Review: 102 Dalmatians (2000)
Harvey S. Karten
Reviewed by Harvey Karten
Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Kevin Lima
Writers: Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker, Noni
White, story by Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan, novel by
Dodie Smith "The One Hundred And One Dalmations"
Cast: Glenn Close,, Ioan Bruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim
McInnerny, Gerard Depardieu
In his pan of the 1996 picture "101 Dalmatians,"
distinguished online critic James Berardinelli held that the
movie "belongs in the dog house" because it's "unnecessary
(the animated version is perfectly adequate)...with one
overriding aim: to sucker parents into buying spotted
paraphernalia for their children." If so, that original live
version ironically runs counter to what could be its subtext: to
warn children of the way the fur industry causes wholly
unncessary suffering--cruelly trapping, killing (by stabbing or
electrocution), and skinning an assortment of animals to
please the taste of bourgeois clients. I missed "101" but had
been told by an enthusiastic audience member that the
picture nonetheless did convey an important anti-fur
message, though I'm skeptical. Any animal rights intent may
have been too subtle to be caught by the young. Morever,
given the level of violence (however cartoonish) in the
present film, "102 Dalmatians," I'd question the wisdom of the
MPAA in granting the movie a "G" rating. Remember that
this Disney work is not animated. Cruel things happen to
person who, though moronic or vulnerable simply do not
deserve the treatment they get. Kids are likely to leave the
theater with the impression that a person can be pummeled
like a pancake and then sit in an industrial bake oven with a
probable temperature of about 450 degrees Fahrenheit,
emerging as nothing more than the merely humiliated
centerpiece of the confection.
Version one dealt with the devilish doings of the aptly
named Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close), who uses her millions to
capture five-score and one Dalmatian dogs to be fashioned
into a fur coat--giving her 15 minutes of fame in the high-
fashion industry for her creative imagination. Having served
part of her sentence in a London jail, she enters "102"
reportedly rehabilitated, thanks to the conditioning she
received by a Skinnerian psychologist. Though her cynical
but blandly attractive parole officer, Chloe (Alice Evans), is
skeptical that a woman like Cruella can be cured, she has no
choice other than to monitor the woman's behavior closely
and toss her back into her cell should she regress into her
fleecephile fantasy.
The one good feature of "102 Dalmatians" is Assheton
Gorton's production design, which can at least educate the
kids in the audience who think that the United States is the
entire world that there is a timepiece known as Big Ben and
an edifice called the Eiffel Tower that tourists to New York
simply cannot see. Otherwise, director Kevin Lima, using a
committee-drawn screenplay, shows his disdain for the five-
to-nine-year-olds in the audience by thinking that they will sit
transfixed while gazing at an idiotic servant, Alonso (Tim
McInnerny), who is persistently used as a doormat by his
grandiose employer (played over-the-top as expected by Ms.
Close) and the goody-two-shoes Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd) who
romances the pretty Chloe thinking that he has a chance to
capture her attention when four-legged canines are her whole
life. Gerard Depardieu was never before as wasted as he is
in this one, driven to following Cruella's orders and repeatedly
pronouncing the species of his captives with the francophone
term "poopies."
Of course, since this is not an animated feature, we can't
help being amazed at the skill of the trainers, Mark Forbes,
Larry Madrid, and their assistants, who keep the pups and
their parents romping merrily about--though the concept of a
parrot who thinks he's a Rottweiler simply does not fly. I also
get the impression (correct me if I'm wrong) that all the pups
who are picked up by their humans are females lest
something appear on the screen that could doom the "G"
rating.
Rated G. Running time: 101 minutes. (C) 2000 by
Harvey Karten, film_...@compuserve.com
--
Steve Rhodes
102 DALMATIANS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Cruella De Vil is back with a new name -- "just call me Ella" -- and now
she is a real sweetheart who is ready to lead protests against fur
fashions. She is dogdom's number one friend. "What!" you say.
Did I forget to mention her treatment under Doctor Pavlov (David
Horovitch) who has cured her of her evil ways? This is lucky for her
since a judge (Timothy West) has sentenced her to give all of her money
to the 2nd Chance dog shelter if she is ever caught dognapping again.
Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd from SOLOMON AND GAENOR) runs the shelter, and he
and Chloe (Alice Evans), Ella's probation officer, form the story's love
interest. If you suspect that Ella will revert to her nefarious alter
ego, you would, of course, be right.
