HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: THE SERIES

 

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: THE SERIES
(Disney Channel, Teletoon, Netflix, June 25, 2017-October 29, 2020)
 
Sony Pictures Animation, Corus Entertainment, Nelvana

 

MAIN CAST:
Bryn McAuley – Mavis Dracula
Evany Rosen – Wendy Blob
Gage Munroe – Hank N. Stein
Joseph Motiki – Pedro Moomay
Dan Chameroy – Lydia Dracula, Dr. Julien Gillman III
Richard Binsley – Diane
 

 

Hotel Transylvania is a media franchise created and developed by comedy writer Todd Durham based on his book of the same name. Todd later created a bible outlining several films, a television series, holiday specials, video games, books, merchandising, a hotel chain and theme parks and pitched it to Sony Pictures. Sony bought the concept and set it up at their newly-formed Sony Pictures Animation studio.

Hotel Transylvania centered around the titular hotel opened up by Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) himself as a safe haven for monsters away from the human world. He did this after his wife was killed by an angry human mob shortly after the birth of his daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez); whom he forbade from ever leaving the hotel out of fear for her safety and went to great lengths to keep her curiosity of the outside world at bay. Frequent residents of the hotel included comedic interpretations of Universal Monsters like Frankenstein (Kevin James) and his wife, Eunice (Fran Drescher); Wayne Werewolf (Steve Buscemi), his wife, Wanda (Molly Shannon), and their massive litter of children; Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade); and Murray the mummy (CeeLo Green). Comprising the hotel staff were zombies as bellhops, witches as maids, and gargoyles as waiters.

Movie poster featuring Murray, Frank, Wayne, Drac, Mavis, Johnny and two wolf cubs.

Drac’s peace, however, seems to come to an end when a 21-year-old human named Johnny (Andy Samberg) stumbles upon the hotel and meets Mavis, with the two instantly become attracted to each other. Unable to get Johnny away without notice, Drac disguises Johnny as Frank’s cousin “Johnnystein” and claimed he was a party planner for Mavis’ 118^th birthday. Drac found himself having to juggle his lie long enough to get rid of Johnny without incident, but needing to do it without breaking his daughter’s heart and chef Quasimodo (Jon Lovitz) turning Johnny into a meal.

The original trilogy film collection.

The film had a rough production, going through six directors until Genndy Tartakovsky came on board, making his feature directorial debut. Tartakovsky visualized the film as having the energy and exaggeration of traditional 2D animation in order to “push reality” and infused those sensibilities into the CG design. Miley Cyrus was also initially cast to play Mavis, but was replaced by Gomez when she bought and licked an explicit cake meant for her then-partner’s birthday. Dan and Kevin Hageman contributed to the story, and the screenplay was written by Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel. Character designs were handled by Sylvain Deboissy, Carter Goodrich, Carlos Grangel, Luis Grané, Cathy Jones, Craig Kellman, Annette Marnat and Pete Oswald. The film opened on September 28, 2012 and ended up pulling in over $378 million worldwide at the box office against an $85 million budget. The film’s success spawned three sequels; each earning more than the last (with the exception of the fourth, released on Amazon Prime with only a limited theatrical release).

Mavis literally hanging out with Hank, Wendy, Pedro and Diane.

While production was underway for the third film, Sony looked into expanding the series by creating a spin-off television series. Developed by Mark Steinberg, Hotel Transylvania: The Series was actually a prequel set 4 years before the first film. Drac (David Berni, later Ivan Sherry) was called away for business with the Vampire Council, leaving his older sister, Lydia (Dan Chameroy), in charge of the hotel and looking after 114-year-old Mavis (Bryn McAuley). Mavis wanted to prove to her father that she could run the hotel and often attempted to implement her ideas; which clashed with Lydia’s traditional and old-fashioned outlook and desire to maintain order. Of course, her teenaged enthusiasm and curiosity often led Mavis into mischief with her friends Wendy Blob (Evany Rosen), a green blob of goo; Hank N. Stein (Gage Munroe), the son of Frank (Paul Braunstein) and Eunice (Katie Griffin) who tended to fall to pieces; and Pedro (Joseph Motiki), a lazy and gluttonous mummy that liked rap (what else?) music.

Lydia Dracula: no sense of humor.

