Scene and Reviewed: 101 Dalmatians Diamond Edition
February 13, 2015 by Brian Pate
Filed under Animation, Everything Else
Just released on Tuesday, Disney’s classic animated film 101 Dalmatians is now available in on Blu-ray™, Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand. This new Diamond Edition includes several new bonus features.
I was supplied with a review copy and was very impressed. I wasn’t sure how the animation would hold up in the Blu-ray format. I don’t know if they did a lot of clean-up or not, but it was gorgeous!
Based on the 1956 book by Dodie Smith, the story of 101 Dalmatians still holds up. One of Disney’s most fiendish villains, Cruella De Vil, loves fur coats and wants to make one made up of the skins of Dalmatian puppies. We find our way into the story first through songwriter Roger and his adult Dalmatian Pongo. Pongo sets about to find a mate for Roger and succeeds in bringing Roger together with Anita, an owner of a female Dalmatian Perdita. It’s love all around, and Perdita soon gives birth to a little of pups. When Roger and Anita rebuff Cruella’s offers to buy the puppies, she decides to not take no for an answer the excitement kicks in. At times, the movie might actually be a bit intense for the truly young as the puppies do encounter their share of peril.
Did you know that 101 Dalmatians was the highest grossing movie of 1961? Or that it was the first Disney animated film to use a contemporary setting? There is a lot of fascinating info in the bonus features. Traditionally, the animation process started with sketches by artists that were then inked over by other artists onto sheets of acetate. The making of 101 Dalmatians came at a critical time for the animation department after Sleeping Beauty failed to be a big money-maker. Looking for ways to cut costs, 101 Dalmatians became the first full-length animated movie to make extensive use of a Xerox machine to take the original sketches straight to the acetate sheets. Although that resulted in a lot of inkers losing their jobs, the primary artists were thrilled that their original drawings were being realized on the screen for the first time.
Here are some clips from the special features:
I definitely think that this package of 101 Dalmatians would make for a worthy addition to your collection.
Cast: Rod Taylor (Inglorious Bastards, The Birds) as Pongo, J. Pat O’Malley (The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland) as Jasper and Betty Lou Gerson (The Fly, Cats Don’t Dance) as Cruella de Vil
Producer: Walt Disney
Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton S. Luske and Clyde Geronimi
Writers: Story by Bill Peet. Based on the book “101 Dalmatians” by Dodie Smith
Release Date: February 10, 2015 (Direct Prebook: 12/16; Distributor Prebook: 12/30)
Product SKUs: Digital HD & SD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, Disney Movies Anywhere & On-Demand
New Bonus Features: All New Short – The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt
Walt Disney Presents “The Best Doggoned Dog in the World” (1961 Version)
Lucky Dogs
DisneyView
Dalmatians 101: Hosted by Cameron Boyce (Disney Channel’s “The Descendants”)
Plus a Selection of Classic Bonus Features
Ratings: G in US & Canada (bonus materials are not rated)
Feature Run Time: Approximately 79 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1:33:1
Audio: Blu-ray: 7.1 DTS-HDMA / 1.0 Dolby Digital (English); 5.1 DTS-HDHR (French) & 5.1 Dolby Digital (Spanish)
Languages: English, French and Spanish
Subtitles: English (ESL/SDH), French and Spanish
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For 90 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under the following banners: Disney, including Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios; Disneynature; Marvel Studios; Lucasfilm; and Touchstone Pictures, the banner under which live-action films from DreamWorks Studios are distributed. The Disney Music Group encompasses the Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records labels, as well as Disney Music Publishing. The Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Disney on Broadway, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!
SF – 101 Dalmatians Panel
January 27, 2011 by Colin Solan
Filed under Animation, California, Movies, Other, Signing and Appearance Profiles
Floyd Norman, Andreas Dejas, and Don Iwerks speak on Saturday February 12 at 3:00pm
Designing a Contemporary Classic: The Art and Process of 101 Dalmatians
This panel of Disney animators and innovators will discuss the unique style of 101 Dalmatians, how it differed from other Disney films, and why it was such a successful and revolutionary film. Hear about the groundbreaking new technological advancement of the Xerox? process, what this new technology meant to the animation industry, and how the Disney team produced all those spots!
Walt Disney Family Museum
104 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94129