Let me say upfront that for whatever reason, probably thanks to director
Kevin Lima (TARZAN), 102 DALMATIANS is much better than it's immediate
predecessor, 101 DALMATIANS. (Neither, however, is better than the
animated original.) Glenn Close, having a ball chewing up the scenery,
is terrific, but it's the dogs that make the show.
The best dog of the bunch has to be the eminently lovable Oddball. A
Dalmatian who hasn't gotten his spots yet, he is obsessed with them. He
suffers from such spot anxiety that Chloe has to spell out the word
("s-p-o-t") when she's around him. This lack of dots gives Oddball lots
of opportunities to get into trouble trying to acquire them. The
spilled ink from a photocopier's toner cartridge is just one such source
of black splotches. Oddball is Mr. Mischief and the dog most likely to
appear in the dog endangerment scenes that make the film's G rating a
bit questionable. (There were several blood curdling screams from
little tykes in our audience when it looked like Oddball was going to be
a goner.)
Coming in second in the cuteness derby is a rottweiler named
Waddlesworth. An unusual dog, he has colorful feathers and a beak,
although he doesn't think he can fly. Actually, he's a talking Macaw
(voiced by Eric Idle), who just thinks that he is a canine. Giving a
single animal the ability of speech makes the story funny without being
too silly.
Sometimes the simplest scenes of the dogs wagging their tails are so
cute that you can't help but break into a big smile. And the sets and
the costumes alone can provoke quite a few laughs.
Finally, there is Gérard Depardieu, as fur fashion designer Monsieur Le
Pelt. Depardieu doesn't have much of a part, but he makes the most of
it. Always pronouncing puppies as "poopies," he sounds like he just
walked off the Rugrats set. When we first see him, he is parading his
rotund body down a fashion show runway in leopard hot pants and a
leopard-head crotch protector. 102 DALMATIANS is first and foremost a
movie ripe with physical comedy. The dialog is treated as almost an
afterthought.
So what video would a bunch of dogs want to watch when their master is
on a date? Kevin's dogs go for LADY AND THE TRAMP. In one of the
story's best sequences, the movie cuts between the video and Kevin and
Chloe enjoying spaghetti just like Lady and the Tramp. The only
disappointment is that they never share a single strand as they do in
the video. On the whole, however, 102 DALMATIANS is a good spirited
movie that rarely disappoints.
102 DALMATIANS runs 1:41. It is rated G, but the "poopie" endangerment
scenes may scare some kids under 5.
My son Jeffrey, age 11, gave the film ***. He really liked Oddball and
Waddlesworth, but complained that he missed the dogs from the first
movie. Maxim, age 12, went wild over the picture and gave it ****. His
favorite part was the cake scene. Nickolas, age 11, gave it *** 1/2,
having similar comments to Jeffrey's. Eliot, age 11, on the other hand,
hated the movie, giving it just * 1/2. He complained that it wasn't
original and that it didn't link properly to the first film. The votes
from the rest of Jeffrey's 6th grade class were quite positive although
there were a few who didn't like it.
Email: Steve....@InternetReviews.com
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
--
Susan Granger
Susan Granger's review of "102 DALMATIANS" (Walt Disney Pictures)
In this highly anticipated sequel to "101 Dalmatians"
(Thanksgiving, 1997), the spiky-haired villainess Cruella De Vil
(Glenn Close) is released from prison after promising that she will
give up her dream of wearing the ultimate Dalmatian fur coat. To prove
her good intentions, she wears a coat made of garbage bags, trimmed
with bubble wrap. But, being the vicious, fur-lusting liar that she
is, she is soon plotting another "fur-ocious" scheme to terrorize the
spotted canines. Now she's pursuing them through the streets of
Paris. And there's a fantastic Parisian-bakery scene in which Cruella
chases some puppies into a cake-making machine and the dogs flip the
"on" switch. It's quite a sight to see the sadistic Cruella sliding on
a baking pan, which looks like a bobsled, into a massive bowl of cake
batter. If this isn't an upcoming Disney theme park ride, I'll crumble
my dog biscuits! The canine characters include Dipstick, the son of
101's Pongo and Perdy, and Dottie with their pups: Domino, Little
Dipper and Oddball, who has all-white fur, no spots. Actually,
computer wizardry removed Oddball's spots; once Dalmatians hit a
certain age, they are no longer spot-free. Preying on her
black-and-white spotted-fur fetish, Cruella's lured back into
puppy-napping by a French furrier, Jean Pierre La Pelt (Gerard
Depardieu), while Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd try to protect the
Dalmatians while falling into puppy love themselves. Directed by Kevin
Lima, the production is even more elaborate and outrageous this time
'round as the devilish De Vil romps around doing her dirty deeds. And
the 102nd pelt is necessary because, this time, Cruella wants her
Dalmatian coat to have a hood. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10,
"102 Dalmatians" is a G-rated, entertaining 8. Puppies, puppies,
puppies!
