- “A wonderful cook and housekeeper. She’s such a kind, understanding soul. You know, at times she seems almost canine.”
- ―Pongo describing Nanny
Nanny is a supporting character in Disney's 1961 animated feature film One Hundred and One Dalmatians. She is the housekeeper of the Radcliffe household.
Background
Physical Appearance
Nanny is an overweight elderly woman with gray hair (brown in the second film) styled in a neat bun. She wears a black dress with a white collar, cuffs, and apron. She also wears black leggings and high-heeled boots.
Appearances
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Nanny is hired by Roger and Anita Radcliffe as a cook and housekeeper, wonderful by Pongo's standards, although the Radcliffes seem to see her more as a member of the family than a servant. Within only a few months, she becomes very close to the family and is especially joyful when the puppies finally arrive. When Cruella De Vil visits to offer a buying price for the newborn puppies, she joins Roger and Anita in standing up to her, subsequently refusing her offer. She even called Roger a blooming hero for his courage. Nanny's primarily responsible for watching the puppies when the Radcliffes are not around, such as while they're on walks with Pongo and Perdita. During this time, she grows quite attached to the puppies. One night, while Roger and Anita are out, Jasper and Horace show up to kidnap the puppies for Cruella, posing as electricians to gain entry. Nanny is not fooled by their ruse and declines to let them in with the masters of the house gone. She tries to keep the two crooks out of the house, but they're too quick for her and ram their way in. She puts up a tough fight, but Jasper holds her in the attic (while Nanny throws a teapot at Jasper) while Horace abducts the puppies. After the two thieves depart, she runs downstairs expecting to see the family valuables gone, but discovers that the puppies have been stolen instead, to her horror. She runs out to the street, hysterically crying for help.
Apart from being seen in a newspaper photo, sitting solemnly by the vacant puppy basket, Nanny is not seen again until the end of the movie, just before the puppies return home at Christmas. She serves tea to Roger and Anita as she weeps over her remembrance of the puppies but hurries at once to open the door when she hears the familiar sound of barking. Even though the Dalmatians scatter ashes and soot all over the apartment and its inhabitants from their disguise to hide from Cruella and the Baduns, Nanny's never happier to be reunited with them and dusts them off so they can be recognized.
101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure
Nanny returns for the sequel still as the Radcliffe's housekeeper and cook. She is first heard calling the puppies to dinner. At dinner, she catches Rolly eating a bowl, yet hiding another bowl. She is then seen with Pongo and Patch, giving Patch his collar, having their new address (as they are moving the next day).
Later on, Nanny along with the others arrive at the Cherry Tree Farm and begin to get used to it (though they don't know that Patch is missing). One day, as Nanny is doing the laundry, Roger finds out that Patch isn't with them, and they leave, leaving Nanny behind to take care of the puppies.
One night, she heard the song of the Kanine Krunchies startled, then finding out that Jasper and Horace once again have tried to steal the puppies, chasing the Badduns with her frying pan, though eventually they put her in the well, terrified.
At the end of the film, after the police help her escape from the well, she tells the police that Jasper and Horace had put her in the well and stole the puppies, though they then state it had been Cruella who made them to do it and is behind of the dognapping the puppies, planning to turn them into a fur coat.
101 Dalmatians: The Series
Nanny appears as one of the main characters in 101 Dalmatians: The Series.
In "Home is Where the Bark Is", she gets mugged, and the muggers take her purse whilst walking the puppies, but Lucky retrieves it. This act is what convinces Roger that it's time to move out of the city and to the country.
She does numerous chores on the farm, such as using a bicycle attached to the Chow Tower to pour out the pups' kibble. Other chores include gardening, painting, housework and getting rid of Cruella's surveillance cameras.
She also mentions her family sometimes. In "Southern Fried Cruella", it is said she has a sister named Franny, whom she later visits in "Leisure Lawsuit". Another family member she mentions is her brother, whom, she tells Horace, is a cop.
The series also establishes a relationship between her and Horace, first spawning when Horace tells Nanny that she has beautiful eyes in "Home is Where the Bark Is". In "Frisky Business", Horace tries to help her, but she turns him down. However, when they work together to get Lucky, Rolly, Cadpig, Spot, and Cruella's car returned, Nanny gives Horace a kiss on the cheek. Horace then makes her a Valentine cake in "Valentine Daze". Nanny slams the door in his face when he greets her, but once she learns what Horace intended to give her, the two have tea together.
Another person who falls in love with Nanny is the Baron in "Cupid Pups". He claims when he tasted his boiled radish in pickle sauce, he knew she was the one. He proposes to her, but she turns him down since someone's got to look after the Dearlys. The Baron takes it easy, figuring it's for the best, but requests some radishes to go. Nanny has also achieved the honor of "Humanitarian of the Year".
Whilst the series bible claims Nanny was Roger's nanny, this detail appears to have been changed later in production, as the episode "Southern Fried Cruella" has Nanny say she did Anita's diapers.
Gallery
Trivia
- Nanny almost resembles Merryweather, one of the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty, due to them having the same similar faces. However, she actually resembles all three of the fairies.
Variants
- Nanny (101 Dalmatians)
- Nanny (Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Pongo and Perdita)
