History Literature / TheHundredAndOneDalmatians

The book was adapted several times by {{Disney}} into ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''. Dodie Smith also penned a lesser known sequel, ''The Starlight Barking'' (1967).

** Well, averted by Willow but subverted by Cruella's cat. She is initially hostile to the Dalmatians but the book makes a point that this is only the result of mistreatment by her owner ([[MoralEventHorizon Cruella had drowned thirty-three of her kittens]]), and she befriends the Dalmatians -- we eventually learn that she stayed with Cruella for so long because she knew Cruella was headed for a bad end and she wanted to be there to see it.

* CompositeCharacter: Perdita from the Disney adaptation is a composite of 2 characters from the novel: Missis (Pongo's actual mate) and Perdita (a dalmation brought in to help with nursing duties for the puppies).

Pongo and Missis are a pair of married Dalmatians who have just become the parents of a litter of fifteen. They belong to a newlywed couple, Mr. and Mrs. Dearly, who live in a tiny place near Regent's Park. Their domestic happiness comes under siege, however, when Cruella de Vil, a RichBitch and distant acquaintance of Mrs. Dearly (with an inordinate love of fur), attempts to buy the puppies. When she's told that they're not for sale, she sends her two [[{{Mook}} Bumbling Henchmen]], Saul and Jasper Badun, to kidnap them. When [[PoliceAreUseless Scotland Yard is unable to find them]], Pongo and Missis set out to rescue their puppies themselves, following a tip gained through the secret, nationwide "Twilight Barking" network of dogs.

* VillainBall: There was no reason at all for Cruella to kidnap the Dearly puppies. She already owned 82 dalmatian puppies, which should have been plenty to start her fur farm. The only thing that taking the Dearly puppies accomplished was 1) Wasting money (she paid more to the dog thieves than she had for any litter), 2) Bringing unwanted police attention (before she'd even done anything illegal), 3) Causing her husband's business to be destroyed by 99 extremely irate Dalmatians.

Pongo and Missis are a pair of married Dalmatians who have just become the parents of a litter of fifteen. They belong to a newlywed couple, Mr. and Mrs. Dearly, who live in a tiny place near Regent's Park. Their domestic happiness comes under siege, however, when Cruella de Vil, a RichBitch and distant acquaintance of with an inordinate love of fur, attempts to buy the puppies. When she's told that they're not for sale, she sends her two [[{{Mook}} Bumbling Henchmen]], Saul and Jasper Badun, to kidnap them. When [[PoliceAreUseless Scotland Yard is unable to find them]], Pongo and Missis set out to rescue their puppies themselves, following a tip gained through the secret, nationwide "Twilight Barking" network of dogs.

Pongo and Missis are a pair of married Dalmatians who have a litter of 15 puppies. Cruella de Vil is a RichBitch who attempts to buy said puppies. When she's told that they're not being sold, she sends her two [[{{Mook}} Bumbling Henchmen]], Saul and Jasper Badun, to kidnap them. [[PoliceAreUseless Scotland Yard is unable to find them]], but Pongo and Missis set out to rescue their puppies themselves, following a tip gained through the nationwide "Twilight Barking" network of dogs. Once they get to the bad guys' hideout, they find that Cruella has imprisoned their puppies in her country estate (along with 84 more), with the intent to skin them and make spotted dog-skin coats. Pongo and Missis rescue them all and return home triumphant with 97 dalmatian puppies in tow. A rescued nurse-dog and her long-lost beau round out their numbers to 101, and the Dearlys end up buying the same country estate where the pups were originally held prisoner.

** Well, averted by Willow but subverted by Cruella's cat. She is initially hostile to the dalmatians but the book makes a point that this is only the result of mistreatment by her owner ([[MoralEventHorizon Cruella had drowned thirty-three of her kittens]]), and she befriends the dalmatians -- though she is revealed to basically have stayed with Cruella for so long because she knew Cruella was headed for a bad end, so she patiently waited, wanting to be there and watch when the bad end came.

