On this day in 1961, ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’ debuted in theaters. The story was based on a novel of the same name by Dodie Smith. Dalmatians Pongo and Perdida must rescue their puppies and the Dalmatians of London from the clutches of vile villain Cruella de Vil. The film used Xerox photography to transfer drawings directly to cels. This saved significant money and time, reviving the studio financially, but also giving the animation a scratchy appearance. [65 years ago in 2026]