101 Dalmatians: The Series

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

101 Dalmatians: The Series is an Animated Series based on the 1961 Disney film that ran in both Syndication (as part of what remained of The Disney Afternoon) and on Saturday mornings (as part of ABC's One Saturday Morning) in the 1997-98 season. It was made by the same studio that made Doug. While the show isn't a preschool show, it still has good morals at the end of the episodes, plus little kids probably are already familiar with the characters.

The television show was seen briefly as part of the Disney Junior lineup on Disney Channel and also aired on the Disney Junior network, for whatever reason.

Tropes used in 101 Dalmatians: The Series include:
  • Absentee Actor:
    • In "Home is Where the Bark Is", Spot is out of commission, but she is shown for a split second at one point in the episode.
    • Spot is absent in "You Slipped a Disk".
    • Spot is absent in "Cadpig Behind Bars".
    • In "Horace and Jasper's Big Career Move", the main pups are absent for a majority of the episode. They do appear in the flashback sequences, but they also appear briefly at the very end, and Lucky has one little speaking part.
  • The Ace: Tripod.
  • An Aesop: In almost every episode. (Well, it is from most of the same writers and artists of Sabrina the Animated Series)
  • The Artifact: The prominent "One-oh-one"s in the theme song is apparently a holdover from when the show was going to be titled Dalmatians 101 which they changed at the last minute.
  • Author Guest Spot: Jim Jinkins appears in the final episode as the leader of a cult of alien followers. He also provides a Shout-Out by dressing up like his Author Avatar, Doug.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Cadpig is usually sweet and innocent, but if she ever gets mad, watch out!
  • Big Eater: Rolly, Dumpling, and Ed Pig.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Ivy De Vil so very much.
  • Brother-Sister Incest: Wasn't there an episode where Lucky was hoping to go to party with Two-Tone? Maybe it's different for dogs...
    • Of course, for what it's worth, if we assume that the events that lead up to the series match those portrayed in the original story (with Pongo and Perdita rescuing a whole lot of pups beside their own from Cruella and then adopting them, etc), it would seem that they're only step-siblings.
  • Butt Monkey: Spot.
  • Brainwashed: The townspeople (and, for much of the episode, the Dearlys and the puppies) in "De Vil-Age Elder".
  • Can't Get Away with Nuthin' / Downer Ending: In "Mall Pups," three of the pups and the chicken sneak away from class to attend a mall event featuring the first lady and first dog. They are eventually caught up by the Colonel, do not get to meet either the first lady or the first dog, and are sentenced to a three-week grounding and other punishments.
  • Catch Phrase: Rolly has two known catchphrases: "Oh, papa!" and "Are you calling me fat?" The pups have also said, "Holy Chimmichanga!" a couple of times.
  • Chaste Toons: Anita and Cruella both had nieces.
  • Christmas Episode: "A Christmas Cruella", the inevitable Yet Another Christmas Carol parody. Later released on video.
  • Composite Character: The whole show is a mix of the animated film and the live-action one. For instance, Cruella still owns a fashion company and employs Anita (like in the remake), but she apparently never went to prison (like in the cartoon... maybe).
    • Not to mention the series contains Cadpig who appeared in the book, but was never mentioned in either the animated or live action movies.
  • Cool Old Guy: The Colonel.
  • Cross-Dressing Voices: Lucky, Rolly and Wizzer are all male characters, but their voices are all provided by female actors: Pamela Segall Aldon (Lucky - later, Debbi Mae West), Kath Soucie (Rolly) and Christine Cavanaugh (Wizzer).
  • Cultural Translation: The show is clearly set in the U.S. judging from the accents and the presence of a mailbox reading "US MAIL" at one point.
  • Cute Bruiser: Cadpig.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Some episodes were featured on one character of the cast. LT. Pug, Tripod, Two-Tone, Spot....
  • Demoted to Extra: Pongo and Perdita. See Spin Offspring below.
  • Devil in Plain Sight: Cruella's niece, Ivy.
