101 Dalmatians: Platinum Edition (1961)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Family	Main Menu Audio & Animation Trivia-2 subtitle tracks Music Video Featurette-Making Of Featurette-Behind The Scenes-2 Trailer TV Spots Gallery-Loads Game-4 Alternate Music/Sound Score-Songs
Rating
Year Of Production	1961
Running Time	76:33
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Clyde Geronimi Hamilton Luske Wolfgang Reitherman
Studio Distributor	Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.	Starring	Rod Taylor Betty Lou Gerson Cate Bauer Lisa Daniels Ben Wright Frederick Worlock Lisa Davis Martha Wentworth J. Pat O'Malley Tudor Owen Tom Conway George Pelling Thurl Ravenscroft
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	George Bruns Roy M. Brewer Jr. Donald Halliday

     101 Dalmatians from 1961 (the animated one) has been released in a number of different formats on DVD and most recently on Blu-ray, which we have not received for review unfortunately. Our most recent review of this classic Disney animation is of the original DVD release from 12 years ago. You can find our review here. That review by IanM includes an excellent plot synopsis so I will not repeat it here.

     It is interesting to note that this film was a real departure for Disney in the wake of the relative failure of Sleeping Beauty. It was the first Disney animation with a contemporary story involving thriller style plotting and also the first to use the new, cheaper Xerox technique for transferring drawing to frames. This had two major effects on the look of the finished product, all boundary lines were now black rather than coloured as in previous films and that the artists drawings were directly transferred to frames rather than being traced by others. The black lines give a very different look but the animators were said to be happier in an environment where exactly what they drew ended up on screen.

     This latest release is called the platinum edition and comes in a 2 disc set. It is a big step up from the first release certainly as it contains loads of extras and new video and audio transfers.

     A classic animated film which still provides great entertainment for today's kids (and adults).

Video

     The video quality is excellent.

     The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio which is close to the original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was very clear and sharp throughout.

     The colour is excellent replicating the colours of the animation such as the bright green of Cruella's smoke.

     Artefacts were restricted to some minor shimmer here and there.

     There are subtitles available in English, Dutch & Hindi. There are also subtitle tracks for trivia (see extras)

    There is no layer change during the film.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is excellent for DVD.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps plus the same in Dutch and an Audio Descriptive Track in Dolby Digital 2.0. The film was originally released in mono. This is a quality remix which does not overplay the surrounds, rather just providing a pleasing ambiance.

     Dialogue was clear and easy to understand throughout.

     The music by George Bruns is a mixture of trad jazz and light orchestral which works well for this film.

     The surround speakers were used for atmosphere and music.

     The subwoofer was used supporting the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     A large selection of extras are present over 2 discs

DISC 1

Menu

     The menu included music and allowed for scene selection. There is optional fast play functionality like many Disney releases.

Trivia Tracks

     Two subtitle based trivia tracks are available during the film, one for family viewing and one more for animation and Disney fans.

Music Video (3:26)

     A disposable updated version of the Cruella De Vil song.

Disc 2 Preview

     Advertisement for the second disc you already bought.

DISC 2

Backstage Disney

Redefining the Line : Making Of (33:54)

     Interesting and comprehensive making of documentary which can be played in parts or as a whole. Covers the source material, the story development, the director, animation, voice casting, the new animation technique and lots more. Definitely worth watching.

Cruella De Vil - Drawn to be Bad (7:09)

     Short featurette specifically about the Cruella character and how she was drawn. Worthwhile.

Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney (12:10)

     Featurette on the friendship between Walt Disney and the author of the book, Dodie Stevens which was carried on mostly in correspondence. They discussed story elements, character name changes and other things. Interesting reflection of the times in which the film was made.

Trailers, Radio & TV Spots

     Heaps of promotional material for the original release and three reissues.

Art Galleries

     Huge amounts of artworks, visual development, layouts, storyboards, live action reference material and much more. You will run out of interest before the galleries do.

Music & More

Bonus Songs (approx. 20 minutes)

     Six (some with multiple variants) deleted, abandoned and alternate songs, some with animation, others just audio. Interesting.

Games & Activities

Fun with Language Games

     Two simple number or object recognition games. For very young children.

Puppy Profiler

     Quiz to determine what sort of dog you are. Kids will enjoy this.

Disney Virtual Dalmatians Set Top Sampler

     Simple sampler of the DVD-ROM extra which allows the viewer to interact with a puppy.

DVD-ROM : Virtual Dalmatians

     Full computer version of the interactive puppy extra.

    This version seems to be the same globally.

     A classic Disney feature gets an extras rich re-release.

     The video quality is excellent.

     The audio quality is excellent.

     The extras are plentiful.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall