101 Dalmatians: The Series
101 Dalmatians: The Series is an American animated television series that aired from September 1, 1997, to March 4, 1998, on the Disney-Kellogg Alliance and ABC. It was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Jumbo Pictures and is based on the 1961 Disney animated feature film of the same name and its 1996 live-action remake. It features the voices of Pamela Adlon, Debi Mae West, Kath Soucie and Tara Strong, and is the first television series based on the 101 Dalmatians franchise; it was followed by 101 Dalmatian Street in 2019. It is notable for being the first series to air on ABC's One Saturday Morning programming block.
Many staff members previously worked on the Timon & Pumbaa television show. Doug creator Jim Jinkins and his partner David Campbell both were developers of the series.
Premise
The show focuses primarily on three puppies: Lucky, TV addict leader and unconventional hero; Rolly, his cheerful, laid-back, and always-hungry brother; and Cadpig, their uncanny but loveable sister who is the runt of the family. The three siblings are often joined by Spot, a chicken who wants to be a dog and a member of the Bark Brigade. Early promotional material had listed dictatorial Penny and mischievous Patch as two other puppy cast members, but the highlighted puppies were whittled down to three so Penny was dropped and Patch was no longer a main character. Unlike the original film, but like the 1996 live-action film, the series is set in England in the 1990s, on the Dearly Farm.Other puppies appearing in the show included the fearless, three-legged Tripod, the friendly dimwitted Dipstick, the constantly urinating Wizzer, the fashion-conscious diva Two-Tone, and the Sheepdog mix, Mooch, who serves as the farm's bully. Patch also makes occasional appearances, though with a different personality than originally promoted.
Characters
Main
- Lucky is the most plucky of the puppies and is unique in having his only spots in the shape of a horseshoe on his back. He is the leader of the main pups and is very adventurous and determined to do whatever he thinks is right. But he is very obsessed with TV and he is usually the one at fault when the main pups get into trouble.
- Cadpig is the smallest of the puppies and one of the most intelligent, if not deluded somewhat by her abstract state of mind. She is unique in having long floppy ears and a big head. She has a kind-hearted personality, is quite strong for her size and can have a very strong temper.
- Rolly is always hungry; almost all his decisions are based on food, which sometimes gets him and the pups into trouble. However, he is a cheerful and diligent sibling, especially when it comes to his incredible sense of smell. He's also very timid and is an easy target for bullies due to him being such a foodie.
- Spot is a chicken who wants to become a dalmatian. She is the most intelligent of the main four and is a voice of reason for the foursome, but is more often than not ignored. She is easily scared and is prone to literally bouncing off the walls. But she is a great dancer and appears to be good at math. She is also able to fly to some extent. In certain episodes, she acts as a private investigator and sports an alter-ego by the name of Pullet Marlowe.
- Roger and Anita Dearly are owners of the 101 Dalmatians and the Dearly Farm.
- Cruella de Vil is now a corporate criminal and most of her plans revolve around getting richer, tormenting the dalmatians and plotting to steal the Dearly Farm. Her frequent catchphrase in the series is "Memo to myself", followed by whatever her current scheme is or sometimes her emotional state, uttered into her personal recording device.
- Horace and Jasper are Cruella's henchmen. They are usually hired to carry out her plans and generally fail, due to their lack of intelligence.
Supporting
- Nanny is Dearlys' caretaker who helps Roger and Anita around the Dearly Farm, also helps with feeding the dalmatians from the huge Chow Tower that she operates with a bike.
- Pongo is the father of fifteen puppies, the adopted father of the eighty-four orphaned pups and the husband of Perdita. He is Roger's devoted pet.
- Perdita is the mother of fifteen puppies, the adoptive mother of eighty-four orphaned pups and the wife of Pongo. She is Anita's beloved pet.
- Mooch is an adolescent sheepdog mix who is the bully of the farm. He can sometimes be intimidating, but deep down he is very sensitive and nice.
- Two-Tone is one of the dalmatian puppies and Mooch's ex-girlfriend and second-in-command. She is depicted as half-black with white spots and half white with black spots. She is a tomboy who loves fashion and has a crush on Lucky.