Other characters included Diane (Richard Binsley), Lydia’s pet chicken that was once human and served as her spy around the hotel; Quasimodo (Christopher Jacot), still the hotel’s curmudgeon of a chef; Gene Dracula (Patrick McKenna), Mavis’ video-game loving uncle who utilized a chariot-like wheelchair; Dr. Gillman (Chameroy), the hotel’s resident physician; Cerberus, the hotel’s three-headed guard dog; Klaus (Carter Hayden), Mavis’ cousin who was always trying to upstage her in everything; Shonda Moomay (Maria Vacratsis, later Masasa Moyo), Pedro’s mother and eventually Wendy’s stepmother who could grow to giant size; Bob Blob (Adrian Truss), Wendy’s father and eventually Pedro’s stepfather who’s the richest monster in the underworld; Baby Blendy, the infant daughter of Shonda and Bob whose wails were enjoyed by residents of the hotel;  Charlotte and Sophie (both Josette Halpert), twin werewolves that were old friends of Mavis from her Ghoul Guide troop; and Donald (Ryan Belleville) and Kitty Cartwright (Linda Kash), a human couple that lived near the hotel. Donald was fun-loving and dim-witted, while Kitty was overprotective of their toddler daughter, dubbed “the nosepicker” by Mavis, and did whatever she could to keep the monsters away from their house. Of course, the presence of the Cartwrights and various other encounters with humans throughout the series directly contradicted the canon of the original film where Mavis wouldn’t encounter any until she turned 118. The characters were designed by Ruggiero Abbruzzese, Paul Baczynski, Alice Lemma and Adan Ye.

Residents of the hotel.

Hotel Transylvania: The Series was first seen on June 9, 2017 in the first of a four weekly shorts that aired on WATCH Disney Channel and on Disney Channel’s YouTube; later airing during commercial breaks on Disney Channel proper. The series made its official debut on Disney Channel on June 25, 2017, although the first episode was made available on WATCH Disney Channel, YouTube and VOD on June 20^th. The series was written by Steinberg, Ben Joseph, Alex Ganetakos, Emer Connon, Alice Prodanou, Andrew Harrison, and Mike D’Ascenzo, with Josh Gal and Shawn Kalb joining in the second season and Dale Schott contributing a short. Steinberg served as story editor with Connon, Ganetakos, Harrison, Joseph, Prodanou, Robert Marianetti and David Wachtenheim as story consultants. The majority of episodes were comprised of two story segments. Unlike the films, the series was animated in 2D. As it was produced by Nelvana and Corus Entertainment—both Canadian companies—the series’ cast was comprised of Canadian talent; which meant none of the franchise’s original actors reprised their roles (although that’s not uncommon for film-to-TV adaptations, anyway). The series’ theme and music were composed by Stephen Skratt and Asher Lenz.

The Cartwrights, bringing a little humanity to the show.

Initially, Disney Channel heavily promoted the series. A week after its debut, they channel hosted a 2 ½ hour marathon of the episodes already aired on July 2^nd and their official Twitter account live-tweeted along with it. The series premiered on Teletoon in Canada on October 2^nd, shortly before a hiatus began in December. The second half of the first season debuted on Teletoon beginning June 24, 2018 and on Netflix in the United States the next day before airing on Disney Channel that October. A second season was announced in September and debuted on October 8, 2019. Unlike with the first season, the second received very little promotion and was moved to a much earlier timeslot. The first 13 episodes were burned through that October, with the 14^th airing in December before another hiatus. The final 12 episodes were also burned through the following October. Ultimately, the series was quietly cancelled by Disney and the crew had moved on to other projects by the time the final episodes aired. Repeats would air on Disney XD.

Who needs Halloween costumes when you're already a monster?

Jazwares was the official licensor for the franchise and produced various figures based on the show. Among them was a Mavis figure of her humanoid and bat form; a pack of figures of Mavis and her friends; three playsets including Mavis’ bedroom, the hotel lobby and the Scream Cheese Café; plush dolls; and blind boxes that contained various characters from the films and show or pieces of Hank to build him, with a few of them being special unlockable items found in the playsets. Simon & Schuster published several chapter books written by Natalie Shaw and Cala Spinner and easy-reader books by Ximena Hastings, Sheila Sweeny Hagginson and Tina Gallo adapting various episodes, and a guide to the hotel written in Mavis’ voice by Delphine Finnegan. The second entry of Papercutz’s Hotel Transylvania trilogy of graphic novels was dedicated to an original story set in the world of the show by Stefan Petrucha, Allen Gladfelter, Zazo, Laurie E. Smith, and Wilson Ramos Jr. In 2018 Crazy Labs released Hotel Transylvania Adventures. It was a mobile platforming game where players used Mavis or one of her unlockable friends to traverse levels to collect coins and accomplish goals to earn 3 stars for each level.

