Animation in the 1960s – it’s a 101 dalmatians review!

Hi there! This week, I’ll be bringing you guys back to some of the classic films which i remember seeing in the past. Instead of the normal film-acting type of movie, i’ll be going into animation for this week’s topic and its none other than the 1961 disney classic, 101 dalmatians! Not as well-known as its princess films, but still really well-made with many engaging details in it. I definitely recommend that you guys give this a shot even after my little review, it’s a really nice little watch.

So for a short synopsis, 101 dalmatians is a story where a lovesick dog finds another dalmatian, somehow managing to get his owner entangled as well. They end up being together and have a couple of cute little puppies together. Unfortunately, like many other disney flicks, there’s your villain who takes them away (for a fur coat, oh the humanity) and their parents go on an epic journey to save them.

Along the way, well….it turns out that making a fur coat out of dalmatians requires more than a single litter, so there are many more other puppies being kidnapped as well. So begins the adventure of 101 dalmatians. Now, me choosing this particular movie does seem kind of weird, I want to point out some key pointers which I felt is relevant to things which we can apply in our everyday life. First up, i would like to point out how when several animals discover that there were so many puppies hidden away, they never hesitated to plan to help out these puppies despite how the original plan was to rescue the 15 of them.   Sometimes, we tend to be too focused in only looking out for those who are related to us, since there’s a real, tangible value to it. Why should we be involved with things which doesn’t bring us any direct positive feelings? Who are all these people who we do not have any connection too?

However, in this little gem, we do see all of these animals doing their best – because they’re all in need of help, that little assistance to help them up. Although all of these animals are not in the same predicament as their doggy counterparts, it isn’t necessary for one to have the same circumstances to sympathise and help out as much as possible.

Admittedly, it is pretty tough to maintain this type of attitude, especially in tough situations. However, through constant practice such as CIP events and having positive feedback from one another through groups such as BF (only one such example, there are many out there!), it is possible to eventually develop a habit of having empathy for the less fortunate and suffering around us so that we are able to help out those in need.

That’s it for this week. Also, i’m happy to tell you guys that Pei Si and I will be writing more of these articles! She’ll be bringing in a new perspective. I hope that you guys will enjoy more of our work together in the months to come.

- Wei Xing