101 Dalmatians Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

101 Dalmatians Blu-ray Movie Review

This is Disney's second major release of the timeless 1961 animated feature film '101 Dalmatians' following the 2015 Diamond Edition. For this 'Signature Collection' release -- the 11th, following 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Pinocchio,' 'Bambi,' 'The Lion King,' 'Lady and the Tramp,' 'Peter Pan,' 'The Little Mermaid,' 'Cinderella,' and Aladdin' (the 12th, Sleeping Beauty, released on the same day) -- Disney has recycled video and audio presentations from the previous release and made some alterations to the supplements, which includes a little new content, several missing extras, and a number of bonuses that are now digital only.

101 Dalmatians Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a full 1080p video review and additional screenshots, please click here.

101 Dalmatians Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full Blu-ray audio review, please click here.

101 Dalmatians Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

101 Dalmatians contains an assortment of on-disc and digital-only content. It's not all identical to the previously issued Diamond release. Below is a breakdown of what's new and returning, what's been removed, what's on-disc and what's on digital, collated to the best of my ability. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

Signature Bonus Features (On Disc, Also Available Digitally):

• In Walt's Words: 101 Dalmatians (1080p, 3:50): From the disc: "The following archival recordings of Walt Disney are edited from interviews conducted in 1956 and 1961." Walt discusses his love of dogs and the dogs he has owned, creating a movie based on a book, deciding how and what to cut, adding in the comedy, and joking around with the animators.
• Cruella De Vil: Marc Davis' Last Animated Character (1080p, 3:41): Marc Davis discusses creating the character of Cruella, his inspirations, live action assistance, and how the voice impacts the animation.
• Color and Lines: The Visual Design of 101 Dalmatians (1080p, 3:45): Walt Disney Production Designer Mike Gabriel discusses the real and contemporary world design. He also discusses the differences between the production design (Ken Anderson) and the color style (Walt Paraguay), how the two mesh in the film, and how the team worked to make the dogs show up well against the backgrounds.
• The Further Adventures of ThunderBolt: Behind the Scenes (1080p, 2:23): Animator Floyd Norman and Producer/Creative Director Dave Bosset look at how the animation team fleshed out the story of ThunderBolt and finished the story from the storyboards Bill Peet created for the original film.

• Lucky Dogs
• The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt
• Walt Disney Presents "The Best Doggoned Dog in the World"
• Redefining the Line: The Making of 101 Dalmatians: Not available digitally.
• Cruella De Vil: Drawn to Be Bad
• "Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney"
• Dalmatians 101
• Cruella's Lost Role

• Music Video: "Cruella De Vil" by Selena Gomez.
• Demo Recordings and Alternate Versions
• Trailers & TV Spots: Theatrical Trailers on disc and digital, additional TV spots available digitally only.
• Promotional Radio Spots

• Puppy Dog Tales
• Howling at the Moon
• New Tricks
• Animation 101
• Drawing All Cars
• Seeing Spots
• A Dog's Eye View

• Deleted Song: "March of the One Hundred and One."
• Abandoned Song: "Cheerio, Goodbye, Toodle-oo, Hip Hip!"
• Abandoned Song: "Don't Buy a Parrot from a Sailor"

101 Dalmatians Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

101 Dalmatians may often be overlooked in the long and storied list of Disney's best animated features, but it's a very good entry filled with heart and adventure. This new "Signature Collection" release recycles previously issued video and audio presentations. As with most of the releases in this series, some new extras are included, a few are missing, and many are now digital-only. And as with other versions, it's difficult to enthusiastically recommend to anyone who is not a first-time buyer or a Disney completist (or packaging collectors).