We’ve been studying Disney’s 101 Dalmatians with the goal of a closer look at several facets of
the movie. These are the elements that
require a better in-depth study than the ones you can find in a simple
newspaper review or on YouTube. So far,
we’ve covered the original book that the film was based on. We have also made the case that the film deserves
to be seen as more than just a kid’s flick.
In the last post of this series, I made the case that
the film should properly be seen as part and parcel of sub-genre known as
psychological horror. In other words,
what I ask is what happens when we look at the film as a straightforward
stalker thriller? The last post was a
set-up. The ground rules for this
particular genre were laid out. I also
introduced the film’s most iconic character, Cruella de Vil, as exhibit A as
the main reason why the film fits in nicely with works like Wait Until Dark, or Peeping Tom. This entry is
meant to be the pay-off.
In this essay I intend to drive the point home. I hope to prove that Dalmatians operates in well within the boundaries of the Gothic
psychological thriller. To do this, I’ll
have to show the thematic connections and allusions the film has with others of
its type. There are two sources that I
think help set the context for how Disney’s feature should be viewed and, more
importantly, read, in terms of their
basic setup and conflict. Those films
are the original 60s version of Cape Fear,
and the last is Clint Eastwood’s first foray into the psychological thriller, Play Misty for Me.
In this case, the conflict revolves around
what happens when ordinary people find themselves confronted with a sociopath
bent on destroying the protagonists at any cost. The plot layout is simple enough that we can
isolate and focus on the connective strands of all four films based on an
examination of their protagonists and villains. The final piece of the puzzle comes from
examining the characters and their narrative as part and parcel of a Gothic
setting and story. It’s surprising how
much you can discover about a story just by examining the genre it’s related
to. The Gothic underpinnings of Dalmatians add a final folktale
ingredient which manages to tie all loose ends together.