Sibling argument.

During its run, the series was nominated for four ACTRA Awards, winning one; two Canadian Cinema Editors Awards; four Canadian Screen Awards, winning one; a Daytime Emmy Award; and two Writers Guild of Canada Awards, winning one. So far, only the first season has been available to stream on Netflix as well as purchasable on the iTunes store, Prime Video, Vudu and Google Play. The first episode was uploaded to Sony Pictures Animation’s official YouTube channel. Most clips and shorts have since been removed from official channels and are only partially available on international Disney YouTube channels or from user uploads.

  

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Enter the Nosepicker / Hide & Shriek” (6/25/17) – Mavis accidentally lures a human baby to the hotel just before an influential reviewer is due to come by. / Mavis finds the doll she lost 90 years prior, and this time it’s determined to never leave her side again.

 

“Bad Friday / Hoop Screams” (6/26/17) – Mavis’s attempt to achieve the best scare on Bad Friday results in her getting scared by Kitty instead. / Mavis helps Hank’s basketball skills by giving him a deceased basketball player’s hands.

 

“Buggin’ Out / How Do You Solv a Problem Like Medusa” (6/27/17) – While cleaning the hotel, Mavis accidentally infests the bed with truth bugs instead of bedbugs. / Mavis invites Medusa to the hotel when she finds out she’s Lydia’s rival and accidentally turns her to stone with her own wig.

 

“Adventures in Vampiresitting / Phlegm Ball” (6/28/17) – A disguised Mavis ends up babysitting a human child, at least until the actual babysitter shows up and alerts the family about monsters. / Mavis learns her friends have been letting her win at Phlegm Ball just when her cousin challenges her to a game for her father’s lucky fangs.

 

“Wendy Big and Tall / Doppelfanger” (6/29/17) – Wendy’s desire to become taller goes awry when she becomes a giant monster instead. / Mavis barely has time to enjoy her favorite singer coming to the hotel when a cursed mirror unleashes an evil zombie duplicate of her.

 

“Great Eggspectations / Hotel Pennyslvania” (7/9/17) – Mavis tries to prove she can care for a living creature by saving a bad egg. / Mavis and her friends try to find a way to watch their favorite show when Lydia disconnects the cable.

 

“Breakfast at Lydia’s / The Trouble with Wendys” (7/16/17) – Mavis worries about losing her employee of the month title when she causes Quasimodo to quit. / Feeling indebted to Dr. Gillman for getting gum out of her hair, she sticks by him until she can return the favor.

 

“Frankenstunt / What About Blob?” (7/23/17) – Hank fills in for his father for a movie when Frank gets blown apart doing a stunt. / Mavis and Wendy plot to get Lydia and Bob Blob together, but instead it prompts Bob to want to move his family away to the Cramptons.

 

“Curse Club / Casket if you Can” (7/30/17) – Mavis tries to help Pedro’s confidence by running around and making it seem as if his curses are coming true. / Lydia’s coffin gets ejected from the hotel with her in it, and Mavis and her friends must rescue it from a human antique collector.

 

“A Scare to Remember / Hank and the Real Boy” (8/6/17) – The kids accidentally get rid of the ghost author who really writes the books of Lydia’s favorite author when they clean the hotel. / Attempting to keep Hank from falling to pieces results in his becoming a real boy.

 

“The Wrapture / Becoming Klaus” (8/20/17) – Mavis replaces Pedro’s wraps that she got accidentally got rid of, but as they’re a different material Pedro adopts a new identity. / Mavis’ broken fang requires getting a transplant from Klaus.

 

“116 Candles / Stop or my Mummy Will Shout” (10/1/17) – Mavis gives Lydia a de-aging perfume in order to be allowed to go to a concert. / The kids pretend Pedro is in charge of the hotel in order to impress his mother.

 

“The Legend of Pumpkin Guts” (10/8/17) – Sneaking out to learn the secret behind Halloween causes Mavis and her friends to accidentally unleash the monstrous Pumpkin Guts on the monster world.

 

“Fright of Hand / Dude Where’s My Garlic?” (10/15/17) – Mavis plays magician at Diane’s party and accidentally loses her in a strange void. / Quasimodo’s supply of garlic leads Mavis to investigate why its deadly to vampires.

