101 Dalmatian Street

101 Dalmatian Street
🎵 This is a dog's world, There's a whole lotta love to give! 🎵
Genre: Comedy Running Time: 11 minutes Country: United Kingdom Canada Release Date: March 18, 2019 – February 22, 2020 Network(s): Disney Channel Disney+ Created by: Bill Peet (original 1961 film) Joonas Utti & Anttu Harlin (concept) Distributed by: Disney Media Distribution Starring: Josh Brener Michaela Dietz Rhashan Stone Ella Kenion Seasons: 1 Episodes: 52

101 Dalmatian Street is the second animated series in the 101 Dalmatians franchise, following 101 Dalmatians: The Series in 1997. It is produced by Passion Animation Studios in the UK in conjunction with Atomic Cartoons in Canada. It aired on Disney Channel in the UK on March 18, 2019 to February 22, 2020, and was released on Disney+ in Canada on February 28, 2020.

Plot

The adventures of Dolly and Dylan and their 97 brothers and sisters, along with mom Delilah and dad Doug.

Why It Gives Out A Great Howl

1. Unlike the other attempts to bring back the 101 Dalmatians franchise, this series is more faithful to the original movie it is based on.
2. Extremely fluid animation that almost resembles a comic book, much like The Loud House.
3. Unique designs for each of the pups, sometimes even matching their personalities.
4. Smart writing, with clever humour and creative plots that don't get recycled (with only one exception…)
5. Likable and unique characters such as Dylan, DJ, Dawkins, Diesel, Deepak, Triple D, Dante, Da Vinci, Delgado, Dizzy, Dee Dee, Dorothy, and the list goes on!
   • Fergus, a sneaking and cunning but friendly fox who just so happens to be Dylan's best friend, is also a likable character.
   • The same can also be said for most of the other supporting characters, like Hansel Husky and Roxy Rottweiller.
   • Some of the minor and one-shot characters - such as Summer, Spike, Chips, Prince Corgi and Doctor Dave - are also likable.
   • Dolly, despite her below-mentioned issues, can also be likable at times since she does try to fix her mistakes and genuinely cares for her family and friends.
6. Catchy theme song and credits song, along with many amazing songs and a great music score.
7. Heartwarming moments, like at the end of "Poetry Scam".
8. The show effortlessly weaves in a story arc about Cruella De Vil, all culminating in the epic finale "The De Vil Wears Puppies".
9. Many funny moments and running gags throughout the show, such as the "trigger word" gag.
10. There are a lot of great episodes, including:
    • "Dog's Best Friend" (which started this show on a positive note, serving as a good introduction to the family)
    • "Boom Night" (a fun parody of The Purge with a lot of action and comedy)
    • "Power to the Puppies" (a great introduction to Diesel with the best part probably being The Lion King reference)
    • "Walkies on the Wild Side" (a nice official introduction to Fergus and gives about a good moral that you don't have to be cool to be respected)
    • "Winter Funderland" (another fun episode; this time being about the weather)
    • "Poetry Scam" (the song "Dolly's Rap" can say it all)
    • "Doggy Da Vinci" (not only the best episode of the whole show; but has possibly some of the best animation from Atomic Cartoons)
    • "Flea-Mageddon" (yet another fantastic parody of a horror movie; this time being 28 Days Later)
    • "The Nose Job" (a well-done start for the two-part specials as well as the first episode of the Hunter Story Arc)
    • "Girls' Day Out" (a chilling episode with a bond between Dolly and Delilah)
    • "Fetch" (depending on your view, a fun satire on the Amazon Alexia but had a terrible ending)
    • "London, We Have a Problem" (another one of best episodes of the whole show with a great story and very likable characters like Dorothy and Hunter De Vil)
    • "Fox in the Dog House" (depending on your view, another Fergus-centric episode that was weaker than the other, but fine nonetheless)
    • "Poodlewolf!" (one of the funniest episodes of the show; and about Dylan's favorite video game)
    • "The Longest Night" (just a howling fun time; being "The Curse of the Ferrydog" done right)
    • "Poodlefall!" (depending on your view, it is weaker than "Poodlewolf!", but is still fun)
    • "Yappily Ever After" (this episode is a happily ever after for being a nice take on a Cinderella story)
    • "Better the De Vil You Know" (a great follow-up from "London, We Have a Problem")
    • "The De Vil Wears Puppies" (which ended the series on a high note in airing order; and if season finale; we would have learned more about Cruella De Vil)