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Cruella's husband. The dalmatians initially pity him, but the cat tells them not to bother. He's just as evil as his wife, but he's weak and bad, whereas she is strong and bad.
* KidsAreCruel: The boy who meets the dalmatians on their trip across country. He lures them close to him by offering food, then throws rocks at them, injuring Pongo. Pongo at first wants to go back and bite the child in retribution, but Missis talks him out of it, asking him to forgive him because she knows that young creatures can be hurtful sometimes without realizing it.
* TheKlutz: Roly Poly. He's always tripping and bumping into others by accident, which turns out to be a ChekhovsSkill as it's his mishap with a bag of soot that gives Pongo the idea for the dalmatians to disquise themselves as black dogs. In the sequel, Roly Poly's klutziness has only grown with age, as a small clumsy puppy has now become a large clumsy dog whose accidents and bursts of clumsiness are proportionally bigger.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are hints that "de Vil" is not just a MeaningfulName but is a literal description of the members of the family ("de Vil" = "devil"). Cruella is always too cold, loves blazing fires, eats nothing but spicy foods and tastes of pepper when one of the puppies nips her. The sheepdog also tells Pongo stories about an ancestor of hers with hooves and a long tail.

** Also her country estate, Hell Hall (which was originally "Hill Hall" before the de Vil family bought it).
** Nanny Cook and Nanny Butler invoke this deliberately. After they meet and have a good laugh over their names, they decide to train to be an actual cook and butler, since that is what the Dearlys need at the moment.

** The Badduns are two [[ThoseTwoBadGuys bad ones]].
* MulticoloredHair: Cruella. Even more spectacularly by the end of the book; the black half turns white, and the white half turns ''green'', apparently from stress.

* TributeToFido: Dodie Smith's inspiration for the book was her dalmatian Pongo; naturally, she put him into it as the main character.
* VillainBall: There was no reason at all for Cruella to kidnap the Dearly puppies. She already owned 82 dalmatian puppies, which should have been plenty to start her fur farm. She also could have tried to buy other dalmatian puppies. The only thing that taking the Dearly puppies accomplished was 1) Wasting money (she paid more to the dog thieves than she had for any litter), 2) Bringing unwanted police attention (before she'd even done anything illegal), 3) Causing her husband's business to be destroyed by 99 extremely irate dalmatians.

* CompositeCharacter: Perdita from the Disney adaptation is a composite of 2 characters from the novel: Missis (Pongo's actual mate) and Perdita (a dalmation brought in to help with nursing duties for the puppies).

* TheKlutz: Roly Poly. He's always tripping and bumping into others by accident, which turns out to be a ChekovsSkill as it's his mishap with a bag of soot that gives Pongo the idea for the dalmatians to disquise themselves as black dogs. In the sequel, Roly Poly's klutziness has only grown with age, as a small clumsy puppy has now become a large clumsy dog whose accidents and bursts of clumsiness are proportionally bigger.

** Well, averted by Willow but subverted by Cruella's cat. She is initially hostile to the dalmatians but the book makes a point that this is only the result of mistreatment by her owner ([[MoralEventHorizon Cruella had drowned thirty-three of her kittens]]), and she befriends the dalmatians -- though she is revealed to basically have stayed with Cruella for so long because she knew Cruella was headed for a bad end, so she patiently waited, waiting to be there and watch when the bad end came.

* KidsAreCruel: The boy who meets the dalmatians on their trip across country. He lures them close to him by offering food, then throws rocks at them, injuring Pongo. Pongo at first wants to go back and bite the child out of spite, but Missis talks him out of it, asking him to forgive him because she knows that young creatures can be hurtful sometimes without realizing it.

* NotMeThisTime: Cruella in the sequel.

* CompositeCharacter: Perdita from the Disney adaptation is a composite of 2 characters from the novel: Missis (Pongo's actual mate) and Perdita (a dalmation brought in to help nursing duties for the puppies).

* CompositeCharacter: Perdita from the Disney adaptation is a composite of 2 characters from the novel: Missis (Pongo's actual mate) and Perdita (a stray that the Dearlys take in at the end of the book).

* AlienLunch: What Cruella eats (food in bizarre colours, all of which tastes like pepper) could very well be that.

** Well, averted by Willow but subverted by Cruella's cat. She is initially hostile to the dalmatians but the book makes a point that this is only the result of mistreatment by her owner, and she befriends the dalmatians -- though she is revealed to basically have stayed with Cruella for so long because she knew Cruella was headed for a bad end, and she wanted to be there and watch when the bad end came.

