101 Dalmatians (1961), Russian postcard by Chromovogue, no.…

By A Mystery Man Writer

Last updated 13 May 2024

101 Dalmatians (1961), Russian postcard by Chromovogue, no.…

Russian postcard by Chromovogue, no. 850-4, 1998. Illustration: Disney. Publicity still for One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, 1961). One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, 1961), often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is an American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. The 17th Disney animated feature film, the film tells the story of a litter of Dalmatian puppies who are kidnapped by the villainous Cruella de Vil, who wants to use their fur to make into coats. Their parents, Pongo and Perdita, set out to save their children from Cruella, all the while rescuing 84 additional puppies that were bought in pet shops, bringing the total of Dalmatians to 101. Dodie Smith wrote the book The Hundred and One Dalmatians in 1956. When Walt Disney read it in 1957, it immediately grabbed his attention, and he promptly obtained the rights. Smith had always secretly hoped that Disney would make it into a film. Originally released to theatres on 25 January 1961, by Buena Vista Distribution, One Hundred and One Dalmatians was a box office success, pulling the studio out of the financial slump caused by Sleeping Beauty, a costlier production released two years prior. Aside from its box office revenue, its commercial success was due to the employment of inexpensive animation techniques—such as using xerography during the process of inking and painting traditional animation cels—that kept production costs down. The film was re-released theatrically in 1969, 1979, 1985, and 1991. The film