101 Dalmatians

Cast: Rod Taylor, J.Pat O'Malley, Betty Lou Gerson, Martha Wentworth, Ben Wright, Lisa Davis and Cate Bauer

Director: Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske

Release Date:  1961

Running Time: 1hr 16 minutes

Genre: Animation

Rating: U

Format: DVD

Synopsis:

When a load of dalmatian puppies are stolen by the minions of Cruella De Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them as a fur coat. 

Fifty-six years ago Walt Disney Studios released one of its most beloved masterpieces "101 Dalmatians", set beautifully in the heart of London. I have a confession. This was one of my favourite animations as a child, I even had all the merchandise to go with it. One afternoon whilst taking his dog Pongo for a walk, Roger finds himself tangled up with a beautiful young woman Anita to whom he falls in love with and marries. Six months later, Anita's gorgeous dalmatian Perdita is expecting puppies, little do Roger and Anita know that evil Cruella De Vil wants them for herself to make a fur coat out of them. Pongo and Perdita must do everything they can to be reunited with their puppies before it's too late.

Although the storyline sounds nothing short of terrifying, the film does have a wonderful ending. It'd be easy to assume a film about a bunch of gorgeous puppies, the puppies would naturally steal the show? Of course they do, but the two main characters that are wonderfully hilarious in their antics are Jasper and Horace, responsible for stealing the puppies. The story speaks of heartbreak, however it also speaks of love, courage and friendship. Betty Lou Gerson delivers a terrifying performance as evil Cruella De Vil. It's amazing how this never terrified me as a child. It's remarkable how differently you see things as a child, now an adult I can really see how dark Walt Disney intended it to originally be.

At fifty-six years the animation still looks excellent, the beauty of the animation is that it really allows you to get wrapped up in the magic. Terrific performances from Betty Lou Gerson, Rod Taylor and J. Pat O'Malley really allow the story to come to life in one of Walt Disney's most precious animations. A beautiful story that is certain to bring a tear to your eye! An absolute must have for any Disney fan.

5/5 stars