One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

Walt Disney was considering shutting down his animation unit after the box office failure of Sleeping Beauty (1959). But when Ub Iwerks and art director Ken Anderson came upon a method of xeroxing drawings directly to animation cells, it allowed Disney to make this film for just over half of what the previous picture had cost. With its stylized backgrounds and a strong story about two dalmatians that enlist other animals to help them rescue their pups before the iconic villain Cruella De Vil can turn them into a coat, the film was the top-grossing animated feature of its time. Re-releases have pushed ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS over the $300 million mark. Adjusted for inflation, that makes it the second most successful animated film ever, behind Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).  

d. Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske & Wolfgang Reitherman, 79m, DCP