Adapted from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, the film was directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wolfgang Reitherman in his feature-length directorial debut, from a script by Bill Peet.

[a] It features the voice talents of Rod Taylor, J. Pat O'Malley, Betty Lou Gerson, Martha Wentworth, Ben Wright, Cate Bauer, Dave Frankham, and Fred Worlock.

The film's plot follows Pongo and Perdita, two Dalmatians who give birth to a litter of fifteen puppies, who are later kidnapped by the obsessive socialite Cruella de Vil, wanting to make their fur into coats.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians was released in theaters on January 25, 1961, to positive reviews from critics and was a box-office success, grossing $14 million domestically in its original theatrical run.

When Scotland Yard is unable to find the puppies or prove Cruella was involved, Pongo and Perdita use the "Twilight Bark", a canine gossip line, to solicit help from the other dogs in London, and eventually all of England.

On the farm of a retired cavalry officer, the Colonel, a military-like Old English Sheepdog, along with his feline compatriot Sergeant Tibbs, investigate the nearby "Old De Vil Place", where puppies had been heard barking two nights earlier.

They take shelter from a blizzard in a dairy farm with a friendly collie and four cows, then make their way to Dinsford, where they meet a Black Labrador waiting for them in a blacksmith's shop.

The Labrador helps them board a moving van bound for London, but melting snow falls on Lucky and clears the soot off of him, blowing the dogs' cover.

Upon removing the soot and counting the massive family of dogs, Roger chooses to use his songwriting royalties to buy a big house in the country so they can keep all 101 Dalmatians.

Additionally, the film features Mickey Maga, Barbara Beaird, Mimi Gibson, and Sandra Abbott as Patch, Rolly, Lucky, and Penny,[17] Dalmatian puppies from Pongo and Perdita's litter.

[45] By February 1957, screenwriter Charles Brackett brought it to the attention of Walt Disney,[46] who acquired the film rights to the novel on November 26 of that year[47] (after lengthy negotiations)[48] for $25,000.

[51] Peet closely followed the plot of Smith's novel, but condensed some of its characters, which included Cruella's husband and cat,[27] as well as Cadpig, the female runt of Pongo and Missis' puppies, whose traits were transferred to Lucky in the final film.

[53] Among other things, Peet retained a scene from the original book in which Pongo and Perdita exchange wedding vows in unison with their owners, who were also renamed from Mr. and Mrs.

[54] Also, the film's original ending involved the newly rich Roger selling his song about Cruella and buying the Hell Hall to turn it into a Dalmatian Plantation, with Pongo and Perdita expecting another litter of puppies.

[58] Lisa Daniels was originally cast as Perdita and recorded about the third of her lines but then got married and moved to New York;[23] Cate Bauer replaced her for the rest of the film.

[62] Betty Lou Gerson, who was previously the narrator for Cinderella (1950), auditioned for the role of Cruella De Vil in front of Marc Davis, the character's supervising animator, and sequence director Wolfgang Reitherman, and immediately landed it.

[69] Inspired by the aesthetic, Anderson experimented with a Xerox copier to directly transfer the animators' drawings onto transparent cels, thereby eliminating the inking process.

"[70] For the stylized art direction, Anderson took inspiration from British cartoonist Ronald Searle,[71] who once advised him to use a Mont Blanc pen and India ink for his artwork.

[75] By January 1959,[76] Mary Wickes, who had played the maid Katie in The Mickey Mouse Club serial Annette,[77] was hired as a model for Cruella De Vil.

[47] To promote the film, an updated version of the 1957 Disneyland episode "The Best Doggoned Dog in the World" was aired on ABC on February 12, 1961,[29] featuring the footage from One Hundred and One Dalmatians instead of scenes from Old Yeller (1957).

[102] One Hundred and One Dalmatians was first released on VHS on April 10, 1992, as part of the Walt Disney Classics video series;[103] 11.1 million copies had been sold by June of that year.

[109] The set included a behind-the-scenes documentary Redefining the Line: The Making of One Hundred and One Dalmatians, two additional featurettes – Cruella de Vil: Drawn to Be Bad (dedicated to the talents behind the creation of the eponymous character) and Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney (covering Disney's correspondence with Dodie Smith), deleted songs, a virtual gallery of concept art and other production photos, theatrical trailers, radio and TV spots.

[112] In North America, it was released on Diamond Edition Blu-ray and Digital HD on February 10, 2015,[113] featuring a new making-of featurette Lucky Dogs,[114] the animated short The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt (based on the Thunderbolt TV show in the film),[42] a 1961 version of the Disneyland episode "The Best Doggoned Dog in the World", and several bonus features from the previous DVD release.

[117] Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote, "While the story moves steadily toward a stark, melodramatic "chase" climax, it remains enclosed in a typical Disney frame of warm family love, human and canine."

"[120] Harrison's Reports felt all children and adults will be "highly entertained by Walt Disney's latest, a semi-sophisticated, laugh-provoking, all cartoon, feature-lengther in Technicolor.

[123] Ralph Novak of People wrote "What it lacks in romantic extravagance and plush spectacle, this 1961 Disney film makes up for in quiet charm and subtlety.

The website's critics consensus reads, "With plenty of pooches and a memorable villain (Cruella De Vil), this is one of Disney's most enduring, entertaining animated films.

Set 60 years after the original film, the show mostly focuses on a completely new family of Dalmatians, (who are descendants of Pongo and Perdita) who all live without a human in Camden Town.

[135] A live-action version of Cruella De Vil is featured as one of the main antagonists in the fourth season of the fantasy television series, Once Upon a Time (produced by Disney-owned ABC Studios).

[143] In the first Kingdom Hearts game, a side quest consists of Sora tracking down the 99 puppies whose world has been destroyed and returning them to Pongo and Perdita, who have been given shelter in Traverse Town by Squall Leonhart.