  • Dog Stereotype: With non-Dalmatians.
  • Don't Ask
  • Dub Name Change: Cadpig is Goliath in some dubs, others Penny (a character from the 1961 movie).
  • Engineered Public Confession: "Dog Food Day Afternoon".
  • Evil Brit: While the rest of the characters are Americanized, Cruella, judging by her accent, remains British. Hmm...
  • Expressive Ears: The dogs' ears droop when they are upset about something.
  • Expy: Being by the same creators and all, Mooch and his gang are very similar to Roger and his gang.
  • Eyedscreen: When Lt. Pug decides to face his nemesis in "Howl Noon," the scene is presented in letterbox widescreen, but then switches box to the normal aspect ratio when Cadpig (who is chained to Pug) pulls them underground to hide.
  • Five-Bad Band:
  • Five-Man Band:
  • Friend to All Living Things: Anita's niece, Amber.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Spot uttering the s-bomb in one episode. In "Un-Lucky", when she, Lucky, Rolly, and Cadpig get trapped and Lucky blames himself for getting them into this predicament due to his misfortune, Spot says, "Ah, stop it. I hate it when you get all whiny and insecure, that's my s***". (Was likely meant to be "that's my stint", but the delivery came out wrong.)
  • Grand Finale: "Dalmatian Vacation".
  • Great Detective: Spot's alter-ego -- Pullet Marlow, Private Chick.
  • Green Around the Gills: In "The Dogs of De Vil", Lucky and Cadpig turn entirely green in a seasickness moment.
  • Handicapped Badass: Tripod, the three-legged dog.
  • Human Ladder: The main pups do this quite regularly. Most traditionally, the lineup is Lucky on top, Cadpig in the middle, and Rolly on the bottom, for obvious reasons. It's even shown twice in the show's opening sequence - curiously, though, in both cases it's Rolly who is on top.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Cadpig believes in world peace and preaches non-violent solutions to problems but then beats up other dogs for insulting her friends or family members or attacks Cruella right after stating her opposition to violence.
  • Idea Bulb: Lucky gets one in Barnboozled when he figures out to drive Cruella out of the barn.
  • I Don't Think That's Such a Good Idea: Spot is Closer to Earth than the puppies and will often voice her concern over their latest Zany Scheme, only to be ignored.
  • Interspecies Romance: Rolly fell in love with Dumpling the pig, and she was also attracted to Lucky.
  • It Runs on Nonsensoleum: When Lucky needs a needle, he finds one by tearing apart the nearest haystack. Cue groans.
  • Jerkass: Lt. Pug, Mooch, Swamp Rat, and the De Vil family.
  • Kangaroo Court: "12 Angry Pups," complete with a public defender who openly states that he believes the defendant to be guilty and a judge who doesn't even try to hide that he's taking bribes
  • Keep Circulating the Tapes: Dalmatian Vacation was released onto video CD in the late 90's very quietly, as did the VHS of 101 Dalmatians Christmas. And after Toon Disney pulled it, it was gone...until it was announced that it would be part of the new Disney Jr channel. And now it looks like Disney Junior has a very limited number of episodes available to repeat... so, back to circulatng the tapes?
  • Large Ham: Cruella and Cecil B. De Vil.
  • Laugh Track: In "You Slipped a Disk," one is briefly played after Lucky accidentally pounces Rolly and Cadpig suggests "Um... Lucky? Next time, why don't you tackle the bad guy?" It comes up again in the episode's second half, "Chow About That?," when she suggests that Rolly is having a "psychic sugar rush."
  • Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: During the Grand Finale, Wile E. Coyote (!) briefly stops chasing the Road Runner to answer the Twilight Bark.
  • Lost in Imitation (again): The premise and cast are a motley mix of all three previous versions. The characters all look (more or less) like the ones from the 1961 film, and Cruella apparently never went to jail, but Anita works for Cruella's fashion company, Roger is a video game developer, their last name is Dearly, and all the new puppies from the 1996 film get secondary roles. And Cadpig, who only appeared in the original book, is one of the lead characters!
  • Little Miss Badass: Ivy De Vil.
  • Little Miss Snarker: Ivy De Vil.