- Dipstick is a male dalmatian puppy who is the most dimwitted of Mooch's gang. He is constantly infested with fleas. In some episodes, he is has a soft side.
- Wizzer is a male dalmatian puppy and bladder control issues who is part of Mooch's gang.
- Tripod is a male dalmatian puppy who serves as Lucky's friendly rival. He has spotted ears, a green headband and is missing his front left leg.
- Scorch is Cruella's pet ferret who has an appetite for Spot.
- The Colonel is an old English sheepdog and commanding officer of the Bark Brigade.
- Sergeant Tibbs is a cat and trusted ally of the Colonel.
- Captain is a horse on the Dearly Farm who is usually seen helping Nanny.
- Lieutenant Pug is one of the training officers of the Bark Brigade. He is paranoid about a potential feline invasion. He gets very brutal with the main pups and has a habit of insulting them, and suffers from narcolepsy.
- Thunderbolt is a German shepherd and Lucky's favorite superhero.
- Cornelia is Spot's overprotective mother who wants her to behave like a chicken.
- Lucy is a goose who gets grumpy when the dalmatians play in her pond at Hiccup Hole.
- Swamp Rat is a rat salesman who lives in the swamp.
- Steven the Alligator is Swamp Rat's associate and is fixated on eating Spot.
- Cydne is a snake who lives in the swamp and Swamp Rat's other associate.
- Mayor Ed Pig is a pig who is the mayor of the animals on the Dearly Farm.
- Dumpling is Mayor Ed's daughter who has an unrequited crush on Lucky.
- Princess is a cow who lives on the Dearly Farm.
- Duchess is a cow and a companion of Princess.
Production
In March 1996, Disney announced an animated television series based on the 1961 film One Hundred and One Dalmatians, created in a partnership between Disney and Kellogg's ordered for 52 episodes with two cartoons and one comedy bit in between each. The series was developed by Jim Jinkins, who had previously created Doug and Allegra's Window for Nickelodeon, and his partner David Ray Campbell, both serving as executive producers alongside Bobs Gannaway and Tony Craig, who were previously the supervising producers of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, another television adaptation of a Disney animated feature film, being The Lion King. Gannaway commented that since the animated film and the live-action remake were really about the human characters, they wanted to make the show about the puppies' individual personalities. The producers also gave the series its own highly stylized look, different from that of the original film, and even tackled the character of Cruella de Vil. Gannaway stated that they needed to expand her so that she would become more of a greedy character, which he found to be daunting as Cruella was a beloved Disney villain. The show used the thick-and-thin line approach from Hanna-Barbera's 2 Stupid Dogs, another television series which Gannaway and Craig previously worked on. Alongside Gannaway and Craig, many of the staff had been previously involved with The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa.Release
Broadcast
The show debuted in syndication on the Disney-Kellogg Alliance block on September 1, 1997, running episodes five days a week; this was the second season. Two weeks later, the first season aired on ABC's One Saturday Morning programing block. That season was originally going to air on ABC on September 6, 1997, but was delayed a week due to the death of Princess Diana.In total, 65 half-hour episodes with 105 episode segments were produced. The first season contained 12 episodes: 3 full-length episodes, and 9 that contained 2 segments each. Meanwhile, the second season contained 53 episodes: 22 full-length episodes, and 31 that contained 2 segments each. On March 4, 1998, the show aired its last episode with reruns continuing to play in syndication through August 28, 1998.
Reruns of the show aired on Disney Channel from 1998 to 1999 and Toon Disney from September 1, 1998, to March 9, 2007.
On March 23, 2012, the show returned to television as a launch title for the Disney Junior channel, but only about half of the episodes aired and most of them were edited down. On September 3, 2013, the series was removed from Disney Junior's lineup.
Home media
While the series as a whole never made a true home media release either on VHS or DVD, the episode, "A Christmas Cruella", was released on VHS in 1998, which also contained the episode "Coup De Vil" as a bonus episode. This was also released on DVD in the UK.The 3-part series finale, "Dalmatian Vacation", was also released on VHS and Laserdisc in Japan, which included two songs that were exclusive to this release and not on the TV broadcasts of the trilogy of episodes.