 

“Bat Flap Fever / Thumb and Thumber” (10/22/17) – Mavis is sent an embarrassing gift from her father that she throws away, resulting in it getting stuck to Donald. / When Hank discovers his thumb is from the Dracula bloodline, Lydia begins showing him all the affection she often denies Mavis.

 

“Brain Drain / Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” (11/4/17) – Lydia takes Pandora’s box from Mavis and gives it to zombie Isaac Newton, just as his brain is swapped with Hank’s. / When someone starts messing with Lydia’s hair, the obvious suspect is Medusa.

 

“Drop the Needle / Really Gross Anatomy” (11/11/17) – Mavis offers to teach Klaus how to become a bat if he’ll show her how to replace the needle she broke on Lydia’s gramophone. / The kids discover Dr. Gillman isn’t an actual doctor and try to teach them everything they know about medicine (which is nothing).

 

“The Fright Before Creepmas” (12/2/17) – Mavis tries to get Krampus to fix a 1,000-year-old mistake so that Lydia will let everyone enjoy a family Creepmas.

 

“Exit Sandman / Roadkill Trip” (6/25/18 N, 10/15/18 DC) – Rebuilding Diane’s chicken coop disturbs the Sandman’s sleep, so he puts the entire hotel to sleep. / Mavis and Uncle Gene decide to go on a road trip to visit a restaurant before it closes, but getting there is proving a challenge.

 

“Top Wing / Fried Mean Tomatoes” (6/25/18 N, 10/16/18 DC) – When Mavis gets a position Wendy wanted, their relationship becomes strained. / Mavis attempts to use magic to expel Quasimodo’s mean streak and make him nicer.

 

“Four Monsters and a Funeral / Rainbow Doom” (6/24/18 TT, 10/17/18 DC) – Mavis must hold a phony funeral for Uncle Gene after telling Death that he died. / When Mavis uses a cursed code to beat a video game, the game comes to life to take over the monster world.

 

“Drac to the Future” (6/25/18 N, 10/18/18 DC) – When Kitty ends up sucked into a self-updating history book, Mavis must go back in time to rescue her.

 

“Gorytelling / A Few Good Monsters” (6/25/18 N, 10/22/18 DC) – Mavis hopes impressing an author writing about the hotel will lead to her becoming a full-time manager. / Lydia puts the kids on trial to determine who broke a priceless Dracula family heirloom.

 

“Mummyfest Destiny / Bandages of Brothers” (6/25/18 N, 10/23/18 DC) – Against warnings, Mavis decides to make use of Pedro’s time-freezing amulet. / A rift grows between Pedro and Hank that begins to affect the entire hotel.

 

“Creepover Party / Frankenstein & Son” (6/25/18 N, 10/24/18 DC) – Mavis’ old Ghoul Guide friends are coming to the hotel, meaning they can finally earn their last merit badge. / Frank wants to try dramatic acting so he can win an award, and decides to cast his next film at the hotel.

 

“Fangceañera” (6/25/18 N, 10/25/18 DC) – Mavis wants to spend her 115^th birthday earning her Dracula cape in the dangerous Fangceañera realm, but Drac’s overprotectiveness spoils her plans.

 

Season 2:

“Welcome to Human Park / Must Scream TV” (10/8/19) – Mavis and her friends set out to get themselves scared silly before Halloween. / When Pedro fixes the TV, Mavis ends up trapped inside.

 

“Married to the Blob” (10/9/19) – Mavis intends to throw the best wedding ever for Pedro’s mother and Wendy’s father.

 

“Portrait of Mavis as a Young Vampire / Goo Crush” (101/10/19) – When the kids attempt to fix Mavis’ ruined portrait, they end up causing a bunch of magical problems. / Mavis encourages Wendy to find a crush, but her missing glasses leads to her making a big mistake.

 

“Frankerheads / For Whom the Smell Tolls” (10/11/19) – Hank asks Mavis to get him a rare collectible, but she ends up losing out on it to Klaus. / Puberty gives Mavis “the vapors”, making her repulsive to all the monsters.

 

“Cries and Dolls / Hypnosferatu” (10/15/19) – Mavis’ clingy doll begins to haunt her dreams. / Mavis new hypnosis power causes Donald to sweep Lydia off her feet.

