The original animated feature appeared while Disney was shifting away from fairy-tale adaptations and toward more contemporary children’s stories. 101 Dalmatians was released in early 1961, amid the likes of Swiss Family Robinson and The Parent Trap, and just a few years before Mary Poppins. The Starlight Barking was published in 1967, well after the success of the animated adaptation of the original novel, and with a considerable pop-culture cache in its corner. However, the sequel novel took the story in what can only be described as unexpected directions.

The Starlight Barking is not really about Cruella, who appears in only a single scene for a glorified cameo. ( What the book is actually about is bonkers, by the way, and I don’t think I could spoil it if I tried.) Still, she makes every moment of it count. Xtreme Kool Letterz: Kloes That Klank, Cruella's second business venture after the dalmations destroy her fur business, involving plastic raincoats that make clanking noises. Right from the outset the reader is presented with a mystery as to why all humans, birds, insects, horses, mice, pigs, cows, cats … etc have fallen into a deep sleep. But not, of course, dogs, and oddly one child and one cat.

The 1956 children's book and its 1967 sequel contains examples of:

Took a Level in Dumbass: 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 Shout-Out to their characterisations in the Disney movie. He still shows that he's no slouch when it really counts, though. The Great Dane at Hampstead - Owned by a Professor who studies crowd psychology, he suspects Sirius of inciting mass hysteria for nefarious ends, though he soon comes to see this is false. Cadpig - Pongo and Missis' twelfth-born and smallest puppy. As an adult, she accompanied Mr. Dearly to meet the Prime Minister and indicated she wished to stay at 10 Downing Street with him, becoming famous on TV speeches sitting next to her new master. She becomes Prime Minister during the crisis and is able to handle the situation with her parents' help and her own naturally "bossy" nature. Genre Shift: The Starlight Barking, the sequel to the original book, is a fairly bizarre departure from the mundane (except for the sentient animals) setting of the first book featuring Sirius, Lord of the Dog Star, a Sufficiently Advanced Alien who, concerned about the possibility of nuclear war destroying dogkind, causes all humans and other animals to fall into an unnaturally deep sleep. This is likely a significant part of the reason why the sequel never saw a film adaptation and has subsequently been almost forgotten. What I enjoyed most about the novel was the story itself which takes on a bit of a science fiction slant which I was not expecting at all and since I don't want to ruin it for anyone who may read it let me just say that I thought it was rather unique to have that in a child's book about dogs and I think Dodie Smith did a lovely job incorporating the science fiction aspects into her book in a way that wasn't to high brow for children to understand and like. I think the fact that the book offered something different was wonderful.

The Dalmatians are nearly captured by Romani people, and one of the Barking Network dogs points out how conspicuous they are and helps them break into a chimney sweep's establishment, where they roll in soot to disguise themselves. They travel across the fields and spend part of an evening in a cathedral; Cruella nearly overtakes them when they are forced to return to the road, but they hide in an empty removal van at the invitation of a Staffordshire terrier whose "pets" own the van and are returning to London that night. Spell My Name with a "The": Cadpig is almost always called "the Cadpig" as a nod to her name (a cadpig is the smallest piglet of the litter). Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: There are hints that "de Vil" is not just a Meaningful Name 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 "a long tail".This book centers around Pongo and Missis, the main characters from the 101 Dalmatians and a few of their pups plus some other beloved characters that appeared in the first book as well as the Walt Disney animated film of the same name. In this book the dogs wake up to a world filled with silence in which canines are the only animals awake, well the dogs, and 3 honorary dogs which include two cats and a young boy named Tommy. The Staffordshire - a powerful, impulsive but good-hearted Staffordshire Bull Terrier. He helped the Dalmatians in the first novel and is reunited with them in London. He initially dislikes cats but becomes an honored friend of The White Persian when he shows he is willing to help her kill Cruella if necessary. In both the live-action and animated adaptations, there is only one nanny, Missis and Perdita were combined into one character, and other characters, such as many of the other dogs, Prince, Tommy, Cruella's cat, and Cruella's husband, were omitted. In the animated film, Pongo and Missis' owners' last names were changed to "Radcliffe" from "Dearly", and in the live-action film, Cruella (portrayed by Glenn Close) appears as the spoiled magnate of an haute couture fashion house, " House of DeVil". Disney kept the book's characters Horace and Jasper Baddun in both versions, but represented them as the thieves hired by Cruella to steal Pongo and Missis' puppies. In the novel, Horace is named Saul, and they are merely caretakers, the puppies having been stolen by hired professional thieves some days before.

