At the beginning of the year, I read an early preview of a new animated series that’s slated to air on The Disney Channel later on March 18th. Apparently, it’s already premiered in parts of Europe. The series is titled 101 Dalmatian Street.

Here’s the skinny, courtesy of the Disney Wiki:

101 Dalmatian Street is inspired by Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel and Walt Disney’s 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians. But it is has been updated and moved to contemporary London. It depicts the adventures of eldest Dalmatian siblings Dylan and Dolly, parents Doug and Delilah, and 97 younger puppies, all with names beginning with “D”, who live all by themselves at the titular address. Their unseen owner’s name is Dodie (I see what you did there) who lives on an island and has provided her dogs with a state of the art, high tech house.

London’s Passion Animation Studios will lead-produce. Maria O’Loughlin writes, Miklos Weigert directs.

Here’s the show’s intro, WARNING: this tune is going to get stuck in your head!

and here’s a breakdown of the main series’ main characters. This video describes them so I don’t have to:

Our Thoughts:

This sounds interesting. It sounds kind of like a fusion between The Loud House and PAW Patrol.

“It’s two great tastes that taste weird together!”

I do like how all of the dalmatians have “D” names. That’s kind of clever. Also, I think it’s a nice touch how this series focuses on original characters rather than rehashing the characters from the movie. This gives the writers more creative freedom so that they don’t have to rehash the plot of the original movie over and over again. However, it is established that Delilah (the mom) is a descendant of Pongo and Perdita (exactly how is never stated), so that there is a connection to the original story, even if they’re not using same characters. I also like how this story appears to be a straight comedy rather than an comedy/adventure hybrid a la DuckTales. Don’t get me wrong; I like the DuckTales reboot (more than I do the original 1987 series, in fact!), but not every show has to be a saga with ripping yarns every week. Sometimes, I like it when shows just bring the funny.

I also like how this show remembers that the parent characters exist. I know that this will be more about the kids than the adults because this is a kids’ show, but still, the parents (Doug and Delilah) are seen on the show and they have personalities. This isn’t like Peanuts where you never see the adults.

I can already hear some fans on the interwebz crying out…

“Wah-Wah! It’s not the Disney Afternoon show!!”

Or…

“It’s not what I grew up with, so I automatically hate it!”

To the people who have already made up their minds that they dislike this series just because it’s not 101 Dalmatians: The Series, I have to ask:

Was that series really that good?

Yeah, sorry, gang, but I saw several episodes of 101 Dalmatians: The Series, and what was good about it was just OK. Now, I could be saying this because I was already an adult when this show premiered, so I have no nostalgic fondness for it, but for me, the show was the epitome of average. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. It was just a show. I kind of liked Cadpig, but that’s as deep as my fandom for that show went. I’m not sure why the show’s producers thought that Roly would be a good choice as one of the principal characters when his entire personality can be summed up in a single sentence: He’s fat and loves to eat! I could see having Roly as a secondary character, but not one of the principals. Also, I wasn’t expecting the writing to be along the lines of Yes, Minster, but I think that 101 Dalmatians: TS was one of those shows where the younger you are, the more you’ll appreciate it. It wasn’t a Rocko’s Modern Life, Regular Show, Animaniacs or Uncle Grandpa kind of deal, is what I’m saying.

Myself, I’m going to watch a couple of episodes before passing judgment on it. If you happen to prefer 101 Dalmatians: The Series, that’s fine. You do you, after all…

I didn’t mean to dog you out!