 

“Best Friends Furever / Fantasy Vamp” (10/16/19) – Mavis uses Lydia’s staff to hang out with both Wendy and werewolves Sophie and Charlotte at the same time. / Mavis wins a trip to a Phlegm Ball fantasy camp where she has to put its leader in his place after he insults her friends.

 

“Stepmonsters / Better Know Your Mavis” (10/17/19) – Marvis convinces Pedro and Wendy to get to know their new stepparents. / Wendy competes against Sophie and Charlotte to see who can better care for a sick Mavis.

 

“The Northern Frights / Don’t Fear the Realtor” (10/18/19) – Mavis tricks Uncle Gene to get him away from his constant gaming. / A realtor sets her sights on selling the hotel.

 

“Holy Babies / Aunt Lydia’s New Clothes” (10/21/19) – Lying about their birthdays to get free ice cream has Death turning Mavis and Pedro into babies to fix his own records. / Mavis accidentally ruins Lydia’s new invisibility poncho.

 

“I Only Have Eyes for Goo / Talk Blobbish to Me” (10/22/19) – Mavis takes advantage of Wendy’s mind-reading glasses to get herself a promotion. / Mavis casts a spell to help Pedro learn Blobbish, but accidentally causes everyone else to only speak it instead.

 

“Wand Ambition / Lost in Transylvation” (10/23/19) – Mavis accidentally throws way Tiffany’s magic wand, which Kitty finds and uses to cast a spell on the hotel. / Mavis accidentally invents a new word that gets added to the Vampire Dictionary.

 

“The Song Remains Asleep / Baby Got Hunchback” (10/24/19) – The song Donald sings in his sleep becomes a big hit when used as the hotel’s elevator music. / Quasimodo gets unwanted attention when the kids market and sell his dirt flame recipe without his knowing.

 

“Afterlifestyles of the Rich and Mavis / The Mavysitters Club” (10/25/19) – Mavis is so focused on plans for the Steins’ AniverScary that she ends up losing Frank’s body. / Lydia puts Klaus in charge of wrangling the out-of-control wolf pups.

 

“A Year Without Creepmas” (12/7/19) – When Mavis accidentally causes Krampus to take a vacation, she must team-up with Santa to save Creepmas.

 

“Casualties of Wart / When the Afterlife Gives You Phlegmonade” (10/3/20) – Mavis is invited into the witches’ clique when they mistake her pimple for a wart. / Mavis convinces Sophie and Charlotte to spend time apart when they have a falling out.

 

“Undead Red / Klaus of the Rising Sun” (10/4/20) – Mavis learns the surprising identity of a being that scares humans when they chant his name three times. / Inadvertently saving Mavis from the sun turns Klaus into a hotel hero.

 

“Say Princess to the Dress / The Naming of the Shrew” (10/10/20) – When Mavis sniffs a flower meant for Kitty she becomes a dainty princess. / Mavis takes away everyone’s fear of Lydia when she reveals her real name during a game.

 

“Death Becomes Him / Purse of the Mummy” (10/11/20) – Pedro steals Death’s robe and ends up stuck with his job. / Mavis loses control of the magic purse Shonda got for Wendy’s birthday.

 

“Cape Boss / Diner of the Dead” (10/17/20) – If Mavis can’t show that her cape is well-trained, she could lose it. / Pedro causes a zombie apocalypse when he feeds the zombie staff human food.

 

“Six Feet Undercover Boss / Ghost Effect” (10/18/20) – Everyone suspects the new janitor may be Lydia in disguise spying on them. / Mavis goes safety-crazy to prevent accidents at the hotel.

 

“World Wide Wendy / Stuck in the Middle with Goo” (10/24/20) – Mavis attempts to bring the hotel into the future by going wireless. Competing stepsiblings Pedro and Wendy find themselves in need of a tiebreaker.

 

“The Shawhank Redemption / Friendship is Tragic” (10/25/20) – Hank’s friends attempt to help him conquer his fears. / Mavis’ friends worry they’re drifting apart when she looks forward to a day without them.

 

“Cursery Rhymes / I Did It All for the Cookie” (10/26/20) – The kids try to restore Baby Blendy’s crying before her giggling annoys the whole hotel.

 

“Fangs for the Memories / Sleepers Creepers” (10/27/20) – Mavis accidentally erases the memories of her favorite vampire singer. / Quasimodo’s jar of misfortune cookies gets raided.