Ivy: I don't mind, Auntie Cruella can FAIL first!

    • And Cadpig.
  • Mad Libs Catchphrase: Cruella's "Memo to myself..."
  • Mad Scientist: P.H. De Vil.
  • Missing Episode: Alive N' Chicken/Prima Doggy. There was nothing wrong with Prima Doggy, but the climax of the former episode caused it to be recognized as the series' lost episode. The plot dealt with Spot thinking she was going to die, and Lucky, Rolly and Cadpig try to help her make the most of her last few moments. Near the end, Spot gets into a makeshift airplane, flies it over the farm and crashes it into a windmill. This episode was pulled from syndication after 9/11.
  • The Movie: The final three episodes of the series were also released as a direct-to-video movie, Dalmatian Vacation (but only in foreign countries), bringing the total number of 101 Dalmatian-themed Disney movies up to five.
  • The Napoleon: Lt. Pug.
  • Off-Model: The episodes animated by Wang Film Productions and Koko Enterprises come into this, albeit for different reasons. Also in play due to other [1] being involved.
  • Out of Order: Since the program began airing on the Disney Junior channel in repeats, the broadcasts began with an episode in the middle of the program's second season and then have been airing in what seems to be an order picked by throwing darts at a board. The recap episode "Humanitarian of the Year" was aired before many of the stories it recaps, while the third part of "Dalmatian Vacation" aired with the first two parts not even anywhere in sight on the schedule. They have also started airing repeats of episodes they have already aired, even though there are still numrous episodes that they haven't, and it's beginning to look like they just don't have those episodes to air.
  • Picked Last: Lt. Pug picks Lucky and Tripod as team leaders for cohesian drils in one episode. Spot is the last picked and Lucky even tries to pick a bucket instead because she is a chicken and the rest are dogs. She gets her own back later in the episode, though.
  • Pounds Are Doggy Prison: The pound that Cadpig gets sent to in "Cadpig Behind Bars" is situated on an island and actually does have cages with bars, a security card system to raise & lower the drawbridge, and a prison yard.
  • "Previously On...": "Dalmatian Vacation", the three-parter.
  • Punny Name: A three legged dalmatian has the name Tripod, and Cruella's relatives P.H. de Vil (a Mad Scientist) and Cecil B. de Vil (a film director). And, oh yeah, Spot.
  • Rent-A-Zilla: Chockzilla, literally rented from an ad agency by Cecil B. de Vil to destroy the Dearly farm.
  • Rich Bitch: Cruella De Vil.
  • Road Sign Reversal: Occurs in the first episode to lure Cruella away from the three main puppies she's chasing after in her car.
  • Scooby-Dooby Doors: Happens when Lucky, Rolly and Cadpig pursue Scorch in "You Slipped a Disk".
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Money
  • Shallow Love Interest: Rebecca, for Lucky.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Lt. Pug will often panic in mundane situations that he mistakes for something much more serious.
  • Shout-Out: In "Mall Pups," Lt. Pug is knocked into a basket of toys which includes a Woody doll.
  • Skunk Stripe: The De Vil family's hair color.
  • Skyward Scream: Rolly in "Chow About That?" "We... missed... LUNNNNCH!!!"
  • Spin Offspring: In a way. Pongo and Perdita, the stars of the film, are Demoted To Extras, while their puppies Lucky, Rolly (both of whom were supporting characters themselves in the film) and Cadpig (who was only named in the book) take the spotlight.
  • This Is Reality: Spot gives the line "This is a real life, not television," in "On the Lamb" when Lucky decides they should pursue Lambo.
  • Those Two Bad Guys: Jasper and Horace. There is even one episode of the series called "Horace and Jasper's Big Career Move" which focuses on the two of them applying for work. This episode takes the focus off Lucky, Cadpig, Rolly and Spot (who don't even physically appear until the end) to focus on Cruella's henchmen who aren't particularly interesting to start with, runs for a whole half-hour, and to top it all off, it's a clip show. This episode tends to be many fans' pick for the series' worst episode. Watch it if you're in desperate need of sleep.
  • Those Two Guys: Whizzer and Dipstick.
    • Also The Colonel and Sgt. Tibbs.
  • Through a Face Full of Fur: In "Spots And Shots", Lucky's fur eventually turns green and his spots turn pink, as well as his nose turning blue and swelling up. This is a result of him not getting the vaccination needed to prevent these symptoms of a highly contagious condition from happening, after he spent the day attempting to avoid seeing the vet.
    • In "Beauty Pageant Pandemonium", an irate Ivy's face turns red when her chances at winning the contest (due to her aunt Cruella's not-so-full-proof plan) turn bust.
    • In "Love 'Em And Flea 'Em", Lucky's fur is turned pink from pink food coloring that Mooch spills intentionally (in an effort to be Two-Tone's date at the dance instead), mixed with water and soap, after being bathed by Nanny. And at the end of the episode/segment, a literally steamed Mooch gradually turns red from bottom to top and steam comes out of his ears when his sabotage fails and Lucky tells him, "Cheer up, Mooch. You look so blue".
  • Title Theme Tune
  • Took a Level in Badass: Spot when she becomes Pullet Marlow.
  • Valentines Day Episode: "Valentine Daze"
  • Weasel Mascot: Scorch, Cruella's pet ferret.
  • You! Get Me Coffee!: When Lucky first meets Thunderbolt in "Watch for Falling Idols," Thunderbolt tells Lucky to get him some lunch - "a mineral water and a croissant, if you can find it." Unlike most instances of this trope, however, Lucky is thrilled to do it, because he's so starstruck.
  1. ↑ mostly Tama Productions, Hanho Heung Up, Toon City and Plus One Animation
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