In Trafalgar Square, Tommy, the cats, the Dalmatians, and the General meet with thousands of other dogs to wait. At Midnight, after a strange euphoric moment followed by a moment of terror, Sirius, the Lord of the Dog Star, appears on Nelson's Column. He explains to all the dogs that he is lonely and is offering them the chance to avoid the pain of possible nuclear war in the future. However, they must come with him of their own accord. He assures them the world, when it wakes, will not remember dogs ever existed, and that all dogs will be free and know true bliss in the stars. Malaproper: Missis isn't good with large words. For example, she gets offended when she learns the Dearlys will found a "nasty din" of dalmatians, only for Pongo to explain what a "dynasty" is. The anxious parents find that Cruella has imprisoned their puppies in her country estate (along with 82 she had previously acquired), with intent to make Dalmatian-skin coats. Pongo and Missis rescue them all and return triumphant with 97 puppies in tow. A rescued nurse-dog named Perdita and her long-lost beau round out their numbers to 101, Cruella and her husband end up financially ruined, and the Dearlys buy the same country estate where the pups were originally held prisoner. Hill Hall ("Hell Hall" to the locals), the country manor belonging to Cruella's family where the puppies are kept.Brainless Beauty: Missis is described as very pretty and brave but also somewhat silly, vain, selfish, and baffled by abstract concepts such as "left". Then again, many dogs are — and Pongo is very aware that while Missis may not be as clever as he is, she has better instincts. She has become a lot hardier and more down-to-earth by the end of the book. Perdita and Prince - a married couple of liver-spotted Dalmatians, and the parents of eight of the stolen puppies from the first novel. They are left in charge of the Dearlys' household while Pongo and Missis go to London. Pimped-Out Dress: Cruella always appears wearing loads of jewelery and "an absolutely simple white mink cloak." Served with this utter look, our ostensible hero Mr. Dearly, whose dogs Cruella will shortly steal, peers down his nose and says, “Isn’t she a bit showy?” and truly, I don’t see how Smith could have expected anyone to root for him after that.

Like Brother and Sister: At one point, Pongo reflects that he does think of Perdita as a second mother to his and Missis' puppies, but that he loves her like a younger sister rather than a second wife. The Three Strays - a deputation sent to Pongo on behalf of all the lost, stray, abused, and homeless dogs in England. It is their undying hope and desire to one day find loving owners which convinces Pongo and the other dogs to stay with their own masters. George, the Foreign Minister - a fat, clumsy but cosmopolitan Boxer. He and Roly Poly become good friends after realizing they are much alike, and together they take a short visit to Paris. Named for Foreign Secretary George Brown. The Dearly family and most of the Dalmatians of the first book still live in Cruella de Vil's old manor house in Suffolk, as do many of the other rescued Dalmatians and a married couple of White Persian cats. Mr. Dearly has allowed some dogs to go to new masters, including giving Cadpig to the Prime Minister.

Get your paws dirty!

Although The Hundred and One Dalmatians has been adapted into two films (the animated One Hundred and One Dalmatians and live-action 101 Dalmatians), and each version has a sequel film ( 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure and 102 Dalmatians), neither sequel film has any connection to The Starlight Barking. [3] Release and reception [ edit ] The White Cat's Husband - another white Persian cat. While a beloved member of the family, he is not made an honorary dog and thus does not wake with his wife. He stretches out and takes over the bed while she is gone, much to her annoyance.