Original Production Animation Cel of Pongo and Roger Radcliffe from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961
Original hand painted production animation cel of Pongo and Roger Radcliffe from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Pongo & Roger: 7 x 8 1/2", Image: 8 1/2 x 12"; Unframed.
This wonderful original production animation cel from Walt Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians (101 Dalmatians), 1961, captures one of the film’s most joyful and memorable moments, featuring Pongo and Roger Radcliffe immediately after Roger succeeds in reviving the fifteenth newborn Dalmatian puppy. Pongo looks on with his tongue out and a huge smile, while Roger excitedly holds the tiny puppy wrapped in a yellow towel. The expressions of both characters perfectly convey the relief, happiness, and excitement of the moment. Roger’s exclamation captures the emotion of the scene: “Look, Pongo! Anita! Nanny! Fifteen! We still have fifteen!” Anita responds, “Oh, the dear thing is alright!” and Roger proudly reassures her, “See? He's just as good as new!” Anita then marvels, “Can you imagine, Rog? Fifteen puppies!” The cel beautifully preserves this wonderful moment of family celebration.
Released by Walt Disney Productions in 1961, One Hundred and One Dalmatians was based upon Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel and featured Rod Taylor as the voice of Pongo, Cate Bauer as Perdita, and Betty Lou Gerson as the unforgettable and villainous Cruella de Vil. The film represented a major turning point for Disney animation. Following the enormous expense and disappointing box-office performance of Sleeping Beauty (1959), the Disney studio was seriously concerned about the future of hand-drawn animation. During production of Sleeping Beauty, Walt Disney reportedly told animator Eric Larson, “I don't think we can continue, it's too expensive.” Walt needed to find a way to continue producing animated features while substantially reducing production costs.
The solution came in part through the pioneering work of Disney animator and technical innovator Ub Iwerks, who had been experimenting with Xerox photography as a means of transferring animators’ drawings directly onto animation cels. By 1959, Iwerks had modified a Xerox camera capable of transferring the animator’s original pencil drawings onto the cels, eliminating the labor-intensive hand-inking stage. The process preserved much of the spontaneous character of the animators’ drawings while saving considerable time and money. Its principal drawback was aesthetic: the Xerox process produced a distinctive black, somewhat scratchy outline rather than the smooth, refined lines created by traditional hand inking. For 101 Dalmatians, however, this new visual style became an important part of the film’s distinctive appearance.
Perhaps the greatest practical advantage of the Xerox process was its application to the film’s enormous number of spotted dogs. Animating dozens of Dalmatian characters, each covered with individually positioned spots, would have been extraordinarily laborious using traditional methods. The Xerox process made this task substantially more manageable. The animators approached the placement of spots almost as though they were creating a constellation: once an “anchor spot” had been established, additional spots could be positioned in relation to it until the desired pattern was completed. The result was an astonishing total of 6,469,952 spots throughout the film. Pongo has 72 spots, Perdita has 68, while each of the puppies has 32. The spotted characters thus became not merely a visual trademark of the film but also an extraordinary achievement in animation production.
Pongo was animated by legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston and voiced by Australian actor Rod Taylor, who enjoyed a long career in film and television. Roger Radcliffe, Anita’s husband and Pongo’s owner, best friend, and human companion, was voiced by English actor Ben Wright. Wright also supplied the voice of Rama, Mowgli’s wolf father, in The Jungle Book (1967), as well as Grimsby in The Little Mermaid (1989). Roger’s singing voice was provided by Bill Lee, one of the most prolific and respected singing voices in Disney animation, whose voice can be heard in numerous Disney films.
The composition of this cel is particularly appealing, with Roger and Pongo leaning toward one another in an exuberant moment of shared happiness. Roger’s raised hand, expressive face, and broad smile contrast beautifully with Pongo’s alert eyes, open mouth, wagging excitement, and wonderfully rendered black spots. The newborn puppy, safely wrapped in Roger’s yellow towel, provides the emotional focus of the scene. The cel also offers an excellent example of the Xerox-influenced animation style that helped define 101 Dalmatians, while retaining the remarkable character animation for which Disney was famous. As a scene of celebration, an important moment in the story, and an example of the technological revolution taking place within the Disney studio, this original production cel of Pongo and Roger Radcliffe is a particularly charming and historically significant piece of 101 Dalmatians animation art—and a wonderful addition to any serious Disney animation collection.
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