 

“Polterguest / Hair Raiser” (10/28/20) – When the hotel is booked solid, Mavis rents out the Cartwright’s house. / Mavis’ attempts at giving herself a haircut results in disaster.

 

“What Lycidias Beneath” (10/29/20) – Mavis accidentally unleashes her ancestor who’s intent on dominating the monster world and the underworld.

 

Shorts:

“Summer Vacation” (6/9/17) – A clip show.

 

“Drac be Trippin’” (6/11/17) – Mavis helps Drac pack for his trip as he’s a terrible packer.

 

“Who’s the Boss” (6/18/17) – Mavis shows off her accomplishments around the hotel to prove she can be the temporary manager.

 

“Ballad of Mavis” (6/24/17) – Mavis lays the scares down on Bad Friday.

 

“Nothing But Web” (7/15/17) – Mavis is determined to beat Drac at truck-shot basketball.

 

“Mavis Monster P.I.” (1/7/20) – Mavis investigates a claim that the wolf pups will become a pack of humans during the Evil Full Moon.

 

“Monster Fear Factor” (1/8/20) – Hank challenges the others to a duel in which they have to face their greatest fears without freaking out.

 

“Holy Rabies” (1/9/20) – Mavis raps her catch-phrase: “Holy Rabies!”

 

“The Mavis Dracula Show” (1/10/20) – Mavis’ latest podcast to her father manages to capture Lydia breaking her own “no dancing” rule.

 

“What’s Cooking?!” (4/16/20) – Wendy, Pedro and Hank compete to see who’ll be the next cooking champ.

 

“Humie Repellent” (4/17/20) – Mavis wants to show Drac she can take initiative and sends him a video pitch for a new idea.

101 DALMATIANS: THE SERIES

101 DALMATIANS: THE SERIES

(ABC, Syndication, September 1, 1997-March 4, 1998)

Jumbo Pictures, Walt Disney Television Animation

MAIN CAST:

Pamela Adlon (ABC) & Debi Mae West (syndicated) – Lucky

Kath Soucie – Cadpig, Roly “Rolly” Poly, Anita Dearly

Tara Strong – Spot, Two-Tone

Jeff Bennett – Roger Dearly, Sergeant Tibbs, Lieutenant Pug

April Winchell – Cruella de Vil, Princess (2 episodes)

Tress MacNeille – Cruella de Vil (2 episodes), Cornelia

David L. Lander – Horace Baddun

Michael McKean – Jasper Baddun

            The Hundred and One Dalmatians, or The Great Dog Robbery, was a 1956 novel written by Dodie Smith. Pongo and Missis were a pair of Dalmatians, owned by the newly-married Dearly couple, that recently had a litter of puppies. Those puppies would end up dognapped with 97 others by the evil Cruella de Vil and her henchmen in order for them to be skinned for their fur. Pongo and Missis set out to find their puppies in what became a grand adventure involving many other animals all working together. Smith would follow it up with a direct sequel, The Starlight Barking, in 1967.

The original book.

            When Walt Disney read the book in 1957, it grabbed his attention and he immediately set out to acquire the rights; fulfilling a secret desire of Smith’s. Disney assigned Bill Peet to write the screenplay for the film adaptation, the first time that a story for a Disney animated film was written by a single person. He condensed some elements from the book and focused on others. Peet completely removed the characters of Cruella’s husband and cat, a second stolen litter of Dalmatian puppies and their father, Prince, and merged their mother, Perdita, with Missis while keeping the former’s name. He also changed the name of the humans from Dearly to Radcliffe, and one of Cruella’s henchmen from Saul to Horace. Pleased with the script, Disney prompted Peet to begin storyboarding. Peet sent Smith some of the material he was working on, and she praised his work stating he had actually improved her story and the designs looked much better than the book’s illustrations.

Pongo, Perdita and a fraction of their puppies.

            By this point in the Disney company’s history, Sleeping Beauty had disappointed at the box office and Disney himself had grown disenchanted with animation to the point of contemplating shutting down the animation division. Only nostalgia and the fact the company was built on it kept it going. This meant Disney was a lot more hands-off than he had been with previous features and allowed art director Ken Anderson to use a Xerox process Ub Iwerks had been experimenting with on the film. It let them put drawings directly onto cells, bypassing the inking process, and allowed them to animate all the dogs and their spots quickly and for a reduced cost. Disney initially disliked the look the method gave the film, but over time came to appreciate it.