--
Laura Clifford
--------------
As the 2nd Chance animal shelter struggles to stay afloat and the now
grown up Dipstick is about to become a father of three, Cruella De Vil
(Glenn Close), cured of her fur loving ways by behaviorist Dr. Pavlov, is
released from prison. Dipstick's owner Chloe (Alice Evans, "Le Dernier
Secret") is dismayed to learn that she's Cruella's parole officer, but
De Vil, begging to be called 'Ella,' becomes an animal rights crusader,
injecting time and cash into 2nd Chance. But Dr. Pavlov discovers that
his therapy is easily undone and soon De Vil is secretly teaming up with
designer Le Pelt (Gerard Depardieu) to create her dreamed of spotted coat
in Walt Disney Pictures' "102 Dalmatians."
LAURA:
De Vil is picked up at the prison gates by her faithful servant Alonso
(Tim McInnerny, "101 Dalmatians"), who presents her with a gift - Fluffy,
a Chinese crested dog. She then orders him to rid her manse of her
furs, which get boarded up in a dungeon like room, along with her drawn
design of her spotted coat. The tolling of Big Ben snaps her out of
her charitable ways, however, and soon she's revised her design to include
a hood, requiring one more puppy than the original pattern. (Her
transformation puts her into a delusional state where the entire city
of London bears Dalmatian spots, a fun effect.)
She begins secretly stealing puppies to be shipped to France and manages
to frame Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd, "Titanic"), 2nd Chance's owner and Chloe's
budding love interest, for the crimes.
Once again Close proves herself a trooper as the outrageous De Vil. She's
a hoot. Evans is a bit too squeaky clean as Chloe, but Gruffudd is
charming as the boyish Kevin. McInnerny is sympathetic as Alonso, De Vil's
unwitting accomplice. However, Depardieu is utterly wrong for this film
and his character and wardrobe should have been either completely revamped
or banished. His French pronunciation of puppies as 'poopies' is supposed
to pass for high humor.
The animals are terrific and given an injection of new blood by Fluffy
and the inhabitants of 2nd Chance, which includes Waddlesworth, a Macaw
who thinks he's a dog. Chloe's three puppies include Oddball, a pure
white pup traumatized by its lack of spots, who's always getting into
trouble.
The screenplay by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker and Noni White
echoes Disney trademarks, such as reinventing the twilight bark in a puppy
version and contrasting the spaghetti and meatball scene from "Lady and the
Tramp" with Chloe and Kevin's first date. "The Wizard of Oz" even comes
to mind as Cruella locks Chloe up in her dungeon match as the witch cages
Dorothy (and her little dog, too). They've also cooked up a nice parallel
with Oddball's spot issue and Waddlesworth's inability to fly. Dialogue
includes some pithy lines for Cruella ('The last time I underestimated a
puppy, I ended up in the pokie.') However, besides the Le Pelt problem, the
climatic ending is far too reminiscent of this past summer's "Chicken Run."
Oscar winning costumer designer Anthony Powell returns (as does most of the
behind the scenes crew) and does some brilliant work for Cruella. Her
black and white prison garb is hilarious and he cleverly presents her in
a Chanel suit - in a houndstooth pattern! Powell even makes her resemble
a nun. The black and white mane is smoothly coifed until the evil in De Vil
returns. His work for Le Pelt, however, is another story. Depardieu
is presented in what looks like a strong man's outfit made of fur sporting
a truly ridiculous hairstyle.
Animation director Kevin Lima (Disney's "Tarzan") confidently handles his
first live action film. While it has problems, it's paced well enough that
we don't dwell on them. "102 Dalmatians" will be fun for the kids while
keeping the adults entertained as well.
