101 Dalmatians: The Series is an American animated television series that aired from September 13, 1997, to March 4, 1998, on the Disney-Kellogg Alliance and ABC. It was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Jumbo Pictures and is based on the 1961 Disney animated feature film of the same name and its 1996 live-action remake. It features the voices of Pamela Adlon, Debi Mae West, Kath Soucie and Tara Strong, and is the first television series based on the 101 Dalmatians franchise; it was followed by 101 Dalmatian Street in 2019. It is notable for being the first series to air on ABC's One Saturday Morning programming block.
Many staff members previously worked on the Timon & Pumbaa television show. Doug creator Jim Jinkins and his partner David Campbell both were developers of the series.
Premise
The show focuses primarily on three puppies: Lucky, TV addict leader and unconventional hero; Rolly, his cheerful, laid-back, and always-hungry brother; and Cadpig, their uncanny but loveable sister who is the runt of the family. The three siblings are often joined by Spot, a chicken who wants to be a dog and a member of the Bark Brigade. Early promotional material had listed dictatorial Penny and mischievous Patch as two other puppy cast members, but the highlighted puppies were whittled down to three so Penny was dropped and Patch was no longer a main character. Unlike the original film, but like the 1996 live-action film, the series is set in England in the 1990s, on the Dearly Farm.
Other puppies appearing in the show included the fearless, three-legged Tripod, the friendly dimwitted Dipstick, the constantly urinating Wizzer, the fashion-conscious diva Two-Tone, and the Sheepdog mix, Mooch, who serves as the farm's bully. Patch also makes occasional appearances, though with a different personality than originally promoted.
Characters
Main
- Lucky (voiced by Pamela Adlon and Debi Mae West) is the most plucky of the puppies and is unique in having his only spots in the shape of a horseshoe on his back. He is the leader of the main pups and is very adventurous and determined to do whatever he thinks is right. But he is very obsessed with TV and he is usually the one at fault when the main pups get into trouble.
- Cadpig (voiced by Kath Soucie) is the smallest of the puppies and one of the most intelligent, if not deluded somewhat by her abstract state of mind. She is unique in having long floppy ears and a big head. She has a kind-hearted personality, is quite strong for her size and can have a very strong temper.
- Rolly (voiced by Kath Soucie) is always hungry; almost all his decisions are based on food, which sometimes gets him and the pups into trouble. However, he is a cheerful and diligent sibling, especially when it comes to his incredible sense of smell. He's also very timid and is an easy target for bullies due to him being such a foodie.
- Spot (voiced by Tara Strong) (credited as Tara Charendoff) is a chicken who wants to become a dalmatian. She is the most intelligent of the main four and is a voice of reason for the foursome, but is more often than not ignored. She is easily scared and is prone to literally bouncing off the walls. But she is a great dancer and appears to be good at math. She is also able to fly to some extent. In certain episodes, she acts as a private investigator and sports an alter-ego by the name of Pullet Marlowe.
- Roger (voiced by Jeff Bennett) and Anita Dearly (voiced by Kath Soucie) are owners of the 101 Dalmatians and the Dearly Farm.
- Cruella de Vil (voiced by April Winchell and Tress MacNeille in 2 episodes) is now a corporate criminal and most of her plans revolve around getting richer, tormenting the dalmatians and plotting to steal the Dearly Farm. Her frequent catchphrase in the series is "Memo to myself", followed by whatever her current scheme is or sometimes her emotional state, uttered into her personal recording device.
- Horace (voiced by David Lander) and Jasper (voiced by Michael McKean) are Cruella's henchmen. They are usually hired to carry out her plans and generally fail, due to their lack of intelligence.
Supporting
- Pongo (voiced by Kevin Schon) is the father of fifteen puppies, the adopted father of the eighty-four orphaned pups and the husband of Perdita. He is Roger's devoted pet.
- Perdita (voiced by Pam Dawber) is the mother of fifteen puppies, the adoptive mother of eighty-four orphaned pups and the wife of Pongo. She is Anita's beloved pet.
- Nanny (voiced by Charlotte Rae) is Dearlys' caretaker who helps Roger and Anita around the Dearly Farm, also helps with feeding the dalmatians from the huge Chow Tower that she operates with a bike.
- Mooch (voiced by Danny Cooksey) The series was developed by Jim Jinkins, who had previously created Doug and Allegra's Window for Nickelodeon, and his partner David Ray Campbell, both serving as executive producers alongside Bobs Gannaway and Tony Craig, who were previously the supervising producers of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, another television adaptation of a Disney animated feature film, being The Lion King. The show used the thick-and-thin line approach from Hanna-Barbera's 2 Stupid Dogs, another television series which Gannaway and Craig previously worked on. On March 4, 1998, the show aired its last episode with reruns continuing to play in syndication through August 28, 1998.
Reruns of the show aired on Disney Channel from 1998 to 1999 and Toon Disney from September 1, 1998, to March 9, 2007.<!-- through January 30, 2006; March 2007 -->
On March 23, 2012, the show returned to television as a launch title for the Disney Junior channel, but only about half of the episodes aired and most of them were edited down. On September 3, 2013, the series was removed from Disney Junior's lineup.
Home media
While the series as a whole never made a true home media release either on VHS or DVD, the episode, "A Christmas Cruella", was released on VHS in 1998, which also contained the episode "Coup De Vil" as a bonus episode. This was also released on DVD in the UK.
The 3-part series finale, "Dalmatian Vacation", was also released on VHS and Laserdisc in Japan, which included two songs that were exclusive to this release and not on the TV broadcasts of the trilogy of episodes.
Streaming
The series has been available on the iTunes Store and Amazon Prime Video since February 2017, with the exception of the episode "Alive N' Chicken"/"Prima Doggy". In May 2020, the entire series became available on Disney+ in Australia, and on the US version of Disney+ on June 19, 2020, with all 65 episodes listed as one season and arranged in release date order, including "Alive N' Chicken"/"Prima Doggy".