So Many Dalmatians

Well, with nothing better to do this late Tuesday evening i decided that seeing as I had a rather large amount to write on the subject of the sixties Walt Disney animation classic, One Hundred and One Dalmatians. This film is a masterpiece, and is in my mind one of Disney's best animated pictures, additionally it is sorely underrated piece of great animation. The film is also the beginning of the modern era of animation, and stands out among the Disney canon.

A large part of the charm of this movie is thanks to its setting, the film is unusual among Disney movies in that it is one of very few to have a modern setting, the film is set in London in the 1960's, i am perhaps partial to this, being from Ilford myself, yet i find the setting rather charming. The film uses settings such as regents park, and the opening credits are like a tribute to London, showcasing monuments such as tower bridge and big ben. The score of the score is also unique, having a modern setting, rather than the traditional classical score, the film has a contemporary jazzy score, which is classic yet fun.

The musical score is also right on cue with the animation, and the score uses various musical cues, such as towards the end, when the staccato score mimics the water dripping of the icicles as the puppies are trying to escape cruella, it is cues like this that keep the score relevant to the film, and allow the score to never feel superfluous or self indulgent. The animation used in the film is what was truly revolutionary at the time, Sleeping Beauty, was very expensive to make and had not made very much money, something needed to be done, Ub Iwerks, inventor of the multi plane camera had been experimenting with the xerox camera, use of this device would eliminate the inking process, and animators drawings could be transferred directly to animation cells, eliminating the need for inkers.

This meant two things, unfortunately the image obtained was rather rough, att the lines were of equal weight, and thus there was a lack of romanticism in the animation, something that walt looked for, and something that was apparent in classics like Cinderella. The advantage of this process was that there was a depth and a subtlety, given that the work of the animators was directly on the screen, and did not need to pass via an inker.

In conclusion I think that this must be one of the most underrated Disney movies, it is modern, subtle, and charming. It feels very of the moment and has a charming jazzy score. It feels like the first of an era for Disney movies, and was the first to use the xerox technique. I may be partial to this film seeing that it is set in my hometown, however it is one of my favorites! Rating: A-

Pongo: My story begins in London, not so very long ago. And yet so much has happened since then, that it seems more like an eternity.