B-
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--
Robin Clifford
I just had some major minor surgery and I was in need of some entertainment
and distraction from my own personal plight. Opportunity reared its furry
head for me with a Saturday morning screening of Disney's sequel "102
Dalmatians." What better way to get my mind off of my own aches and pains
than watching Glenn Close bring new outrageous behavior to my favorite
villain of all time - Cruella De Vil. I ensconce myself in a comfortable
seat and settled down with the other kids in the audience to see Cruella,
once again, foiled in her nefarious plans to create the ultimate spotted
puppy coat.
The holiday release of "102 Dalmatians" comes as no surprise following the
$300-million plus worldwide gross for the 1996 live action remake of the
1961 seminal Disney animation, "101 Dalmatians." The focus of the new film
is on Cruella De Vil right from the start as we meet the penitent
psychiatric patient who has learned to love animals, not wear them. But, we
know something is going to wrong, drastically wrong, and the wicked Cruella
will turn to her old, evil ways. This time, it's up to the spotless little
Dalmatian Oddball and the rest of the canine crew to put a stop to
Cruella's latest, wicked plans.
When Cruella leaves the psychiatric care of Doctor Pavlov (David Horovitch)
she is fully cured of her infamous fur fetish and the terms of her parole
dictate that she never steal another puppy. If she violates the rules of
her release, her remaining wealth, 8-million pounds, will be given to the
dog shelters in the county. But, Cruella has become "Ella" and is a changed
woman who dedicates her life to the safety and well being of the canine
population. She selects a failing, ramshackle animal shelter, The 2nd
Chance, run by kindly naïf Kevin Shephard (Ioan Gruffudd), as her
rehabilitation project and throws herself into her philanthropic work.
Kevin honestly believes that Ella is a changed person and lets her fund the
shelter's rebuild. Not so for Ella's doubtful parole officer Chloe Simon
(Alice Evans), a Dalmatian owner herself, who doesn't think that a leopard
like Cruella can ever really change her spots.
Chloe is proven right when the striking of the bells of Big Ben toll the
end of Dr. Pavlov's experiment as Ella disappears and Cruella De Vil
reemerges in all her wicked glory. She is now bound and determined to get
her precious spotted coat and even enlists the help of her arch rival in
the fur world, Jean Pierre Le Pelt (Gerard Depardieu), to collect the 102
Dalmatian puppies she'll need to create her ultimate design - now with
hood. Kevin and Chloe are pretty helpless in stopping Cruella with Kevin
being framed and arrested for the theft of some of the pups, so it's up to
Chloe's canine companions, Dipstick (son of Pongo), his mate, Dottie, and
their puppies, Little Dipper, Domino and Oddball, to foil Cruella's cruel
plans. Oddball is the only spotless one in the clan, which makes him the
over-achiever needed to lead the puppies and the other canine colleagues
against Cruella and her lethal scheme.
One area where "102 Dalmatians" misses the mark is its audience aim. There
is far too much talky dialogue and adult level humor and too little stuff
for the smaller kids. Don't get me wrong, the puppy (or "poopy" as Le Pelt
calls them) action is fun and exciting, especially the big climax/chase
that enters an enormous automated bakery that proves to be Cruella's
downfall. But, there isn't enough of this kiddy-level action. You could
hear the noise level increase in the theater as the smaller kids got bored
with the plot hatching between Cruella and the fur-clad Le Pelt. Not giving
the younger kids something to occupy their attention is going to be very
annoying at full theaters where the adults won't be able to hear the higher
brow humor because of the din of the youngsters.
The humor is, overall, more geared to the adults and older kids in the
audience. There is a dark, sinister nature to the film in the second half,
culminating in Cruella being thrust into an oven a la the wicked witch in
the "Hansel and Gretel" fairytale that provides some disturbing images. The
mayhem is only implied and never realized through the film, but the idea of
a just dessert ending for Cruella borders on the scary, especially for
younger auds.
While the animal stars don't speak (with one notable exception that I'll
get to in a moment), the filmmakers still get some remarkable performances
out of the canine cast. Mom and Dad Dalmatians, Dipstick and Dottie, are
shown as a loving couple who adore their kids. The human-like spin that is
put on their interaction has the same anthropomorphic feel as Disney's
animation, "Lady and the Tramp." (The spaghetti scene from the older
animation is used to propel the love story between the good guys, Kevin and
Chloe.) My favorite animal "performance," though, is voiced by Eric Idle as
the neurotic Macaw, Waddlesworth. The parrot, it seems, believes that he
is, in fact, a dog and not a bird at all. His neurosis, coupled with
sharp-tongued, witty dialog, makes the very vocal bird an odd but endearing
member of the team. Even when Waddlesworth does fly like an eagle, he
declares, "I'm not a rottweiler, I'm a retriever." He steals the show
whenever he gets a word in.
