Entering the Blu-ray home video market after appearing on the screen in 1961, the animated feature 101 Dalmatians has been released from the Disney vault as a Diamond Edition. This is the original film by Walt Disney that entertained kids for years. Nicely remastered with 7.1 DTS-HDMA sound the film has a good look with freshened up colors. If you can remember the original, than this is perfect for your library. Not to be confused with the 1991 remake of the film starring the voice of Glenn Close, this one features the remarkable cast lead by Betty Lou Gerson as Cruella de Vil.

The age old story goes like this; a city couple Roger a bachelor and Anita an unmarried women each have a Dalmatian dog, Pongo and Perdita. Pongo’s tired of being a bachelor like Roger and one day he spies Perdita being walked by Anita on the sidewalk outside Roger’s apartment. He tricks Roger into taking him to the park and the two meet and get married. Pongo and Perdita have a huge family and Anita’s college schoolmate Cruella would love to have a coat made from their beautiful spotted fur. So begins a comical tale of dog napping and the exciting adventure to rescue their 101 puppies.

Pongo and Perdita have Roger and Anita tied up

The family film has all the songs, the comedy and adventure expected from Walt Disney Studios. The youngest and their parents, but possibly not the over 13 crowd, will enjoy the film especially if they watch it with their kids.

Pongo and Perdita get married

This edition has it all with both the Blu-ray and the DVD. In addition to the special bonus features from the original DVD when it was released in 2008 there’s a new adventure with super dog Bolt.

BONUS FEATURES:

“The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt” a short film featuring the wonder dog Bolt.
“The Best Doggoned Dog in the World”
“Dalmatians 101”
“The Best Doggoned Dog in the World”
“Redefining the Line: The Making of 101 Dalmatians: including; Puppy Dog Tales, New Tricks, Seeing Spots, Howling at the Moon, Animation 101, Drawing All Cars, A Dog’s Eye View”
“Music Video by Selena Gomez: “Cruella De Vil”- check out the youngster Selena
Deleted, Abandoned and Alternate Versions of Songs: “March of the One Hundred and One”, “Cheerio, Goodbye, Toodle-oo, Hip Hip!”, “Don’t Buy a Parrot from a Sailor”. “Dalmatian Plantation” and “Kanine Krunches”
And Many More!

The sound and picture quality on the Blu-ray is extremely good considering they had to remaster from an older print. The square 1.33:1 format does take some getting used to, but the nostalgia of it all makes up for it. I noticed that the colors are a much brighter and there is very little distortion as far as the sound excellence.

101 Dalmatians has been rated G and is be perfect for the whole family. For the very young, you may want to be close by so you child can cuddle when Curella de Vil shows up.

FINAL ANALYSIS: The perfect Blu-ray companion to your Disney Library. (B+)

Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Voice Cast: Rod Taylor as Pongo, Ben Wright as Roger, Lisa Davis as Anita, J. Pat O’Malley as Jasper, Cate Bauer as Perdita, and Betty Lou Gerson as Cruella de Vil
MPAA Rating: G
Genre: Comedy, Animation, Family
Running Time: 1 hr 19 min
Video Release Date: February 10, 2015
Original Film Release Date: January 25, 1961
Language: English
Format: Blu-ray Combo Pack
Audio: Blu-ray: 7.1 DTS-HDMA / 1.0 Dolby Digital 
Video: Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Number of Discs: 2 disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and Digital HD
Distributed by: Buena Vista Home Entertainment