Cruella and Nanny.

            Although the look of Cruella was established in the book, Marc Davis took additional inspiration from Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, Tallulah Bankhead and her voice actress, Betty Lou Gerson, in rendering her final design. Her disheveled style originated from old magazine images of hairstyles from the 1940s. The rest of the cast was filled by Rod Taylor as Pongo, Cate Bauer as Perdita, Ben Wright as Roger Radcliffe, and Lisa Davis (who was originally sought for Cruella) as his wife, Anita. Unlike other Disney animated features, the movie only featured three songs; however additional ones were written for it by Mel Leven. 

            101 Dalmatians was released to theaters on January 25, 1961. It quickly became a box office success with $14 million, pulling the studio out of its financial slump. The film was re-released in 1969, 1979, 1985 and 1991, bringing its total box office gross to $215 million. The ’91 release was the 12^th-highest earning domestic film of the year. When it was released to VHS for the first time in 1992, it became the sixth best-selling video of all time. In 1996, Disney produced a live-action remake starring Glenn Close as Cruella. The film was written by John Hughes and directed by Stephen Herek, turning in a $320.6 million box office following its release on November 27. Unlike the animated version, the dogs didn’t talk but the vocal effects for Pongo and Perdita were provided by Frank Welker.

The stars of the show: Roly, Spot, Cadpig and Lucky.

            Following the success of the film, Disney decided to expand on the franchise by producing a new animated series. Walt Disney Television Animation was paired up with the recently-acquired Jumbo Pictures to bring the series to life with Jim Jinkins, David Campbell, Tony Craig and Roberts Gannaway serving as executive producers. The series marked the franchise’s return to animation, using the original 1961 designs as a base with modern flourishes like thicker borders and brighter coloring, as well as some minor design tweaks. Unlike the original film animated entirely in the United States, animation duties were doled out to Disney Animation’s Japan office, Jade Animation, Sun Min Animation, Sun Woo Animation and Plus One Animation.

Promotional image featuring Dipstick, Tripod, Two-Tone, Patch and Wizzer, along with the stars.

101 Dalmatians: The Series took elements from both Disney films and the books in crafting its universe; although the books presented a greater influence to the overall tone than the films. The series shifted focus off of Pongo (Kevin Schon & Michael Donovan) and Perdita (Pam Dawber) and put them on the puppies; specifically the plucky Lucky (Pamela Adlon & Debi Mae West), who had a horseshoe-shaped spot; Roly Poly (Kath Soucie), whose obsession with food often led the pups into trouble; and Cadpig (also Soucie), the runt of the litter and most intelligent of the puppies. Cadpig was a prominent character in the books, but not in the Disney productions before this point. Other pups included the fearless three-legged Tripod (Toran Caudell), the dim-witted Dipstick (Thom Adcox-Hernandez), the accident-prone Wizzer (Adlon for one episode, Christine Cavanaugh the rest of the time), and the fashion diva Two-Tone (Tara Strong).

Patch: show (top) vs. films (bottom).

Initially, Lucky, Roly and Cadpig were joined by two other pups named Patch and Penny, but it was feared that there were too many main characters. Penny was dropped from the show, and Patch was relegated to a minor role voiced by Justin Shenkarow. Patch would go on to have his own starring feature with the direct-to-video sequel 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure in 2003. The Patch in the show, however, differed from the film version in that he was heavier and wore a knotted rope collar.

The pups wrapped up with Cynde.

The pups lived on the Dearly Farm (aka the “Dalmatian Plantation”) run by Roger (Jeff Bennett) and Anita (Soucie), with the help of Nanny (Charlotte Rae). Roger was also a video game programmer as established in the live movie, which also marked the return of the original surname from the books. The farm was populated by a variety of animals, including Spot (Strong), a chicken who hung out with Lucky, Roly and Cadpig and desperately wanted to be a Dalmatian (she was added as a last-minute replacement for Patch and Penny); Cornelia (Tress MacNeille), Spot’s mother who wanted her to act like a chicken; Duchess (Marla Gibbs) and Princess (April Winchell in two episodes, Cree Summer for the remainder), two dairy cows; Mayor Ed Pig (Jim Cummings), the self-appointed leader of the animals; his daughter Dumpling (Cavanaugh), who was in love with Lucky; Swamp Rat (Bennett), a salesman that lived in the nearby swamp; Steven the alligator (Welker), Swamp Rat’s associate who wanted to eat Spot; Lucy (Paddi Edwards), a goose that got angry whenever the pups played in her pond; Cynde (also Welker), a snake who hung out with both Swamp Rat and Steven; and the bullying Sheepdog mix Mooch (Danny Cooksey). 

