The film was referred to in numerous contemporary sources and some reviews as 101 Dalmatians. However, reviews in the 18 Jan 1961 DV and 23 Mar 1961 LAT reflected the title as it was spelled onscreen: One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The latter spelling differed slightly from the title of British author Dodie Smith’s 1957 novel, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, upon which the film was based.
       Walt Disney acquired film rights to Smith’s novel on 26 Nov 1957, according to a DV item published the following day. The project was set to be Disney’s next animated feature film, after Sleeping Beauty (1959, see entry), and was expected to be finished in two years’ time. The 8 Jul 1959 Var commented on Sleeping Beauty after its release, calling it “a nervous entry” in the feature film market, which had cost an exorbitant $6 million to make. Walt Disney Productions was said to be moving forward with One Hundred and One Dalmatians despite earlier rumors that Sleeping Beauty’s commercial failure might cause the studio’s feature animation production to cease.
       The 12 Feb 1959 LAT confirmed that production was “well under way,” and that Walt Disney anticipated the budget to be “far less” than Sleeping Beauty’s. According to the 8 Jul 1959 Var, the comparatively lower production costs could be attributed to the fact that dogs were easier to animate than humans. The picture was ultimately three years in the making, cost $4 million, and employed an estimated 300 artists, as noted in the 18 Jan 1961 DV review. It was said to offer “a new subtlety in color design and a new smoothness in movement,” partly due to the advent of a “‘clean, fast, dry, direct, positive electrostatic copying process’ with the name of XeroX,” as stated in the 5 Feb 1961 LAT.
       An article in the 14 Dec 1959 DV stated that Buena Vista Distribution Co. would offer $18.5 million worth of Walt Disney Productions fare in the 1960—1961 season, including The 101 Dalmatians (sic.). The advertising and publicity budget for the slate of releases was said to be a “record” $4 million.
       Theatrical release was initially scheduled for Jan 1961, according to a 31 Mar 1960 DV brief, but took place on 10 Feb 1961 at the Palace Theatre in New York City, as reported in the 5 Feb 1961 NYT. According to the 23 Mar 1961 LAT review, the Los Angeles, CA, release was co-billed with The Horse with the Flying Tail (1960, see entry) in some locations, and with an unspecified version of Tess of the Storm Country in others.
       One Hundred and One Dalmatians was a commercial success, named one of Disney’s recent “moneymakers” in the 3 Jan 1962 LAT. After six days in release in Los Angeles, a 28 Mar 1961 DV item stated that the picture was nearing a “record-shattering” gross of $300,000, based on ticket sales at twenty-one Los Angeles-area theaters. Disney took advantage of toy licensing opportunities, as noted in a 27 Dec 1961 DV brief, and co-sponsored a “big budget Frisky Dog Food promotion.” An advertisement in the 29 Jan 1961 NYT listed “101 Dalmatians” plush toys from Gund, available at the department store Best & Co., modeled after the characters “Perdita,” “Pongo,” “Patch,” “Rolly,” and “Lucky,” ranging in price from $3--$6.
       A 23 Jun 1961 DV brief noted that the film had been chosen as the U.S. entry for the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain.
       The villainous “Cruella de Vil” was ranked #39 on AFI’s 2003 100 Years… 100 Heroes & Villains list of the fifty top movie heroes and fifty top movie villains of all time. A re-make, titled 101 Dalmatians, was released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution in 1996, followed by a 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians (see entries). Disney also produced an animated series, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, which aired on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) from 1997—1998.