This Day in Disney History: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (01/25)

One Hundred and One Dalmatians, often written 101 Dalmatians, is an American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions and adapted from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel of the same name. It was released on this day in 1961 and became the 17th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It stars Rod Taylor and Cate Bauer as, respectively, the voices of Pongo and Perdita, its canine protagonists, and Betty Lou Gerson as the voice of Cruella de Vil, its antagonist who kidnaps their puppies.

Upon release, it was a box office hit, successfully pulling the studio out of the financial setbacks caused by Sleeping Beauty, a costlier production released two years prior. Aside from its box office revenue, its commercial success was due to the employment of inexpensive animation techniques - such as using xerography during the process of inking and painting traditional animation cels - that kept production costs down. It was reissued to cinemas four times: in 1969, 1979, 1985 and 1991. The 1991 reissue was the twentieth highest earning film of the year for domestic earnings. It was remade into a live action film in 1996.

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