101 Dalmatians (1961)

When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella de Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.

Directors:

Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske (as Hamilton S. Luske)

Writers:

Bill Peet (story), Dodie Smith (novel)

Stars:

Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, J. Pat O'Malley

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rod Taylor	...	Pongo (voice)
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Colonel / Jasper (voice)
Betty Lou Gerson	...	Cruella De Vil / Miss Birdwell (voice)
Martha Wentworth	...	Nanny / Queenie / Lucy (voice)
Ben Wright	...	Roger (voice)
Cate Bauer	...	Perdita (voice)
David Frankham	...	Sgt. Tibs (voice) (as Dave Frankham)
Frederick Worlock	...	Horace / Inspector Craven (voice) (as Fred Worlock)
Lisa Davis	...	Anita (voice)
Tom Conway	...	Quizmaster / Collie (voice)
Tudor Owen	...	Towser (voice)
George Pelling	...	Danny (voice)
Ramsay Hill	...	Television Announcer / Labrador (voice)
Sylvia Marriott	...	(voice)
Queenie Leonard	...	Princess (voice)

Storyline

Pongo and Perdita have a litter of 15 puppies. Cruella De Vil takes a fancy to the pups, and wants to get hold of them, as well as more pups, to make herself a lovely dalmatian skin coat... Cruella hires some thugs to kidnap the pups and hold them at her mansion. Will Pongo and Perdita find them in time ?

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Plot Keywords:

puppy | dalmatian | dog | bark | rescue | 

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Taglines:

The Canine Caper of the Century [1979 re-release]

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

101 Dalmatians

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,389,226, 22 December 1985

Gross USA:

$144,880,014

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$215,880,014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Quite a few liberties were taken in bringing the book to the screen. In the original story, the two Dalmatians who ran across England to rescue their pups were named Pongo and Missis Pongo, or just plain Missis; Perdita was a stray whose own puppies had been sold, and who was taken into the household to help wet nurse Missis' fifteen puppies. In the film, their owners are named Roger and Anita Radcliffe; in the book, they're Mr. and Mrs. Dearly, no first names given. The book also features two Nannies (Nanny Cook and Nanny Butler) to the film's one; Jasper appears under the same name in both versions, but Saul is changed to Horace for the film; and Tib, the book's heroic gray tabby female, is transformed into an orange-colored tom. However, the film was not the first time the story had undergone changes; "The Hundred and One Dalmatians" first appeared as a serial in Ladies' Home Journal, under the title "The Great Dog Robbery".

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Goofs

Patch's right ear is solid black, and his left ear spotted. However, sometimes the left ear is solid white, and sometimes it's solid black. In the same scene where Patch turns into Lucky, his ear goes from spotted to white, and in the following scene in the Colonel's barn, both of his ears are solid black.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pongo: My story begins in London, not so very long ago. And yet so much has happened since then, that it seems more like an eternity.

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Crazy Credits

There are no end credits for this feature film. However, the credits are at the beginning.

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Connections

Referenced in Melrose Place: 101 Damnations (1997)

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Soundtracks

Cruella De Vil
Written by Mel Leven
Performed by Bill Lee

User Reviews

One of my favorites

Lion King has always been my favorite Disney movie. But One Hundred and One Dalmations is on my top 5. The movie is filled with so many laughs, you have to love it.

Pongo is a lonely pup with his lonely musical master, Roger. When he spots two lovely women(one being a dog of course), he sets Roger up to meet the woman. They hit it off immediatly as well does Pongo with his new mate, Perdita. When Perdita has puppies, Perdita's(her master) old friend, Cruella DeVille wants to buy them from her. But only to make the puppies into a new fur coat. When Roger refuses, Cruella kidnaps the puppies. Pongo and Perdita go out to save the puppies. And the rest is left for you to see for yourself.

8/10