101 Dalmatians Essay

The 1961 Disney animated feature 101 Dalmatians begins as a wonderful narrative of love, but quickly changes due to the monstrous actions of Cruella de Vil. It all begins with the story of Pongo and Perdita, two Dalmatians, and their owners, Roger and Anita, who fall in love. A few months later, Roger and Anita are married. Not soon after, Perdita delivers 15 beautiful puppies. The night the puppies are born, a childhood friend of Anita, Cruella de Vil arrives. She insists on buying all of the puppies, but the couple refuses. Insistent on having the puppies, Cruella hires two henchmen, Horace and Jasper, to steal the puppies. Pongo and Perdita rely on their dog friends from across London to help return their puppies home. This film can be understood on this level as well as a more analytical level. From analysis, one can come to know some of the social changes that were occurring in society from the 1950s to 1960s; during this time, a new type of woman arose. The villain, Cruella de

In prior decades, women’s lives revolved around the home, but now women were receiving better educations. Women no longer wanted their lives to be consumed by household chores, so they fought for a spot in the workforce. This allowed women gain independence from men. Now, women did not need to rely on their fathers and husbands; they could provide for themselves (Walsh). Cruella de Vil exemplifies the type of strong, independent woman that would become common during the 1960s. In the movie, she shows her strength through her power over her henchmen Horace and Jasper (101 Dalmatians). Cruella is not controlled, but controls men. Cruella shows how women can have power similar to men. Cruella does not rely on a man to provide for her; she does this entirely on her own. This was a new way of living for women that changed, drastically, from the 1950s to