 |
| Available at Amazon.com |
Disney delivers, once again, a wonderful re-re-re-re-release of one of their classic films. Coming off the success of 1959’s Sleeping Beauty, Disney made a drastic change in their animation style and released another instant classic, 101 Dalmatians. Now another edition to the Platinum Series canon.
101 Dalmatians is a very simple story. A couple has two Dalmatians that have 15 Dalmatian puppies. The mom happens to be old college buddies with one of Disney’s greatest and most iconic villains, Cruella De Vil. Just look at that name. Devil, right there. Bam! Anyway, Cruella is a fashion snob and decides she just must have a Dalmatian fur coat and kidnaps the 15 puppies to make this happen. The humans are clueless as to the identity of the dognappers so it’s up to the dogs to save the puppies. This film has suspense, action and wonderful amount of humor.
This is a fantastic movie that is enjoyable by all. It’s a fun story with enjoyable, memorable characters and it is beautifully animated. Not only is the character animation near perfection, but the almost abstract backgrounds add a wonderful element to the visuals of the film. Also, bad songs that sometimes hurt other Disney films do not bog down the story, there are only two songs in the film and they serve a purpose as the husband is a songwriter and in the film they are songs he wrote, so it makes sense.
And, of course, the shinning star of this film is the aforementioned, Cruella De Vil. She is such a vicious, evil woman and a sheer joy to watch. Her big fur coat, here drawn in, skeletal face, the yellow smoke that emanates from her cigarette. Yes! A Disney character that smokes! And the fact that she wants to turn all these adorable puppies into a fur coat, it’s utterly monstrous!
101 Dalmatians was a turning point for Disney in it’s animation as it was the first of their films to use a Xerox process that allowed the animators actual drawings appear in the film, they didn’t need to be redrawn. This gives the film more fluid motion and takes away all the clean crisp lines of previous Disney films. It gives the film a whole new look that that appear and many wonderful Disney films to come.
The film is presented in fullscreen 1.33:1 and an all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. French and Spanish language tracks and subtitles also available. This film has been completely remastered and looks amazing. This is a fantastic transfer.
Disc 1:
Cruella De Vil Music Video performed by Selena Gomez (3 min.)
101 Pop-Up Trivia Facts For The Family
101 Pop-Up Trivia Facts For The Fan
Disc 2:
Redefining The Line: The Making of 101 Dalmatians: (33 min.) This is a wonderful making of featurette that really makes you appreciate the beauty and talent behind this film.
“Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney”: (12 min.) Walt Disney and author Dodie Smith wrote many letters to one another and here they are dramatically recreated. This is pretty cute and interesting as well. It gives insight into the author’s thoughts on the film.
Cruella De Vil: Drawn To Be Bad: (7 min.) This featurette, as one might guess, focuses and the creation and development of Cruella De Vil. It’s pretty good.
Trailers, Teasers & TV Spots: (16 min.) Different trailers and such from all the many re-releases of the film.
Deleted Songs: (33 min.) Six different songs – some deleted, some alternate versions. All presented with animation or storyboards.
Games: As with all Disney Platinum releases, this release is loaded with games and DVD-Rom fun for the kids. They include: Virtual Dalmatians, Virtual Dalmatians Set-Top Sampler, Puppy Profiler, and 101 Dalmatians Fun with Language Games.
Art Galleries
101 Dalmatians is another Disney classic. In terms of animation it’s a beautiful piece of art and it’s fun story to boot. It’s got an iconic Disney villain and is all around a very enjoyable film. If you like animated films there is no reason not to own this one. Plus with all the great extras, how can you go wrong?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Disney DVD presents 101 Dalmatians: Platinum Edition. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske. Starring Betty Lou Gerson, Rod Taylor and Cate Bauer. Written by Bill Peet. Running time: 79 minutes. Originally released in 1961. Rated G. Released on DVD: March, 4 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
About Mike Noyes