Lucky with The Colonel and Sergeant Tibbs.

The farm was protected by the Bark Brigade, of which Pongo and Perdita were members. It was headed up by The Colonel (Cummings), a Catalan Sheepdog from the original movie; his trusted ally, an Abyssinian named Sergeant Tibbs (Bennett); Captain (Welker), a horse that helped Nanny with her chores; and Lieutenant Pug (Bennett), a training officer paranoid about a potential feline invasion.

Cruella paying a "visit" to the Dearlys.

Cruella (Winchell, with MacNeille handling two episodes) had moved on from fur and developed a new interest in real estate. She lived next to the farm and constantly schemed on how to get it away from the Dearlys. Aiding her as always was Horace and Jasper (David L. Lander and Michael McKean). Cruella also had a pet ferret, Scorch (Welker), who shared Steve’s appetite for Spot. To diminish their impact on young viewers, the villains were less menacing and more bumbling; comically failing in all their attempts against the farm and the pups.

The Dearly Farm.

101 Dalmatians: The Series was produced for both syndication and Saturday mornings. It began airing on September 1^st, 1997, before making its debut as one of the launch programs for ABC’s Disney’s One Saturday Morning programming block on September 13^th, 1997. It, like all the other programs, were meant to debut a week early on the 7^th, but their broadcast was delayed by the simulcast of the funeral of Princess Diana. The Saturday episodes were exclusive to ABC and were only seen there. The series’ theme was composed by Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn and Tim Heintz, with Mark Watters and Dan Sawyer handling the rest of the show’s music.

Searching for that prosocial message.

The show was developed with consultation from Harvard’s Project Zero, a consortium of child experts that ensured the series upheld the FCC’s strict mandates of cartoons teaching kids prosocial messages. As a result, writers were tasked with having to address an issue in each script they submitted, as well as a solid lesson learned by its conclusion. These elements were included in the series’ publicity packets leading up to the show’s debut along with a synopsis of the episode’s story. Cydne Clark and Steve Granat served as the show’s supervising story editors, as well as two of its writers. Other writers included Mirith J.S. Colao, Ken Koonce, Michael Merton, Bruce Shelly, Anne Baumgarten, Jess Winfield, Fracaswell Hyman, Don Gillies, David Hemingson, Len Uhley, Bruce Talkington, Chris Hubbell, Sam Graham, Thomas Hart, and Carin Greenberg, amongst others. Gannaway wrote several episodes as well. The majority of episodes had two segments, and titles with dog-related puns.

On an adventure.

The series ran through its entire 65-episode run within the season; the Saturday episodes concluding in January of 1998 and the syndicated episodes ending that March. Reruns continued on ABC until 2000, when it was moved to The Disney Channel and then Toon Disney. It gradually stopped airing in various countries until its last known airing in 2013. The series has yet to be released in its entirety to home video, with only “A Christmas Cruella” and “Coup  de Vil” being put out on VHS by Buena Vista Home Entertainment and the three-part “Dalmatian Vacation” on Video CD in the United States, VHS and DVD internationally, and LaserDisc in Japan. The song “Surf Puppies” from those episodes was included on the album The Music of Disney’s One Saturday Morning. In 2017 the series became available to stream on the iTunes Store and Amazon Prime Video, with the exception of the episode “Alive N’ Chicken / Prima Doggy” as the episode was removed from broadcast after the September 11 attacks due to the scene of Spot crashing into a barn. The episode was finally restored when the entire series was made available on Disney+ in 2020.

The Disney Chapter book.

Little Golden Books published three books based on the show: the original The Big Dig, the scratch and sniff sticker book Springtime Fun, and the coloring book Hide-and-go-Seek at the Farm. A Disney Chapter book, Cruella Returns, featured an adaptation of the episodes “You Slipped a Disk”, “Leisure Lawsuit” and “Snow Bounders”. In 1998, McDonald’s included flip car racers in their Happy Meals which featured different characters on either side. McDonald’s located in Wal-Mart stores also offered exclusive curly straws. Caldor offered beanbag plush toys of the main characters along with their Sweethearts Candy. In Japan, fans could get branded keychains courtesy of The Disney Channel.