Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #17: Towser and Lucy

The “Twilight Bark” can bring you the canine-related news, but “The Animation Commendation” will bring you the Disney canon-related news! And today, we venture into Disney’s 17th animated feature, “One Hundred and One Dalmatians”. Released in 1961, the film was a great success and became loved by us all. It was a thrilling film of how far one goes to save one’s family.

It also provided us with a slew of characters to remember and cherish forever such as the Radcliffes,

Pongo and Perdita,

the other 99 Dalmatians,

Jasper and Horace,

and of course, the villain herself Cruella de Vil (who I actually like more than Maleficent)!

The problem with these popular and classic Disney films is choosing a forgotten/minor character. Pretty much everyone in this movie is remembered and loved. And the others who aren’t either don’t have much to write about or I hesitate in choosing them. And this film is no exception.

Similar to “Peter Pan”, I had a few characters in mind to choose from. The first was the collie who offered the weary Dalmatians a warm shelter for the night with nourishment.

And although he’s not on the screen for a long time, the scene is quite memorable, hence making him memorable, so that was out.

Secondly, I thought maybe the black labrador at the end would be a good choice.

He honestly can be easily forgotten, but because his appearance coincides with the climax of the film, he becomes memorable too.

Thirdly, I was going to cheat and use the characters from the “What’s My Line” spoof, “What’s My Crime”.

It’s the show that Jasper and Horace are watching in Hell Hall. But since that was “a film within a film”, it didn’t seem ethical to choose it.

So sadly, I had to choose Towser and Lucy!

I really didn’t want to choose them because I honestly don’t think they’re quite forgotten. But, they are indeed minor and they are the only minor characters that I can actually write about. So let’s take a look at these two.

Towser is a dog who lives in Withermarsh and is near the end of the “Twilight Bark” chain. He gets the message of the fifteen puppies stolen and passes it onto the Colonel, Sergeant, and Captain who are important and vital in rescuing the puppies.

Oh no, they’re not what you think! They look more like this, actually!

That’s pretty much all Towser does in the film. Once the news reaches Pongo and Perdita that their puppies have been located, they are instructed by Danny to meet up with Towser who will then take them to the Colonel. But, Pongo and Perdita get a bit lost and instead find the Colonel themselves. I wonder what happened to Towser. He’s probably still there waiting for Pongo and Perdita to arrive. Poor guy!

Ok, so that’s Towser, now who’s Lucy? Well, Lucy is…a goose.

Yeah, she’s a…goose! She’s Towser’s friend who loves to hear gossip, but she’s….a goose! She is interested in hearing about the stolen puppies, but she’s….a goose! Why is she a goose?! What is the reason that the animators felt that Towser needed a companion, and to top it off, one who was a goose?! There must be some logic in choosing her to be a goose!

Oh, is that the only reason she’s a goose, because Towser needs a friend who can hold his ear up? And no dog could have done it, and only a goose could?! Aargh! Anyway, I don’t hate this character, I’m just puzzled about why the character was chosen to be a goose. Maybe in the original book, she’s a goose. And if so, why again? Oh well, enough bickering!

Wrapping up, Towser and Lucy are my choices of the forgotten/minor characters of this extremely enjoyable and well-made Disney classic!