American animated film [1961]
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Also known as: “101 Dalmatians”
Written by
Lee Pfeiffer
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Also called:
- 101 Dalmatians
One Hundred and One Dalmatians, American animated film, released in 1961, that became a Walt Disney classic, especially known for the villainous character Cruella De Vil.
When dalmatians Pongo and Perdita have 15 puppies, Cruella De Vil attempts to buy them from their owners, a composer and his wife. When the couple refuses to sell, Cruella steals the puppies. It is soon discovered that she has been rounding up dalmatians in order to make them into a fur coat, but her plot is foiled by Pongo, Perdita, and their friends.
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The film—which was based on the children’s book (1956) by Dodie Smith—was a huge box-office hit, owing in part to the iconic Cruella De Vil, who was said to have been inspired by screen legend Gloria Swanson’s performance in Sunset Boulevard (1950). One Hundred and One Dalmatians introduced a new animation technology called xerography, which was designed to mitigate the skyrocketing costs of traditional animated movies. However, the quality of the images suffered, giving an almost scratchy appearance to the film; new techniques were used in the 1980s to improve the look of the animation. The movie inspired a direct-to-video sequel, 101 Dalmations II: Patch’s London Adventure (2003), as well as a live-action remake of the film in 1996 featuring Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil.
Production notes and credits
Studio: Buena Vista
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton S. Luske, and Wolfgang Reitherman
Writer: Bill Peet
Music: George Bruns
Running time: 79 minutes
Cast
Rod Taylor (Pongo)
Betty Lou Gerson (Cruella De Vil/Miss Birdwell)
Cate Bauer (Perdita)
Ben Wright (Roger Radcliff)
Lisa Davis (Anita Radcliff)
