101 Dalmations

1961 Disney movie

Rating: 16/20 (Abbey: 20/20)

Plot: Pongo, the pet of an apsiring songwriter called Roger, is horny. When he spots a sexy dalmation named Perdita, he arranges for his master and hers (Anita) to meet up. Roger, also being horny, can't complain, and the couples have sex like mad in a montage that is now considered one of Disney's most controversial moments. The result of the weeklong sexfest is fifteen puppies. Roger and Anita, still surprised that they have birthed dalmations, are approached by Cruella de Vil who wishes to purchase the puppies in order to make them somewhat useful to society--by making coats from them. Roger and Anita, however, are selfish, foolish children, and even though they could use the money, they don't want to part with their puppies. Good luck cleaning up all that crap, idiots. Better make sure they can't get to your trashcan, ya morons.

I was wrong about this one. We can bump it up a tier. The mix of humor and action is very natural, so the story itself is a lot of fun. I don't think it's the best animation the Disney people have ever done, but the drab and static backgrounds are textured in a way that it doesn't really hurt the pictures, sort of like in The Great Mouse Detective or Winnie the Pooh. The simple storybook settings fit in fine and help keep the focus on the characters. And I really like how those characters are animated. The humans (especially the housekeeper and Roger) are given nuances, realistic expressions, quirks, etc. that bring them to life. And I'm not sure if it's because I'm seeing this for the first time as a dog owner or not, but the dalmations are really animated very well. There's nothing that sticks out as being especially revolutionary with the way they're animated, but their movements and their expressions, mostly very subtle ear droops or tail wags or head nods, are perfect. The scene with the dogs and their lookalike owners at the beginning is pretty funny. The best scene in the movie might be the offscreen birth of Pongo and Perdita's puppies, though the stroking of a puppy back to life is a bit much. That leads into Cruella's appearance (unfortunately her second) in front of a backdrop of lightning and shadows which is great. She's a great villain, like my favorite Disney villains more a respresentation of something than an actual person. Here, the villain is greed. The bad guys (Cruella and her dopey henchmen) smoke and drink and say things like "I'll pop 'em off and you do the skinnin'" and come across as meanness personified. Even Cruella's car and her phone look evil. Another little touch that I like are the black and white television shows the characters are watching--one about a brave dog battling a hefty outlaw (foreshadowing), one with dancing flowers, and a game show called "What's My Crime?" I don't know why I liked that so much, but I did. Good music, a good story, good action sequences, good humor, cute dogs. There's enough to like here to safely place it in Disney's top ten.

Question of the day: Pinocchio's bad guys don't die. Cruella doesn't die. I think it's because they're symbols who, even though the protagonists eventually defeat them, are always going to be around. Most Disney villains die though, lots of times in very dark ways (Tarzan, I think, being the darkest). I don't have time to think about this, but what other Disney villains are spared?