101 Dalmatians Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Stephen Hornbrook

Synopsis

Pick your favorite spot to watch—anytime and anywhere—and get ready for a fun-filled adventure with the Diamond Edition of 101 Dalmatians! Pongo, Perdita and their super-adorable puppies are in for thrills, hilarious spills and an epic action-packed adventure when they face off with Cruella De Vil, Disney’s most fabulously outrageous villainess. When Cruella dognaps all of the Dalmatian puppies in London, brave animal heroes launch a daring plan to save all puppies from Cruella’s clutches! Plus this new Diamond Edition features an all new short “The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt.”

Commentary

A true Disney classic! Now I have a confession to make.. I had never seen 101 Dalmatians till this Diamond Edition release. Sure, I had seen bits and pieces here and there but never sat down for the entire 80 minutes. 101 Dalmatians is a simple story filled with the charming dalmatian Pongo, his love Perdita, 99 cute puppies, and an unforgettable villain, Cruella De Vil. The art style is beautiful and simplistic. Much of the simplicity is actually due to the budgetary constraints. The previous release of Sleeping Beauty by Disney was a box office flop and the studio was in danger of closing down. In came the innovator Ub Iwerks who used Xerox technology to transfer drawings directly to animation cels, saving time and money by eliminating the inking process. This technique contributed to 101 Dalmatians unique look. It is a fun, family friendly animated movie that stands the test of time.

With an excellent video transfer, updated DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack and some decent extras, Disney’s Blu-ray Diamond Edition release of 101 Dalmatians is a solid entry into your Disney movie collection.

Technical

Presented in its original 1:33:1 aspect ratio, the picture on 101 Dalmatians is outstanding. I can’t imagine getting any closer to the original photography used to bring 101 Dalmatians to live. I did notice some softness to the backgrounds at times, but it is hard to tell if that is related to the transfer or the original imagery.

There is both a remastered DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack and an original mono track for purists. 7.1 might seem a bit extreme for a movie like this, and well it is. The usage of surround channels is limited, but a nice addition. Audio is clear and has good dynamics for a soundtrack from 1961

Extras

All New Short – The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt
Walt Disney Presents “The Best Doggoned Dog in the World” (1961 Version)
Lucky Dogs
DisneyView
Dalmatians 101: Hosted by Cameron Boyce (Disney Channel’s “The Descendants”)
Plus a Selection of Classic Bonus Features

Download some behind-the-scenes material from 101 Dalmatians! (Zipped folder of PDF’s)
<a href=”http://bit.ly/101DDEFacts”><img src=”http://clickcomm.zenfolio.com/img/s12/v172/p115758363-3.jpg” border=”0″></a>