101 Dalmatians (5 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #5

When I watched "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" two weeks ago I thought it was the best animated film I'd ever seen. I have to take that back. "101 Dalmatians" is even more beautiful. I can vaguely remember watching it on television when I was a child, many, many years ago, but today I felt I was watching it for the first time. The film is magical. That's a word I often use when watching films with a fairy tale character. Simply magical.

My mother always used to call the dogs Damnations. I'm sure it began as a joke, but it became a habit with her. I miss my mother. That's one of the cute little things that I'll always remember about her. It's eleven years since she died, but I still think about her most days. Sigh.....

But let's get back to writing about the film before I get teary eyed. The main character is a Dalmatian called Pongo who lives with his master Roger in London. Roger is a songwriter, so he spends a lot of time at home. That's good for Pongo, but he still feels something is missing. He wants a female dog to keep him company, and it would be even better if he could find a wife for Roger while he's at it.

So Pongo spends hours looking out of the window. Here are the candidates:

None are suitable, neither for Pongo nor for Roger. But then...

Pongo can hardly withhold his excitement.

Pongo demands a walk in the park, where he meets the female Dalmation, Perdita, and Roger meets the Dalmatian's owner, Anita. Roger must have been excited as well, because they soon get married.

Having children is easier for dogs than for humans. Anita doesn't have a baby, but Perdita is pregnant with 15 puppies. Anita's old school friend Cruella visits and wants to buy the puppies. It's not because she loves animals. She wants to make a coat out of dog fur. Roger and Anita refuse, so Cruella sends two hired crooks to steal the puppies. They're carried away to a remote farmhouse where there are already 84 other Dalmatian puppies. That makes 99 puppies in total.

With the help of other dogs, not to mention a tomcat called Tibbs, Pongo and Perdita track down their puppies and attempt to rescue them.

But you knew all that already, didn't you? Is there even one of my readers who's never seen this wonderful film? It's beautiful. It's magical.

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