Week 17: 101 Dalmatians (1961)

I have always loved 101 Dalmatians.

I remember at one point in my childhood that I wanted to own 101 Dalmatian toys. Inevitably the plan didn't get past my parents and I settled for something like a dozen miniature Dalmatian stuffed animals and figurines, but the idea was out there.

I also, after the live-action release, owned a Dalmatian for a short time. As my family came to learn, however, Dalmatians are difficult to own and often prone to health issues (mine suffered from dwarfism and retardation). Add that the to the fact the she did not get along with my other dog, who came first, and she was out. Daisy, our Dalmatian, was sent to a "Dalmatian Farm," a story I allowed myself to tell for almost a decade before it gave me pause. It was my freshman year of college that it finally hit me, I was one of those classic sitcom characters who had been duped into believing his/her dog was sent to a farm, when in reality the dog was euthanized. I immediately took to calling my mom to set the record straight and, much to my surprise, the story I had always known was legitimate. After the theatrical release of 101 Dalmatians starring Glenn Close a lot of people went out and bought Dalmatians only to learn what my family had learned - Dalmatians are high maintenance! So little Dalmatian rescues were opened all of the country to accommodate the influx of Dalmatians being given up.

In other words, I don't know how Anita and Roger took on 101 Dalmatians, but maybe they weren't alone in opening a "Dalmatian Plantation..."

The movie, though, is great. I may eat my words later, but I sincerely feel that of all the animated animal films Disney created, this and The Lion King are the two standouts.

For this week's entry, I'm just going to go through and point to the highlights, which begin with the opening sequence, because how true is it that dogs and their owners just fit?

• The sequence of Pongo looking for a possible match for him and Roger is perfect.

• As a kid I was always troubled at how Roger and Anita were knocked into the lake by Pongo, because that's just how I operated and I think that says a lot about me.

• Pongo and Perdita getting married as Roger and Anita exchange vows is adorable. 

• When the puppies are born I love that Roger is able to revive Lucky. Watching it this time around I was surprised at how much suspense was built up in that scene! Also have to give a shout out to Purdy for having puppies during a dramatic rainstorm. 

• Cruella is a classic villain. Her drive isn't made as clear in the cartoon as in the live-action film, but I supposed when you have Glenn Close you have to turn her into the star of the film. Either way, her antics are both theatrical and amusing and that's about as best as you can get. Her driving is another highlight.

• The dogs' fixation with watching TV is such a spot-on observation. I loved it when my dog, Holly, used to get transfixed by the screen. And I can't lie, that "Kanine Krunchies" jingle sticks with you.

• Everything about the "Twilight Bark" sequence is fantastic. We even get in some Lady and the Tramp characters. It's interesting because the "channel" is often used to spread gossip, but in this case is used to convey important news, which is oddly reminiscent of what we saw with social media during the Marathon Bombings. 

• Colonel, Captain, and Sergeant Tibbs are a winning combo.  

• Again, another interesting part of the film that feels close to life is the game show Jasper and Horace watch wherein the contestants have to guess the criminal's crime. It feels exactly like the type of reality/game show people would want to watch in this day and age. 

• The suspense of the puppies escaping is actually really well done. As I noted last week, Sleeping Beauty was kind of missing that, so it's good to have some nice build up.

• The puppies getting covered in soot is such a genius idea and is so well animated. As a kid I used to get so antsy about the soot being washed away as the dogs headed for the moving van.

• Roger uncovering Pongo's true identity at the end of the movie is a classic bit, but I always did worry about how messy all that soot would make Roger and Anita's town home. 

So there are a dozen highlights/reasons I love 101 Dalmatians, enough to account for the Dalmatian collection I had growing up!

Next time I'll have commentary on Sword in the Stone. 

Week 16: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Of all the Disney Princess movies, Sleeping Beauty sometimes feels like the red-headed stepchild. Somewhat similar to Lady in the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty feels a bit less popular than its contemporaries. As princesses go, Snow White was the first, Cinderella had the superior film and the ever-popular rags-to-riches thing going for her, and Aurora was just sort of there before the arrival of Ariel, Belle, and the rest of the cash cows. Having worked at a party store in my youth (can I say that yet?), I can attest to the fact that most parents don't even know "Sleeping Beauty" by her name, Aurora, so I think I may have a case for her being less popular.

Add all of that the fact that Sleeping Beauty, in its initial theatrical release, was considered a financial flop, while Snow White and Cinderella were major successes. It was actually the fledgling ticket sales of Sleeping Beauty that ultimately caused Disney to pull back on the princess movie quota for the remainder of his life. A few decades later, the studio did, however, reverse its stance and here we are ten or so princesses deep.

An interesting piece of trivia is that Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland was originally supposed to belong to Snow White, but in order to promote the upcoming film was ultimately named for Sleeping Beauty (the park opened in 1955, a little more than three years in advance of the film's opening). I guess that's one point against the red-headed stepchild theory.

Bonus fact: after the above photo was taken of JT and me, the photographer asked us to kiss, which led to maybe the most awkward conversation I have ever had with a stranger.

But I'm here to talk about the movie. As far as Disney cartoons go, this one has a pretty simplistic feel to it in that the basic plot line of Aurora eventually falling prey to Maleficent's curse and being rescued is really the only plot. True, most Disney cartoons could be summarized as quickly, but this movie seems to fly by with little in the way of conflict or twists. In the end, it lacks a certain theatricality.

By that measure, the characters don't feel terribly deep. Maleficent is a great villain and probably one of the better known and better liked of the lot, but when I really think about it, she doesn't have a lot of drive behind her evil. She hates the kingdom and the fairies, because she's left out, but it doesn't feel like nearly enough. I imagine that if Disney were to have made this film in the last decade or so, Maleficent would have been given a more concrete background.

Aurora, with approximately 17 minutes onscreen (!!!) not counting her moments as a baby, suffers a somewhat similar fate in the development department. She does have a full on interaction with her future prince, though, which is some serious progress considering that Snow White only squealed and blushed in front of Charming before they rode off into the sunset together. I suppose Cinderella did have more than a moment with her Charming, but this Phillip/Aurora interaction seems significant. If we fast forward, it's worth noting that Aurora shares more conversation with Phillip than Ariel does with Eric. And while we're on the topic of Aurora and Phillip, did anyone else notice that young Phillip is basically Aurora?

Weird, right? I guess they did marry off a lot of relatives back in those days...

Phillip, as it turns out, might have the most development out of all the characters. We get to see him meet Aurora, fall in love, defy his father's wish for him to enter into a prearranged marriage (ironic), fight to save Aurora, and finally end up with his true love. His story has obstacles and that he gets to fight against, while Aurora only learns of her prearranged marriage moments before falling into a coma. It is a bit strange that of all the characters the audience gets to know Phillip the best, who isn't even the film's titular character.

The animation is also a bit on the strange side and one of the things that came to my mind first while I was watching. It has a simplicity that makes it look at times low budget, which is funny, because it was the most expensive Disney movie made up to that point. I did learn after my viewing that the look of the film was intentional as Disney wanted Sleeping Beauty to resemble a moving illustration. He didn't want it to have the realism he and his animators had tried to achieve with previous efforts. The idea was that Sleeping Beauty ought to reflect the art from the time period that inspired the tale. This logic was later reused with Hercules, in which the film's animation was to reflect that of Greek statues and paintings. From a personal standpoint, I'm not a huge fan of the execution in either of the two cases.

In sum, Sleeping Beauty isn't the best of Disney's efforts, but it's a solid enough film to entertain one for 75 minutes.

