Last night we watched 101 Dalmations after buying a remastered copy on Amazon.  Yep, that’s right, the original Walt Disney cartoon from way back in 1961.  The last time I saw this film I was just a wee little boy and Cruela was the most frightening woman a small boy could imagine.  Of course, these far too many years later it doesn’t look quite the same and it is a little odd that all the “adult” characters have English accents whilst all the little doggies talk with American children’s accents.  On the other hand, the artwork behind this animation is just superb.  You look at the incredibly short list of animators responsible by comparison to the screenfuls nowadays that need a specially written 5 minute song to playout while they are being displayed and you wonder how it could have been possible.  When you look at the loving detail and careful craftsmanship of these old Disney cartoons you also wonder if all the increased technology has been worthwhile.  The modern cartoons are very bright and glitzy with lots of special effects but it is a very different kind of artwork.  There is a charm to these old Disney cartoons that is somehow timeless.  By comparison, the modern ones seem cold and impersonal.  I don’t know how emotionally involved modern animators are in their work.  Maybe some of them do really love what they do but I am certain that the animators who worked on 101 Dalmations and the other early Disney classics poured everything they had into their work.   It is good to see that the cartoons have been so well remastered and can be preserved for future generations.  Almost 50 years on from when 101 Dalmations was first released maybe some of those animators are no longer with us but what a legacy of love to leave behind.   Maybe new is not always better …