* KidsAreCruel: The boy who meets the dalmatians on their trip across country. He lures them close to him by offering food, then throws rocks at them, injuring Pongo. Missus is willing to forgive him because she knows young creatures can be hurtful without realising it.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are hints that "de Vil" is not just a MeaningfulName but is a literal description of the members of the family ("de Vil" = "devil"). Cruella is always too cold, eats nothing but spicy foods and tastes of pepper when one of the puppies nips her. The sheepdog also tells Pongo stories about an ancestor of hers with hooves and a long tail.
* MeaningfulName: Cruella de Vil is cruel and the villain of the book. How unforeseen.

* TheMusical: Surprisingly ''followed'' the book, rather than [[Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians the Disney versions]].

* VillainBall: There was no reason to for Cruella to kidnap the Dearly puppies. She already owned 82 dalmatians, which should have been plenty to start her fur farm. She also could have tried to buy other dalmatian puppies. The only thing that taking the Dearly puppies accomplished was 1) Wasting money (she paid more to the dog thieves than she had for any litter), 2) Bringing unwanted police attention (before she hadn't done anything illegal), 3) Causing her husband's business to be destroyed by 99 extremely irate dogs.

Pongo and Missis are a pair of married Dalmatians who have a litter of 15 puppies. Cruella de Vil is a RichBitch who attempts to buy said puppies. When she's told that they're not being sold, she sends her two [[{{Mook}} Bumbling Henchmen]], Saul and Jasper Badun, to kidnap them. [[PoliceAreUseless Scotland Yard is unable to find them]], but Pongo and Missis set out to rescue their puppies themselves, following a tip gained through the nationwide "Twilight Barking" network of dogs. Once they get to the bad guys' hideout, they find that Cruella has imprisoned their puppies in her country estate (along with 84 more), with the intent to skin them and make spotted dogskin coats. Pongo and Missis rescue them all and return home triumphant with 97 dalmatian puppies in tow. A rescued nurse-dog and her long-lost beau round out their numbers to 101, and the Dearlys end up buying the same country estate where the pups were originally held prisoner.

* AscendedExtra: Cruella's white cat and the Staffordshire Terrier are minor (if important) characters in the original novel, but are major characters in the sequel, and quite a bit of the novel is dedicated to the OddFriendship that springs up between them when they realize they are NotSoDifferent.
* AlienLunch: What Cruella eats (food in bizarre colors, all of which tastes like pepper) could very well be that.

*** And during the Dearleys' dinner party pours huge amounts of pepper over everything before eating it, including the fruit salad.

* BoisterousBruiser: The Staffordshire Terrier. His owners are very proud of him and give him affectionate nicknames like "The Canine Cannon Ball" and "Misguided Missile."
* BrainlessBeauty: Missis is described as very pretty and brave but also somewhat vain, selfish, and baffled by abstract concepts such as "left." Then again, many dogs are.

** Well, averted by Lieutenant Willow but subverted by Cruella's cat. She is initially hostile to the dalmatians but the book makes a point that this is only the result of mistreatment by her owner, and towards the book she befriends the dalmatians -- though she is revealed to basically have stayed with Cruella for so long because she knew Cruella was headed for a bad end, and she wanted to be there and watch when the bad end came.

* DemotedToExtra: Several characters in ''The Starlight Barking,'' most notably Cruella, who is discussed often but only actually appears once -- and even then she spends the entire scene asleep.

* DisneyDeath: Cadpig, who was born nearly dead and was revived by Mr. Dearly.

* GoldDigger: Cruella married a furrier for his money and, of course, all the furs he could give her. She even insists he keep his stock at the house so she can wear anything she likes. [[spoiler:This comes back to bite her on the arse, hard, when Pongo and Missus break into her house and rip the whole lot to shreds.]]

* KidsAreCruel: The boy who meets the dalmatians on their trip across country. He lures them close to him by offering food, then throws rocks at them, injuring Pongo. Missus is willing to forgive him because she knows young creatures can be hurtful without realizing it.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are hints that "de Vil" is not just a MeaningfulName but is a literal description of the members of the family ("de Vil" = "devil"). Cruella is always too cold, eats nothing but spicy foods, and tastes of pepper when one of the puppies nips her. The sheepdog also tells Pongo stories about an ancestor of hers with hooves and a long tail.

* NoNameGiven: The adult couple are simple "Mr. Dearly" and "Mrs. Dearly."
** Several of the dog characters are never named, referred to only as their race, such as the Collie and the Staffordshire Terrier -- though the latter gets many affectionate nicknames from his owners, we never learn his real name and the narrative always refers to him as "the Staffordshire."
* NoodleIncident: The Dearlys can afford a nice house near Regent Park because Mr. Dearly, a financial wizard, had "done a very great service for the government." Later they can afford to move to the country (and buy Hill Hall) because he had done yet another "very great service."

