One Hundred and One Dalmations

Data
Title: One Hundred and One Dalmations
Year: 1961
Length: 79 minutes
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske & Wolfgang Reitherman
Writer: Bill Peet, based on a novel by Dodie Smith
Starring: Rod Taylor, J. Pat O'Malley, Betty Lou Gerson, Martha Wentworth, Ben Wright, Cate Bauer, David Frankham, Frederick Worlock, Lisa Davis
Music: George Bruns (score); Mel Leven (songs)
I saw it: on video many times, most recently yesterday (rented from Netflix)
Synopsis: two dalmations rescue their puppies from becoming fur coats



My reaction
Concept:
Story:
Characters: The protagonists had the potential to be extremely likable, and Cruella De Vil had the potential to be interesting and kind of tragic, but all the focus is purely on action.
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design: It's not the mid-century extravaganza I was hoping for (at least, not after the opening credits are done), and there's no comparison to something like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, but it's still great.
Acting:
Music: Great score, obnoxious songs. Even with only two songs, they're bad enough to balance out an amazingly great score.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay, ). The first ten minutes are charming, sweet, distinctively stylized and absolutely wonderful.  Then Cruella De Vil shows up and it's like a completely different movie - one I couldn't care less about.
Objective Rating (Average):