The Dalmatians are Back!

Get ready for outrageous fun in Disney's 102 Dalmatians. It's a brand-new, hilarious adventure, starring the audacious Oddball, the spotless Dalmatian puppy on a search for her rightful spots and Waddlesworth, the wisecracking, delusional macaw who thinks he's a Rottweiler. Barking mad, this disparate duo leads a posse of puppies on a mission to outfox the wildly wicked, ever-scheming Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close). Filled with chases, close calls, hilarious antics and thrilling escapes all the way from London through the streets of Paris - and a Parisian bakery - this adventure-packed tale is wacky good fun your entire family will want to howl over again and again.

Title: 102 Dalmatians
Release: November 22, 2000
Genre: Family
MPAA Rating: G
Based On: The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
Writer: Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan
Director: Kevin Lima
Music By: David Newman
Produced By: Edward S. Feldman
Distributed By: Buena Vista Pictures
Run Time: 100 minutes
Official Site

Four years after Disney’s success with their first live-action remake of one of their animated films, it was decided that the live action film deserved a sequel, 102 Dalmatians. It wasn’t quite as big of a hit theatrically as 101 Dalmatians (which had been one of the top 10 highest grossing films of 1996), even with Glenn Close reprising her role as Cruella; however it did receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design.

Of all the two live action Disney films based on Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians, I personally think 102 Dalmatians is the best. Not because of the plot (which even I have to admit was original) or even because of the cuteness of the Dalmatian puppies, no what makes this better than the first film is Waddlesworth. In 101 Dalmatians, the comic relief was mostly thanks to Horace (Mark Williams) and Jasper (Hugh Laurie) but in this one, it all rests one the wings of one bird who believes himself to be a dog (but he doesn‘t mimic, he talks).

There has been a lot of grumbling over the years about this sequel with many people saying it was “ridiculous” but then these same people applaud the first film, which was so full of plot holes I’m surprised the puppies didn’t fall through them. Of course being a sequel, there were some corners cut so while I still think this was better than the first film, it isn’t one of my favorites. Still, there are some great parts like the re-creation of the scene from Lady and the Tramp and Waddlesworth’s lines. I also have to give credit to Glenn Close, whether she’s Ella or Cruella she was the second best thing in this film.

Related Posts: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (animated) & 101 Dalmatians (live- action)

Links: Wikipedia, Imdb.com, Digital Dogs (Computer Graphics Article)

Trailer:


Opening Credits:


Music Video:

Making the Magic Real

Unleashing every ounce of Disney magic, 101 Dalmatians thrills audiences of all ages with fast-paced adventure and comedy -- featuring a brilliant performance by five-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close (including Best Actress, Dangerous LIASONS, 1988) as Cruella De Vil. Achieving new heights of hilarity, Disney's all-time classic puppy tale comes to life as a worldwide box office sensation. In their small London flat, Dalmatians Pongo and Perdy, and their human "pets" Roger and Anita, are overjoyed by the arrival of 15 puppies. But when the spotted-fur-loving Ms. De Vil and her clumsy cohorts, Jasper and Horace, dognap the litter -- along with every other Dalmatian pup in London -- Pongo and Perdy must rally the town's animals to the rescue. The plan hurls them towards a thrilling climax filled with uproarious moments as the puppies attempt to outwit their captors and bring on a final showdown with Cruella!

Packed with one of the largest and cutest collections of puppies ever brought to film, 101 Dalmatians also features a superb cast of talented humans, including Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson and Joan Plowright.

Title: 101 Dalmatians
Release: November 18, 1996
Genre: Family
MPAA Rating: G
Based On: The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
Writer: John Hughes
Director: Stephen Herek
Music By: Michael Kamen
Produced By: John Hughes
Distributed By: Buena Vista Pictures
Run Time: 103 minutes

Official Site

In 1961, the Walt Disney Company brought Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatian’s to the screen in beautiful Technicolor animation. Thirty-five years later, they brought it back in a new format: live-action. Although this first live action 101 Dalmatians film claims to be based on Ms. Smith’s story, it is actually based on the original Disney animated creation, including using dialogue directly from it.

Marc Davis was one of Walt Disney’s best animators and one of the original Nine Old Men but he also happened to be the creator of one of the scariest villainesses of all time: Cruella de Vil. Even though Dodie Smith did create her first, Davis gave her a different look, a more flamboyant attitude and in my opinion, made her even scarier. How anyone would ever be able to impersonate her in a live action film was going to be a challenge, if not down right impossible, yet Glenn Close took Cruella to a completely new level. Sure, she’s not as amazing as the animated Cruella, but she almost is. However, she’s still not the star of the film… that would be the Dalmatian’s themselves.

Another thing the film had going for it, besides the cuteness of the Dalmatian puppies, is the comedy. At times, it even has a bit of a Home Alone feel to it but that is no great surprise since the director of this film, Stephen Herek was also the director of those movies. One of the people who is the comedy relief team in the film has actually become very well known today by playing the main character in the TV show House. Yes, Hugh Laurie plays Jasper (although it has been said he was offered Roger’s part) with little of his sharp, cutting wit, but his presence is definitely felt whenever he is on screen and no one, not even Cruella herself dwarfs that.

There is a good reason why the motto of Hollywood is “never work with children or animals”, but films in which an animal is a main character have usually done well in theaters. There was just no way that audiences would be able to stay away from a film with so many animals (there were over 200 Dalmatians alone) in it. I know for a fact that I’ve always been a sucker for Disney dog movies myself, add in the fact that there are supposed to be 101 Dalmatians (some are computer animated, which is kind of obvious when viewing it today) not to mention the cows, raccoons, sheep, and other dogs… you could easily have a disaster on your hands but instead this film was one of the highest grossing movies of 1996. It even helped a couple of sequels (one live action, one animated) as well as an animated TV series be made too.

Related Posts: One Hundred and One Dalmatians

Links: Wikipedia, Imdb.com
Interview: Glenn Close on Charlie Rose Show 11-28-96 (video 2:00-21:55 min.)

Trailer:


Cruella Behind the Scenes: