Did Disney ever consider adapting Dodie Smith's sequel to 101 Dalmations?
In 1961 Walt Disney adapted Dodie Smith's 1956 children's novel, The One Hundred and One Dalmatians into an animated feature film, 101 Dalmatians.
In 1967 Smith wrote a sequel to her novel titled, The Starlight Barking, which has a somewhat radical departure from the first novel by having a science-fiction-like mystery behind the plot.
The wikipedia page states that,
Disney archivist Dave Smith said that he was unaware of any considerations for adapting the novel although Walt Disney was interested in doing another project based on Smith's further writings.
This seems a bit contradictory, since most likely Walt Disney (or other execs at the company, as Walt passed in 1966) would have known of and followed her other works, if he was interested, despite that the archivist couldn't find specific evidence.
So I was wondering if there is evidence anywhere else that shows or suggests Disney (the person or the company) ever thought about optioning this second novel for an animated sequel?
Best Answer
To the best of my knowledge, Disney's only foray into further development was the live-action sequel 102 Dalmations (2000), which was actually the sequel to the 1996 live-action remake of the original film. Another 101 Dalmations movie, 101 Dalmations II: Patch's London Adventure (2002) had nothing to do with the original or sequel books.
As Walt himself passed away the year before the The Starlight Barking was written, he obviously couldn't invest in the project. After Walt died, Disney Studios mostly abandoned animated projects for the next decade. The Jungle Book was released in 1967 (and was in production when he died), The Aristocats was released in 1970 and Robin Hood was released in 1973.
Oddly, Disney did eventually produce a Sci-Fi movie about extraterrestrial animals visiting Earth; The Cat From Outer Space was released in 1978 and was largely panned by critics.
Pictures about "Did Disney ever consider adapting Dodie Smith's sequel to 101 Dalmations?"
Is there really a sequel to 101 Dalmatians?
Walt Disney's beloved animated masterpiece 101 Dalmatians is a spot-on, puppy-filled adventure! Join a heroic cast of irresistible tail-wagging characters as they set out to rescue Pongo and Perdita's puppies from Cruella de Vil, the most fabulously outrageous villainess of all time.Is 101 Dalmatians owned by Disney?
Smith had the idea for the novel when one of her friends observed a group of her Dalmatians and said "Those dogs would make a lovely fur coat". The novel has been adapted by Disney twice, an animated film in 1961 called One Hundred and One Dalmatians and a live-action film in 1996 called 101 Dalmatians.Why did Dodie write 101 Dalmatians?
Their parents, Pongo and Perdita, set out to save their puppies from Cruella, in the process of rescuing 84 additional ones that were bought in pet shops, bringing the total of Dalmatians to 101.Dodie Smith | Where to Begin
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