The human actors don't fare quite as well as their furry and feathered
counterparts, though. Except for Glenn Close, who has a remarkably good
time and gives her all to the character of Cruella - the actress does much
of her stunt work in the big climax - the other humans aren't given much to
do. Depardieu's Le Pelt must have looked good on paper, but the big actor
just seems out of place. Gruffudd and Evans, as Kevin and Chloe are there,
well, because the script says the characters exist. Neither actor is given
a real character to work with and there isn't much the amiable-seeming
thesps can do to reverse this. Tim McInnerny, as Cruella's manservant
Alonso, is the only other human, besides Close, who gets to put any meat on
his character's bones. Alonso suffers from conflicted loyalty as he is
faithful to his employer but also has a good heart and is against the plot
to create the "hooded spotted poopy coat."
Costuming by Academy Award winner Anthony Powell is a major asset for the
film. Cruella is outfitted in some of the most bizarre and interesting
creations since Queen Whatsherface in "The Phantom Menace." From the very
start, when we meet her, fully rehabbed, in her striped prison togs with
the jaunty cap emblazoned with her prisoner number, "6660," we are seeing a
tour de force in costumes. Most interesting are the "Ella" outfits as the
reformed Cruella shuns furs and takes on a clever political correctness. (I
was even told that one outfit is in a houndstooth pattern - hee hee.) Ella
is a true matron of her cause and looks every bit the lacquered lady -
check out her "nun's habit" outfit she wears as she emerges from prison.
It's brilliant. Her change back into Cruella literally springs out at us as
it harks back to the 1996 film with fur taking over, once again, as the
principle material du costume. The fur motif doesn't work anywhere near as
well for Gerard Depardieu, who looks more like a well-groomed bear in the
furry costumes for Le Pelt.
Everything around the action - the aforementioned costumes, the innovative
sets by Assheton Gorton and the sparkling photography by veteran lenser
Adrian Biddle - help keep the production on an even and high quality keel.
First time live action helmer Kevin Lima, who so able handled the Disney
film "Tarzan," utilizes his animation skills to bring the necessary cartoon
quality that marked the original as a hallmark family film. The weakest
point is the script by a gaggle of writers - Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan
(from their original story) and Bob Tzudiker & Noni White - which has to
follow up on the charm of the original story by Dodie Smith. The scribes do
a fair job, but the story feels like it's done by committee. The ending
drags on too long so the whole effort seems more extended than its 90+
minutes.
The puppies are cute and Cruella remains an icon of wickedness, but I hope
that "102 Dalmatians" is it. I don't think I can take "103 Dalmatians." I
give it a B-.
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--
Ross Anthony
102 Dalmatians
By Ross Anthony
Usually, I like kid's flicks - I loved "Rugrats." But I growled through both
live-action 101 and 102 - ultimately all two hundred and three of these
Dalmatians. Despite my feelings, apparently allure exists, since Disney
opted for a sequel. And admittedly, I did overhear two young boys excitedly
telling each other their favorite movie parts while exiting the theater.
After a miraculous psychological cure, Cruella loves puppies and hence is
released on parole. Her parole officer is none other than Dipstick's owner
Zoey.
The few tricks deserving praise:
1) Again, grand costuming, especially on Cruella de Vil. 2)Nice opening
credits (you'll see spots). 3) When a cute puppy Dalmatian peers with sad
eyes at his spotless reflection in a mirror. 4) When the new Cruella shouts
"Murderer." Alonzo makes a great nervous butler. 5)Cruella's transformation.
6) "Lady and the Tramp" homage and Tony's restaurant reprise. 7) Parrot that
sings the cop to sleep. 8) Skinny dog with wild hair.
And the theater did explode with laughter twice - maybe three times, but not
more than that.