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: In-universe example with Lieutenant Willow, who is known only by her nickname, "Tib," which most hos her friends think ''is'' her real name. She does, however, introduce herself to Pongo and Missis by her real name and is generally called "Lieutenant Willow" by the narrative.
* PimpedOutDress: Cruella always appears wearing [[EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry loads of jewelry]] and a white mink cloak.

* RightHandCat: Cruella's white Persian cat. Subverted, in that the cat hates Cruella and Cruella herself keeps her only because she's a valuable purebred.

* TookALevelInDumbass: The Colonel in the sequel. In the original book, Pongo mistakes him for a bumbler at first but he soon reveals himself as a very smart and competent dog. In the sequel, he's become a genuine bumbler and far less smart than he himself thinks, needing Captain (formerly Lieutenant) Willow to explain things when he misunderstands them -- a very clear ShoutOut to their characterizations in the [[Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians Disney movie]].

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: In-universe example with Lieutenant Willow, who is known only by her nickname, "Tibb," which most hos her friends think ''is'' her real name. She does, however, introduce herself to Pongo and Missis by her real name and is generally called "Lieutenant Willow" by the narrative.

* GoodSmokingBadSmoking: Parodied in the scene where the Staffordshire Terrier is introduced. When Pongo and Missis meet him, he is reading a newspaper page and appears to be smoking a pipe... but it turns out that the pipe is actually made out of sugar, and he's not smoking it but eating it.

* AscendedExtra: Cruella's white cat and the Staffordshire Terrier are minor (if important) characters in the original novel, but are major characters in the sequel, and quite a bit of the novel is dedicated to the OddFrienship that springs up between them when they realize they are NotSoDifferent.

* TookALevelInDumbass: The Colonel in the sequel. In the original book, Pongo mistakes him for a bumbler at first but he soon reveals himself as a very smart and competent dog. In the sequel, he's become a genuine bumbler and far less smart than he himself thinks, needing Captain (formerly Lieutenant) Willow to explain things when he misunderstands them -- a very clear ShoutOut to their characterizations in the [[Disney/OneHunderedAndOneDalmatians Disney movie]].

** Well, averted by Lieutenant Willow but subverted by Cruella's cat. She is initially hostile to the dalmatians but the book makes a point that this is only the result of mistreatment by her owner.

* IllGirl: Cadpig. She's delicate and weaker than other puppies, thus requiring special care.

Pongo and Missis are a pair of married Dalmatians who have a litter of 15 puppies. Cruella de Vil is a RichBitch who attempts to buy said puppies. When she's told that they're not being sold, she swears revenge and sends her two [[{{Mook}} Bumbling Henchmen]], Saul and Jasper Badun, to kidnap the puppies. When [[PoliceAreUseless Scotland Yard is unable to find them]], Pongo and Missis embark to rescue the puppies themselves. Once they get to the bad guys' hideout, they find that Cruella intends to skin their puppies, along with 84 more, and turn them into dogskin coats. Thus, Pongo and Missis take all 97 (in the book, there were 4 adult dogs) dalmatian puppies home with them.

** She got expelled from school and got the skunk stripe in her hair by drinking ink.

* IllGirl: Cadpig

* KidsAreCruel: The boy who meets the dalmatians on their trip across country. He lures them close to him by offering food, then throws rocks at them, injuring Pongo. Missus is willing to forgive him because of this trope, figuring that he's just too young to know better.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: There are hints that "de Vil" is not just a MeaningfulName but is a literal description of the members of the family ("de Vil" = "devil"). Cruella eats nothing but pepper and tastes of pepper when one of the puppies nips her. The sheepdog also tells Pongo stories about an ancestor of hers with hooves and a long tail.
* MeaningfulName: Cruella de Vil is cruel and the villain of the book. Shocking.

* RightHandCat: Cruella's white Persian cat. Subverted, in that the cat hates Cruella and Cruella herself keeps her only because she's a valuable purebreed.

* {{Tear jerker}} The old man who woke up to find Pongo and Missis lying by his fire and mistook them for his childhood pets of the same name. The two dogs play along and comfort him.