101 Dalmations

101 Dalmatians is easily the best film about dogs made in the 20th Century. I just rewatched it recently, and it was better than I remembered, which is kind of remarkable, because I remember it was fantastic.

For those unfortunate few of you who may have missed the movie, the film follows the exploits of the greatest villain in the history of cartoons, namely Cruella de Ville, a nasty woman with a long cigarette holder and a really off-putting black-and-white hairdo. She’s collecting Dalmatians in order to skin them for a fur coat, which would probably smell quite a bit like the dog scarf my mother made for me back in the 1980s. What she doesn’t count on is the resourcefulness of Pongo and his young Dalmation family, who rally the dog community and plan a daring escape from Cruella’s clutches.

The film is gorgeously animated, a product of the every-frame-by-hand artistry of a Disney team who labored in analog, long before computers could fit inside a single room. But the reason it succeeds is the story is always compelling – you always feel as if the dogs are in true peril, largely because Cruella is such a perfectly realized villainess. You care about the Dalmatians’ fate, and even though you know it’s a G-rated flick and nobody’s going to be skinned alive, you’re on the edge of your seats for much of the pic. It also doesn’t hurt that the theme song is infectious and will have you humming “Cruella de Ville, Cruella de Ville” for the next six weeks, give or take, whether you want to or not.

The movie has been remade as a live action film starring Glenn Close, who chews the scenery admirably but never quite captures the menace of her cartoon counterpart. The live action version is pleasant but forgettable, unlike its sequel, 102 Dalmatians, which is just a flimsy retread of the original. There have been cartoon sequels, too, all of which have gone straight to video, which is as it should be. You really can’t blame the Disney folks for wanting to recapture the magic of the original, and you also can’t be too surprised when they fail.

101 Dalmatians is a true classic that has stood the test of time. I can’t recommend it highly enough.