The film was originally released to theaters on January 25, 1961, by Buena Vista Distribution, and was a box office success, pulling the studio out of the financial slump caused by Sleeping Beauty, a costlier production released two years prior.Aside from its box office revenue, its commercial success was due to the employment of inexpensive animation techniques—such as using xerography during the process of inking and painting traditional animation cels—that kept production costs down.