Bad Qualities

1. Despite the nice animation, it can at times look stiff. Not to mention, some of the characters - like Clarissa and the humans - can look rather mediocre at best.
2. Even after 101 Dalmatians: The Series, there are still a handful of bad or mediocre episodes. Some of them include:
   • "All Fired Up" (a boring and dull episode that is not too exciting, and is a weak satire on the firedog stereotype)
   • "Perfect Match" (depending on your view, Roxy is a very likable character, but it is one of those episodes where Dolly acts like a jerk)
   • "Crushed Out" (an awful introduction to Portia Poodle)
   • "The Wow of Miaow" (Dimitri Trio at their worst, nuff said)
   • "A Summer to Remember" (depending on your view, had very disappointing execution for a two-part special)
   • "Long Tongue Day" (it is like "A Summer to Remember" but more mean-spirited)
   • "Don't Push Your Luck" (a rehash of "Walkies on the Wild Side" that replaces Dylan and Furgus as the lead roles to Dolly and Big Fee)
   • "The Curse of the Ferrydog" (one of the worst episodes that is a rehash to "Dal-Martians" but with Dylan suffering from unnecessary torture)
   • "Balancing Act" (arguably the worst episode of not just this show; but also one of the worst Disney cartoon episodes ever produced, where Dolly suffers from great flanderization and has an extremely stupid story; not to mention the climax is a rehash to the one from "A Summer to Remember")
   • "Dotty Dancing" (another episode where Dylan get in love with Portia and suffers from unnecessary torture)
   • "Puppy Dreams" (which ended the series on a sour note in production order; an extremely lazy filler episode that is basically a compulation of the internet shorts with wraparounds)
3. Much like Urusei Yatsura, it can sometimes get mean-spirited. Thus, there are several unlikable characters:
   • Dolly can be an insufferable jerk at times, especially towards Dylan, and most of the time she doesn't get any comeuppance for acting rudely. "Balancing Act" is a good example of her notorious side, since she frames her brother for tearing the family portrait and refuses to own up at the end.
   • Triple D, while likable for the most part, can be quite annoying due to their over-the-top brattiness. Dallas alone deserves special mention for using her brattiness to annoy Dylan and Dawkins in "It's My Party".
   • Dante, while sometimes likable, is a rather one-note character as his only schtick is to constantly yell about the end of the world. He can also be really unlikable and stupid at times, especially in "The Curse of the Ferrydog" where he helps Portia to "zombify" Dylan with her cruel Cerberus prank.
   • The Dimitri Trio are perhaps the least tolerable of the Dalmatian pups, as they solely exist to be troublemaking jerks who like to mess with their sibling for their own amusement. They also NEVER get any comeuppance for their bad behaviour (e.g. The Wow of Miaow and Fetch), and are completely pointless in general - if you removed them from the show, it would be entirely the same.
   • Dylan, while likable for the most part, can be unlikable at times due to his bossiness and habit of overthinking things - in "A Summer to Remember", for example, he is very racist towards the Cornwall locals. He also has a horrible judge of character, since he trusts characters such as Bessie and Hunter De Vil despite them being scheming antagonists (although Hunter did redeem himself in the above-mentioned finale).
     • Dylan may also be a butt-monkey in some episodes like "The Wow of Miaow" and "The Curse of the Ferrydog".
   • Dizzy and Dee Dee, while fairly likable and much nicer than Dolly, can be a tad too naïve and stupid to root for at times - a good example of this is "The De Vil Wears Puppies", where they are so moronic that they actually think that Cruella is a nice person and let her into their house. Like the Dimitris, they also NEVER get any proper punishment for their actions (e.g. bullying their little sister Dorothy in "My Fair Dolly").
