and Pongo and Perdita, to the wholesome nature of the Twilight Bark, to Cruella De Vil’s caricature nature. I appreciated the tension in the puppies’ escape and being found by Cruella, as well as the humour present throughout the film with the Dalmatians’ behaviour and Roger’s songwriting.

What brings the film down for me a little bit is the drastic change in animation quality and the intensity of the climax scenes. It’s not as light-hearted as I thought it would be at times, say, in comparison to Lady and the Tramp. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, it just made it less enjoyable for me.

The next part of the Disney Era Analysis series will focus on The Sword and the Stone.

Fun Facts and Trivia:

  • According to the film’s IMDb page, the filmmakers cast dogs with deeper voices than their human owners, so they had more power.
  • Dodie Smith got the idea for the novel when a friend of hers made the remark that her nine Dalmatians “would make a lovely fur coat.”
  • Dodie Smith was delighted with the finished result of the film.
  • According to the film’s IMDb page, someone counted all the black spots in the movie and reached the total of 6,469,952 – this breaks down to 72 spots on Pongo, 68 on Perdita, and 32 on each puppy.
  • 101 Dalmatians is the first film where the story was written by one person, Bill Peet.
  • Various dog characters from Lady and the Tramp make a brief cameo in this film.

References:

Leave a comment