101 Dalmatians (Walt Disneys Classic)

Great Movie (2009-06-30)
Although this is an older movie it still has enough action and cute and cuddly puppies to make it one of mine and my 3 year old sons favorites. If you have not seen it you owe it to yourself and your little ones to get it.

Woof! (2009-06-03)
They did a good job cleaning up this classic, as they do to all their re-releases. The added features and bonuses are a fun plus if you're bored after watching the movie. It was definitely a good buy for me to obtain one of the classic Disney movies on DVD.

Maybe Not The Greatest Disney Cartoon, But Still Very Enjoyable (2009-05-30)
I was 1 year old when this movie came out. A decade later, I read the book based on the Disney movie. Nearly four more decades later, I finally got to see the movie. It was worth it, though I wish I had seen it without knowing the story or being familiar with the Cruella DeVille song.

Maybe watching Disney cartoons is not the usual way to live a mid-life crisis. Oh well. Anyways, I recently saw Bambi, where the animation could be considered fine art. Dalmatians is more modern, more current (for the '60's) animation style that served its purpose. It may have been some of the reason why this is not considered one of his best (though you can't find a better villain than Cruella Deville).

In this paragraph I'll list good points, and in the next I'll mention problems. The good points are reasons to check this out. The weaknesses should not keep you from enjoying this fun movie with your children. This movie has great humor throughout, such as comparing people with their dogs. The twilight bark sequence is very creative as well. The story will keep you at the edge of your seat. Also, the special feature of the correspondence of Disney with the author is excellent. Philosophically, it gives two positive male role models in Pongo and Roger.

Again, though there are flaws, please don't consider this as panning the movie. If you think it might keep you from enjoying the movie, please stop reading this review. This movie does have weaknesses. For example, using Pongo as a narrator at the beginning (a good idea) before going to an outside narrator point of view. I think there are too many pictures of smiling Pongo. Additionally, this could be re-titled "Four Dalmatians and 97 Spotted Extras", because only Pongo Perdita, and two of their fifteen puppies have any personality, let alone the other 84. Moreover, I find it interesting that animals of different species can understand each other and people, but people can't understand them.

If you give up on the picture, shame on you. If you are expecting a cartoon about talking dogs to be realism, something's wrong with you. You may smile at the weaknesses as I did, but this picture is clearly worth watching. While not the greatest Disney cartoon (Bambi, for example, was better), this is definitely one of my favorites.

Great Movie for All Ages (2009-05-02)
101 Damatians is one of the best Disney animated films. Its plot never seems to be overbearing it is a story that just happens. The art is also completely incredible. There is much more of a 'hand-drawn' feel to this film than many other animated films, you can see the structure points of the dalmatians and the brushstrokes in the background. The colors on the DVD are phenomonal, much richer than my old VHS.
And the special features on this DVD are among the best Disney has offered. The pop-up triva during the movie is interesting and unveils some pretty cool stuff. The correspondence between Disney and Dodie Smith was my favorite extra, I enjoyed hearing what the auther thought about her work being turned into a film. There are also the original trailers and radio spots from several of the releases, a nice photo scrapbook, a making of featurette, a piece on Cruella and some games.

Overall an excellant DVD. Some people are complaining about having to watch the previews but it might just be their players. I just have to watch the new little Disney = movie magic thing (starts with Peter Pan and shows lots of other movie clips that form the Disney castle) once that is over I can hit menu and select play.

101 Dalmations (2009-04-26)
I received the DVD quicker than expected and it was in perfect condition. I would definitely buy from this seller again.