101 Dalmatians

Story

It's hard to know who thought it would be a good idea to make a live-action version of Disney's animated classic. The one bright notion anyone had was casting Glenn Close as Disney über-villainess Cruella de Vil; her flashing eyes and angular features are a perfect match and do credit to what is one of the most indelible animated characters Disney has ever created. The story remains essentially the same, focusing on Cruella's plot to kidnap the puppies of a young married couple (Jeff Daniels and Jolie Richardson) and make them into a coat. But the dreaded John Hughes, who wrote this script, fills it with sadistic slapstick and far too few genuine laughs. The human actors work hard, but to little avail; thankfully, there's a passel of puppies to regularly steal scenes when the going gets dreary--although there are only so many laughs to be had from inappropriate dog puddles. --Marshall Fine

DVD Features

• Color
• Widescreen
• Closed-captioned
• Dolby

Theatrical International release dates:
Europe: Dec 13, 96
Japan: Mar 8, 97
Australia: Dec 5, 96

Movie Details

Cast:

Glenn Close
Jeff Daniels
Hugh Laurie
Joan Plowright
Joely Richardson
Marsh William
John Evans
Tim McInnerny

MPAA Rating: G
Running time: 103 min
DVD Aspect Ratios: 2.35:1

International rating:

Europe: U
Australia: G

DVD International release dates:
North America: Apr 21, 98