Disney DVD re-releases it's 1961 classic "101 Dalmatians" in a platinum version that is a big treat for Disney animation fans. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, this 79 minute film was a change in the way Disney made animation movies. Narrated by Rod Taylor (Time Machine, The Birds) it tells the story of Pongo and Perdita and their 15 puppies, who are kidnapped by one of the most famous villians from Disney, Cruela De Vil. The story, taken from an English children's book, was embellished by Disney, with approval from the author.

The picture on this disc has been digitally restored to all its brilliance and the film transfer looks as if this came from the Disney studios yesterday. Frame by frame restoration is what Disney Platinum Editions are all about and this release is no exception. I didn't find one speck of dust or dirt in the entire film, and the colors were bright and rich.

Disney also enhanced the soundtrack of this edition by adding an enhanced 5.1 soundtrack, but also included the original restored soundtrack.

The two disc set is loaded with extras. On disc one we have two trivia popup tracks, and a music video of Cruela De Vil by tween star Selena Gomez. Disc two is where all the real goodies are, a 45 minutes special on the films' creation with interviews with all the chief artists and production crew members. Here we learn all about the new technique first used in this film. Before "101", Disney primarily used the old method of hand painting every single cell for the production of its features, resulting in the beautiful, smooth shaped animations of Cinderella, Bambi, and Snow White. This involved hundreds of workers hand painting the cells and led to inconsistencies in the drawings and colors. "101" used a technique called the Xerox process, which took the original hand drawings from the artists and copied them onto the cells directly. This saved time and money for a division of Disney that was going downhill at the time. The Disney artists were thrilled with this, as they got to see their original drawings on screen, without someone else retracing their work. However, Walt had some strong opinions about its look and although "101" was a financial success, still preferred the old process. However, this new technique was used in all Disney animation since until computers entered the mix.

Other extras on disc two included a fascinating look at correspondence between Disney and the author of the book, Dodie Smiih , a short feature on the artist who brought Cruela De Vil to life, deleted song snippets from the movie, and some virtual pet games for the kids, one that can be played on the dvd player and a more sophisticated version on computer. It is an impressive amount of material which will be interesting to both kids and adults.

This new edition of "101 Dalmatians" is the best one yet and if you already own the dvd, consider this as an upgrade, with restored picture and sound, and tons of fascinating extras for the whole family.

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