My bones:
In addition to the near total lack of any bones thrown to the adult
audience, here are some specific dog bites that left me gritting my teeth,
1) Giving a dog a new hairdo might sound good on paper, but on screen wasn't
funny. 2) One minute the dog is on the roof, the next cut he's hanging from
some ascending balloons. Where was the leap? Did the dog refuse to do the
trick? 3) The dogs pick out Zoey's clothing, another careful scene that
didn't hit the mark. 4) Cruella's cohort exclaims, "Steeling puppies is like
taking the baby from the candy." I don't know if kids find that cute, but to
an adult it's as painful as the empty chime of ... "I'm really beginning to
dislike that woman." 5) As we approach the climax a pseudo car-chase is
injected but with absolutely no point - perhaps only to amuse the youngsters
who don't need a point. 6) Continuing in the theme of pointlessness, the
film wraps itself up in a pie machine simulation from "Chicken Run."
To be honest, I just don't know how your kids will react to this film; you,
however, might want to bring something to read.
102 Dalmatians. Copyright © 2000. Rated G.
Starring Glenn Close, Gerald Depardieu, Alice Evans, Ioan Gruffudd.
Directed by Kevin Lima
Written by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan
Produced by Edward S. Feldman at Disney.
Adult Grade ............................ C
Kid's Grade ............................ ?
--
Copyright © 2000. Ross Anthony, currently based in Los Angeles, has scripted
and shot documentaries, music videos, and shorts in 35 countries across
North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. For more reviews visit:
http://RossAnthony.com
--
Bob Bloom
102 Dalmatians (2000) 2 stars out of 4. Starring Glenn Close, Gerard
DePardieu, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim McInnerny and Ben Crompton.
Screenplay by Kristen Buckley and Brian Regan and Bob Tzudiker and Noni
White. Story by Buckley and Regan. Directed by Kevin Lima.
102 Dalmatians is a so-so sequel to a so-so comedy.
More a rehash of the original, 102 Dalmatians finds the evil Cruella
DeVil still obsessing over those adorable doggies as she schemes to
capture them to use their pelts for a new coat ó plus hood.
The film is rather slow in the beginning, and doesnít really pick up
speed until the break-neck, cartoonish finale in which the Dalmatians
give Cruella her comeuppance.
However, this is a film for the little ones, who will enjoy the animal
antics as well as Glenn Closeís over-the-top, slapstick performance as
Cruella.
Most of the characters are bland and the story and situations are
merely passable. Even the various animals, with one exception, lack any
real personality.
Only Waddlesworth, a parrot who thinks heís a dog, shows any spark, and
that is because he is voiced by the wonderful Eric Idle.
102 Dalmatians is not a bad movie. Itís just fails to offer anything
extraordinary.
Close is divinely wicked and witchlike in her outlandish manner and
color costumes. Of course she steals the show. In fact, the movie just
founders when she is off screen.
The white-bread young lovers, Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd) and Chloe (Alice
Evans), are as charismatic as a presidential wannabe. They are kind of
dull, and we really donít care a whit about them.
Gerard Depardieu is hammy as the evil Le Pelt, cohort of Cruella. After
making so many American movies, his English remains as fractured as Pepe
LePewís.
Close, of course, earns the good sport award for enduring the
indignities heaped upon Cruella, including being dumped in vats of cake
mix and baked in an oven. Through it all, she keeps a twinkle in her
eye, and her tongue rooted in her cheek.
Of the Dalmatians, only the puppy Oddball stands out, and that is
because he is spotless, and spends most of the movie trying to rectify
that situation.
The movie does have a couple of clever moments. While Kevin and Chloe
are out on a date, the dogs decide to watch a video and choose Lady and
the Tramp. Director Kevin Lima ó one of the directors of last yearís
animated hit, Tarzan ó then cuts back and forth between the famous
dining scene in the cartoon and Kevin and Chloe dining at an Italian
restaurant. It is a clever bit, one of the few the film offers.
102 Dalmatians is harmless. Itís a simplistic, cartoonish film
definitely aimed at the younger set.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier. in Lafayette,
IN He can be reached by e-mail at bl...@journal-courier.com. For more of
Bloom's reviews, go to golafayette at www.jconline.com
Reviews by Bob Bloom also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie
Database site: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
--
Max Messier
A film review by Max Messier
Copyright 2000 - filmcritic.com
It's always a bad sign when the core audience of a film -- children --
are either walking out early or are half-asleep when the credits roll at
the end of a film. That about sums up the dreadful ugliness of 102
Dalmatians, a cold pea soup of cute animals, stupid Home Alone antics, a
boring puppy love subplot between dumb humans, and Glenn Close reprising
her best Joan Crawford impression. Indeed, Walt Disney is rolling over
in his grave again, cursing John Hughes' name for making the original
live-action 101 Dalmatians, one of the worst kiddie flicks of all time,
and now its sequel.
