Deconstructing the 101 Dalmatians Ad & Review
Paper 1 - Textual Analysis
Vivian Hoa
Fall 2012 - CMC 100
September 21, 2012
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Abstract
In this paper I will conduct a textual analysis of the 101 Dalmatians DVD ad and review
in the September 2012 issue of Empire magazine. I argue that the ad, when merged with the
DVD review, functions to distinguish 101 Dalmatians from other Disney films and justifies a
lower budget production. All of which, is done with the overall intent to persuade consumers to
buy the DVD. I will discuss the ad/review’s distinction from other Disney films and justification
of a lower budget production by looking at different aspects of the ad/review, such as: the
audience (targeting families and film enthusiast), the claims of being limited and ‘the original’
(limiting access to consumers and claims being better because it is ‘the original’), and the
production value (it was not low budget but just cheaper to make and distinctive ‘look’).
Although can be considered as just an advertisement and review, I argue that consumers need to
be aware of the construction of the two and how they are made to convince people to watch or
buy certain movies.
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Magazines have become an integral part of modern society, and can be used in numerous
ways to influence the readers. Ads and reviews are particularly created to convince or advise
people to buy into the product they are attempting to sell. It is the job of marketers to convince
people to watch a certain movie or buy a particular DVD, but it is the job of the consumers to
decide if they want to. Through a textual analysis of the 101 Dalmatians DVD ad and review in
the September 2012 issue of Empire magazine, I argue that the ad when merged with the DVD
review functions to distinguish 101 Dalmatians from other Disney films and justifies a lower
budget production. This is done with an overall intent to persuade consumers to buy the DVD. I
will demonstrate my argument through an analysis of the target audience, claims of being limited
and ‘the original’, and the production value. Every ad is made to be viewed and every review is
written to be read, the important aspect of the two, is to whom.
The target audience is a way in which the ad and review distinguishes 101 Dalmatians
from other Disney films and justifies a lower budget production. The ad depicts the act of
watching television as a family affair by directing the initial focus to the ‘family’ of Dalmatians
sitting on the floor watching television together. Ironically, this ad also self-promotes itself by
illustrating the movie families should watch together as none other than 101 Dalmatians. The ad
is supported by the review, in which key words and phrases are used to target a certain audience.
Although the movie is primarily for young children, ironically enough, the review does not target
them. As evidence, the review uses phrases such as, “sparkles” and “an utterly charming
creation” to appeal to parents. Meanwhile using phrases such as, “dastardly dognapping”, and
“canine meet-cute to the cliff-side stunts” to distinguish itself from other “charming” Disney
films and possibly reaching an audience of ‘dog lovers’. The ad/review also targets film
enthusiasts. The fact that the movie 101 Dalmatians was showcased in Empire, a magazine
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created for people who love the movies, illustrates the quality of the movie. To be presented
through an ad/review in Empire, a magazine all about movies and created for people who love
movies, the movie 101 Dalmatians has been elevated to a higher taste of movies (“Empire Media
Kit 2012”, 2012). Therefore, further distinguishing it from other Disney films and proving that
low budget films can have a high quality to them.
By making the 101 Dalmatians DVD appear limited and pointing it out as ‘the original’,
the ad/review makes the movie stand out. On the lower left corner of the ad, there is the release
date of the DVD as it comes out as “Blu-ray only”. This elevates the status of the DVD as being
anticipated and having better quality, in which other Disney films might lack. The release date
also serves to limit the audience on when they can get the DVD, and in what format, which is
evidently “Blu-ray only”. Off to the lower right corner there is an “Extras” feature as part of the
review. This section serves to display the “extra” features this DVD has, in which no other
versions hold. Thus limiting the “Extras” to only those who buy this DVD of 101 Dalmatians,
and it also serves to make a distinction with other Disney films, because these features are
unique to this DVD. The review also distinguishes the movie as better than the remakes because
it is ‘the original’. For example, “It’s been remade in live action and sent up in a Mr. Burnscentric Simpsons episode…but the original 101 Dalmatians still sparkles, an utterly charming
creation.” Stated directly in the review as to why the original 101 Dalmatians movie is better, it
also takes the claim that nothing can beat ‘the original’.
The production value is mentioned in the review and depicted through the ad as a means
to distinguish 101 Dalmatians from other Disney movies and justifies its low budget cost. The
review itself serves to tell the reader why they should by this DVD. For example, “Ratcheting
down the level of detail seen in Sleeping Beauty, which had cost Disney a fortune a few years
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before, the loose, sketchy animation in this tale of dastardly dognapping gels perfectly with the
urbane dialogue and breezy music.” This quote was taken directly from the review, which as
written to persuade readers to buy the 101 Dalmatians DVD, to convince consumers that this
movie is different from all the other Disney movies. This excerpt shows not only an attempt to
distinguish the movie from other Disney films, but also to justify the lower budget production by
trying to pull it off as a ‘creative choice’. The review argues that unlike Sleeping Beauty, 101
Dalmatians was created using “loose” and “sketchy” animation not because they had a low
budget, but because that was how they wanted the film to be depicted, as an urban and slightly
fast-pace Disney movie. And as a result of their ‘creative choice’, the production of the movie
cost Disney a lot less. As support, the ad gives readers a visual. As a clip from the actual movie,
the ad shows the audience how the “loose” and “sketchy” animation actually looks like and how
it compliments the focal point of the movie, the Dalmatians. Looking at the ad, the background
embodies the “loose” and “sketchy” aspect of the animation because it visually fades to the
‘background’ with the unclean lines and relatively muted colors. Whereas the main attractions,
the Dalmatians, stand out in distinctive colors of white and black, and drawn with clean lines.
The importance of this argument, which is the purpose of the 101 Dalmatians ad/review,
is to distinguish itself from other Disney movies and justify a lower budget production, all the
while persuading consumers to buy the DVD, is found in the affect it might have on the readers.
The target audiences are families and film enthusiast, who are being convinced to buy another
Disney DVD, specifically 101 Dalmatians, because it is better than other Disney movies, despite
it’s lower production cost. Consumers need to be wary when looking at movie ads or reading the
reviews because they are both geared towards one thing, selling the product, in this case is the
101 Dalmatians DVD. Ads are made to attract certain audiences to watch that particular movie,
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and reviews are written to convince consumers that they should buy that movie. They are both
made strategically and with a target audience in mind. Consumers should look at ads with a new
light and not only see the ‘cute’ family of Dalmatians watching TV together, but understand why
this image was placed here for this ad. And it is extremely important for consumers to recognize
the careful phrasing in reviews, which serve to sell the movie itself and the DVD, and not be
bought into everything they read. Marketers are trained to come up with elaborate ads and
targeted writing in reviews to influence our decisions. We are surrounded by advertisements and
companies telling us what we should buy and what we should watch, I think people should open
their eyes to these things and decide for themselves.
“On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this
work.” – Vivian Hoa
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Bibliography
“Empire Media Kit 2012,” Empire Magazine, Accessed September 20, 2012,
http://assets.cougar.nineentertainmentco.com.au/assets/Empire/advertise-withus/Empire_Digital_Sales_Pack_Final_-_Packages.pdf.