     • Speaking of Dorothy, she is also, like Dylan, a major butt-monkey in a few episodes, like "London, We Have a Problem" and "The De Vil Wears Puppies".
   • Clarissa Corgi is a very annoying and insufferable high-class stereotype who despises the Dalmatians and has attempted to get rid of them for petty reasons - for example, she uses Dylan to infect the pups with fleas by giving him a flea-infested moon rock in "Flea-Mageddon".
   • Portia Poodle is extremely obnoxious and creepy, as she has frequently made Dylan the victim of stalking (in "Crushed Out") and has attempted to get rid of him (in "The Curse of the Ferrydog and "Dotty Dancing"). She also has not much personality outside of being a gothic poodle who messes with Dylan for petty reasons.
   • Sid Squirrel and Big Fee Rat are incredibly pointless characters who solely exist to be obnoxious and manipulative jerks who also happen to be Fergus Fox's sidekicks. Big Fee is also a bad example of a gross-out character who lacks any funny moments whatsoever, unlike Sid (who can be funny at times).
   • Bessie the Cornish Cow, the main antagonist of "A Summer to Remember", is possibly the worst character in this show, period. Not only is she a really weak twist villain (as she is set up to be nice only then to be revealed to have caused all the incidents that happened to the Dalmatians in the first place), but she is also incredibly petty as she attempts to outright murder the entire Dalmatian family just because the pups accidently hit her with balls and Dylan was racist to the locals. To make matters worse, she gets away with all of this!
4. The character development in this show is practically nonexistent - the more obnoxious characters like Dolly and the Dimitris never change their ways and remain the same insufferable jerks for the whole series, Destiny and Dallas never learn to be nicer and less bratty, Dizzy and Dee Dee never learn anything from their poor decisions and Dante never learns to become less annoying and stupid. Additionally, Dylan never gets over his crush on Portia despite her stalking him in "Crushed Out" (although he does later call her out in "D-Factor").
5. The two short series based on the show - 101 Dalmatian Street Shorts and Animals vs. Humans - aren't well-received.
   • 101 Dalmatian Street Shorts, despite having decent concepts, doesn't always execute them well - additionally, there is barely any dialogue in the shorts.
   • Animals vs. Humans is just Dylan and Dolly watching live-action videos of, well, animals and humans. Not to mention, the series is rigged so that animals always win.
6. While rare, there can be gross-out humour at times - for example, Deepak pees on a camera light at one point in "The Woof Factor", and there are some burp and fart jokes here and there (e.g. Big Fee farting at the end of "Long Tongue Day", the Dimitis belching in "Winter Fun-derland", Deja Vu's habit of breaking wind whenever relaxed or stressed.).

Trivia

• Michaela Dietz, voice actress of Dolly, is also Amethyst on Steven Universe.
• Although it was released as a Disney+ exclusive first, the show started airing on Disney XD in the United States on March 29, 2021.
• Frédéric Martin, one of the directors, previously worked as the director and one of the writers for Dude, That's My Ghost!, and would go on to become one of the writers of Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life.
• A few of the writers and storyboarders like Barry Reynolds, Krystal Georgiou, Ciaran Morrison and Mick O'Hara previously worked on Space Chickens in Space.
  • A few more storyboarders like Max Loubaresse and Bianca Ansems previously worked on The Amazing World of Gumball. Bianca Ansems would go on to storyboard one episode of Elliot from Earth.
• Due to executive meddling, the show was cancelled after only one season.

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