The main culprit behind the hideousness of 102 Dalmatians is its
predecessor, 101 Dalmatians. The original made more than $100 million
dollars at the box office, spawned a torrid collection of "collectible"
items that ended up months later in the discount bins of Wal-Marts
across the country, and generally made every kid on the planet want a
damn Dalmatian pup for Christmas. Well, it's been about four years
since then, and Dalmatian fever is coming back, and this time it's
digitally enhanced.
Here's the story. Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close) is released from prison
due to the "cure" of her puppy homicide urges by one Dr. Pavlov. (Oh,
how witty.) She rejoins the world as a dog lover and is assigned to a
probation officer, who oddly turns out to be her victim from the
original film.
Cruella then becomes Ella -- dog lover -- until the plot twists, like a
dog with his leash caught on the back of a moving truck, and she becomes
the evil vixen again. A kidnapping plot unfurls again as Cruella
decides she still needs her Dalmatian coat, but she now needs 102
Dalmatians instead of the commonly used 101 Dalmatian formula. At this
point, I was envying those kids filing out of the theater.
How low have Glenn Close and Gerard Depardieu (as the film's villain)
sunk in the film business? It's almost laughable in a sadistic way to
watch Close walk around in costumes that seem to be pulled from the
wardrobe of Flash Gordon. And Depardieu... how can a French guy have a
bad French accent? And never mind the toilet brush haircut.
The only minutely positive selling point I can even think to point out
is the talking bird with a British accent (courtesy of Eric Idle) that
thinks he's a Rottweiler. Now that's funny.
1 1/2 stars out of five
Director: Kevin Lima
Writers: Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker, Noni White
Producers: Edward Feldman, Patricia Carr, Paul Tucker
Starring: Glenn Close, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim McInnerny, Gerard
Depardieu
Rated: PG
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/102dalmatians/index_flash.html
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--
Scott Renshaw
(Disney)
Starring: Glenn Close, Gerard Depardieu, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim
McInnerny, voice of Eric Idle.
Screenplay: Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan and Bob Tzudiker & Noni White.
Producer: Edward S. Feldman.
Director: Kevin Lima.
MPAA Rating: G
Running Time: 101 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Having already self-cannibalized the 1961 animated 101 DALMATIANS in
the successful 1996 live-action version, Disney had to look for a more
creative way to self-cannibalize in the sequel 102 DALMATIANS. In a scene
from the new, equally unnecessary film, dog rescue facility operator Kevin
(Ioan Gruffudd) and probation officer Chloe (Alice Evans) share a romantic
dinner while their respective menageries of pooches share an evening with
a video: Disney's LADY AND THE TRAMP. While Kevin and Chloe eat their
spaghetti and meatballs, director Kevin Lima intercuts snippets of LADY
AND THE TRAMP's famous "Bella Notte" bistro scene. How wonderfully
romantic Kevin and Chloe's relationship must be ... by association.
102 DALMATIANS would have had to work hard to be as actively
irritating as its John Hughes-penned precursor. Instead of being actively
irritating, this one registers as merely tedious. Glenn Close returns as
Cruella De Vil, just paroled after three years in prison for her 101
DALMATIANS shenanigans. It seems she has been cured of her thirst for fur
by a new aversion therapy technique, so the aforementioned dog rescue
facility operator Kevin has no problem with Cruella stepping in as
benefactor when funds are short. Aforementioned probation officer Chloe is
suspicious, however -- rightly so, it turns out, as Cruella pulls a
FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON and reverts to her pre-therapy self. That means
dalmatians everywhere are in peril when Cruella teams up with designer
Jean Pierre Le Pelt (Gerard Depardieu) to finally create her long-desired
spotted coat.
Like the first film, 102 DALMATIANS is designed primarily as a great
big love-fest between the audience members and the on-screen animals.
There are fewer puppies this time around, as well as a talking macaw
(voiced by Eric Idle) who thinks he's a dog, but there are still plenty of
cuddly canines to go around. Unfortunately, they're almost never asked to
do anything more interesting than sit around and look cuddly. Lima
(co-director of Disney's TARZAN, making his first live-action feature)
generally appears content to let the awww appeal of his canine co-stars
take the place of action, adventure or humor. You've probably passed the
age where 102 DALMATIANS would appeal to you if you no longer respond to
puppies in a movie with a shriek of, "Puppies!"
