Walt Disney Hated One of His Studio’s Most Beloved Films: ‘101 Dalmatians’

Because of its endearing story, endearing characters, and endearing animation, Disney’s 1961 classic ‘101 Dalmatians’ has earned a permanent place in the studio’s legacy. Nevertheless, Walt Disney notably disapproved of the movie despite its enormous success and popularity. What’s the cause of this? The animation style of the movie deviated from Disney’s usual methodology.
In contrast to other Disney movies, ‘101 Dalmatians’ employed a method known as Xerox animation, which entailed duplicating the character outlines onto transparent cels instead of creating them by hand. Despite being economical and effective, this approach produced conspicuous black lines surrounding the characters, which was a dramatic change from Disney’s custom of minimizing or hiding such outlines in order to achieve seamless realism.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
Despite being groundbreaking, Walt Disney did not value this approach since he saw it as a betrayal of the artistic integrity he had fought hard to develop. Disney publicly blasted the film’s art direction after witnessing a test screening, even stating that Ken Anderson, the film’s art director, would “never be an art director again.”
Despite Walt’s reservations, ‘101 Dalmatians’ was a huge commercial and critical success. Following the critical and financial disappointments of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ (1959), it assisted in turning around Disney’s fortunes. The company’s pivotal moment came with ‘101 Dalmatians’, which saved it from impending bankruptcy and ushered in a new period of prosperity. Additionally, it set the stage for later advancements in animation, with Disney’s later films heavily relying on the Xerox process.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
Despite his distaste for the animation style, Walt Disney eventually acknowledged the movie’s influence on the studio. Notwithstanding his misgivings, ‘101 Dalmatians’ is now regarded as a timeless Disney classic, which is evidence of both the film’s narrative and the creative methods used to make it come to life.
–Farheen Ali