Next week: One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Week 15: Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Lady and the Tramp has always fallen into a weird part of the spectrum for me. It's a Disney classic to be sure, but growing up I can't ever remember a time when it was my favorite movie, so it hasn't really ever come to the forefront of my mind when thinking of Disney films. And it's possible that Disney is partially to blame, because in its parks and in its merchandising, Lady and the Tramp just isn't something you see all that often. It's not a princess movie and it doesn't quite fit the bill of being a "boy" movie - I promise I'm not trying to stereotype here, but let's be honest about how kids movies are generally divvied up to the masses - which might have caused it to sort of fall by the wayside over the years. What seems to have really helped the Disney Princess franchise over the years is that every time a new princess is introduced, she is seen alongside her predecessors and merchandised into all of eternity.

In the end, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to apologize to movies like Lady and the Tramp that for one reason or another seem to be forgotten in spite of the fact that they are legitimately good. I will just say now that Robin Hood also comes to mind for me, but it's too soon to get into that!

Whether or not it's a movie I associate with the Disney brand is somewhat beside the point, because when it came to rewatching this movie after fifteen to eighteen some-odd-years, many scenes had stayed with me, visually speaking. I had forgotten certain plot points such as Lady and Tramp's all night adventure - who knew things kept going after their spaghetti dinner? Quick aside about that moment we all know and can't help but love, Disney nearly cut the spaghetti scene because he didn't think dogs sharing a meal would be at all appealing. But, thanks to some determined animator, the scene was drawn up anyway and has clearly lived to prove the animator's point and Disney himself wrong. I honestly can't think of (m)any animated movie moments as iconic as this one. And I'm not the only one who refers to the act of co-eating food as Lady-and-the-Tramping, right?

But that's what makes Disney movies so special, isn't it? Sure I've gone on and on about characters and story, because yes they're important in their own right, but Disney movies so often give us, the viewers, animated scenes that seem to stay with us forever. Or they do for me... and that's what really counts!

Another such instance, I think, is when "Jim Dear" balances the gumball on Lady's nose. As a kid, I always found this to be such a joyful moment. First, it was a cool trick and, second, it involved candy. What's not to love? Seriously, though, I remember looking forward to this scene as much as Lady looked forward to greeting her master.

The plot is pretty sophisticated and accurate, too. Well, as a set up that is, I won't speak to the dogs eventually overturning the carriage with Tramp as a prisoner. That doesn't feel accurate, but by that point who cares? No, what really works is Lady's trajectory. She starts out as the new addition to Jim Dear and Darling's young married life together. At first she's frightened of being left to sleep alone and only begrudgingly allowed a place in their bed "for a night," but soon enough she's full-grown and apparently a welcome addition to the bed. Then, just as Lady has started to settle into her role as the center of Jim Dear and Darling's lives, she starts to be pushed away without warning. In time she learns that she was pushed aside to make way for a baby and can come to terms with the change in status quo. But, before long she becomes as protective and attentive to the baby as either of its parents.

In other words, her life undergoes a lot of shifts, which is very authentic. These beats also help to bond the audience to Lady. I have considered the fact that if I were to buy a pet at this point in my life that it would very likely live long enough to see me settle down and have a family of my own as weird as it is to think of. I'm also pretty set on a cat, which feels like a controversial thing to say in a blog about a dog movie... But going back to the different beats of Lady's relationship to her owners, I know that when my mom came home from the hospital with my oldest brother that the first thing her dog did was throw up on her, which is why it is so easy to buy into how rejected Lady feels by her owners at first.

My other thoughts on Lady and the Tramp are scattered. As a kid I never could understand how Aunt Sarah, who seemed so nice at first, could have such horrible cats and be so mean to Lady! As for the cats, I'm not afraid to say that I still don't like Siamese cats very much because of their depiction in this movie. I recall also being pretty distressed about how much of a mess they made of the house - this was a recurring theme for me in any sort of movie or show where things were ruined, I don't even know. It seems wrong not to mention much about Tramp, but as far as characters go, he doesn't have a huge impact on me until the scene of him running inside the house to chase off the rat. After that point I really like him, but prior to it, he's just kind of there.

In all, a solid film, if not perhaps the most memorable in the canon.

Up next: Sleeping Beauty.