February 15, 2021
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) ****
Disney +
Free
Disney animation
“The humans have tried everything. Now it’s up to us dogs, and the Twilight Bark.”
I was going to watch The Letter, but after about 15 minutes, I changed my mind and remembered, hey! I’m supposed to be watching Disney movies this month, and I haven’t watched one since Peter Pan four days ago! So One Hundred and One Dalmatians it is.
It’s absolutely charming, of course, and the animation is incredibly interesting, with the backgrounds only sketched in, especially in Hell Hall. Extremely different than Sleeping Beauty, the last animated film before this, which nearly bankrupted the studio.
Of course, watching it as an adult, I’m all, you are planning on keeping seventeen dogs in a house with no garden? I mean, they won’t be puppies forever, what are you doing with all the poop? And if you aren’t going to get them fixed, you are in big trouble very soon!
The Twilight Bark made me burst into tears. All these dogs, jumping into action, with the oblivious humans trying to get them to shut up, but they won’t! Not with fifteen dognapped puppies to find and rescue! And I love how the dogs from the beginning all come back as part of the Barking Chain.
One side thought: I don’t know but if you are going to name your child Cruella and raise her in a place called Hell Hall, nobody should be surprised at how she turns out.
Anyway, it’s not one of the greatest of the classic Disney animation, but it’s pretty close!
365 Films in 365 Days 