That same overwhelming sense of laziness permeates the film from
start to finish. It's blessedly true that 102 DALMATIANS does not feature
a single shot of someone getting his genitals electrocuted, or any mayhem
that would bump the rating even to a PG. The slapstick is basically
harmless stuff involving dogs biting villains in the rear or Cruella's
henchman/chauffeur (Tim McInnerny) injuring and reinjuring his hands. But
there really isn't even all that much slapstick. There's a whole lot of
exposition, and it doesn't lead up to anything. In a way, up until the
final showdown on a bakery assembly line, it's all rather hypnotically
pleasant -- no off-putting violence, no real peril, and no personality.
There's also the romantic sub-plot involving Kevin and Chloe, two of
the most blandly attractive characters committed to the screen since the
last Freddie Prinze Jr. movie. While Close does her best to inject some
life into the proceedings -- still playing Cruella as a drag queen icon
rather than a nasty villain -- the protagonists practically vanish into
the background. Like far too many sequels, this one just lies there
limply, practically daring you not to grant it good will based on another
movie. It's bad enough to do that when the other movie in question was
successful, but lousy. It's even worse when the good will being traded
upon comes from a truly classic cinematic moment. Not even a clip from
LADY AND THE TRAMP can make 102 DALMATIANS worth anything more than a
snore. And it doesn't help to prove that cute animated dogs are often
preferable to cute real-life dogs.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 eternal dalmatians: 4.
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David N. Butterworth
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2000 David N. Butterworth
*1/2 (out of ****)
Cruella De Vil reformed? Unlikely.
A follow-up to Disney's live-action "101 Dalmatians" that's better,
more entertaining than the first? Just as unlikely.
With "102 Dalmatians," the Disney studios have proven that when it
comes to going to the dogs, more is definitely *not* the merrier.
1996's "101 Dalmatians" certainly wasn't the greatest movie-going
experience of all time, but it did feature Glenn Close in an outrageous,
larger-than-life performance. In addition, we had two amiable leads in the
form of Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson, and lots and lots of adorable
spotted puppies. This time around there seem to be fewer puppies on the
screen, and Close's facial and physical gyrations are starting to feel as
old as the 53-year-old actress under that startling black and white wig of
hers. But that's only half the problem with Kevin Lima's laborious film.
What makes "102 Dalmatians" such a collosal bore is its
embarrassing attempts at humor (here almost single-handedly foisted on a
wisecracking macaw who thinks he's a dog, voiced by Eric Idle), its rabid
plotlessness (Cruella goes after puppies again; winds up in goo again) and
most of all, the incredibly wooden actors who plays the romantic "heroes"
of the piece, a Welshman named Ioan Gruffudd and the blander-than-bland
Alice Evans as a parole officer named Chloë. Gruffudd is cute and
harmless, perhaps, but Evans can't even aspire to that. The dogs upstage
them both, of course, but in the case of Evans, even Close's split ends are
more animated.
Bad acting, however, seems to be a requirement for this sequel,
since Gérard Depardieu shows up as a French furrier with a haircut like
Robert De Niro's in "Men of Honor." Jean Pierre Le Pelt is a flamboyant
fashion designer with a penchant for fine furs and Depardieu's over-the-top
antics mimic those of the campy Close flail for flail, and wail for wail.
France's most popular export besides brie has long since turned into a
caricature of himself, and in "102 Dalmatians" the producers milk that
realization for all it's worth--Le Pelt likes to refer to the furry little
critters as "poopies," par example (and ad nauseum).
The finesses of the script (attributed to four screenwriters no
less, and far removed from anything Dodie Smith ever dreamed up) are
quickly dispensed with, since all it takes for a paroled Cruella to be
shaken from her years of successful aversion therapy in the slammer is the
tolling of Big Ben (?). That done, it's back to the mansion to roll around
in her heretofore off-limits sables and minks and a plan to skin those
little dahlings for the sake of a hooded designer gown.
The dogs are pretty cute--try making a puppy look otherwise--but
that's pretty much all they are. There's always the feeling that there's a
trainer off in the wings, coaxing the dogs to open doors, or pick up their
food bowls in unison, or pop a tape into the videocasette recorder. Savvy
holiday goers should skip "102 Dalmatians" and pop the original 1961
animated classic into *their* VCRs instead. It's one Dalmatian less, but
101% more satisfying.
--
David N. Butterworth
d...@dca.net
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