101 DALMATIANS (1996)
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 3.0 Alternative Scale: *1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 11/27/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:43 MPAA Classification: G Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, John Shrapnel Director: Stephen Herek Producers: John Hughes and John Comfort Screenplay: John Hughes based on the novel by Dodie Smith Cinematography: Adrian Biddle Music: Michael Kamen U.S. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Conventional wisdom suggests that Walt Disney Pictures produces some of the best available animated films and some of the worst available live-action films. 101 DALMATIANS, a shamelessly sickening example of on-screen marketing, is neck-and-neck with SPACE JAM for the most obvious, feature-length commercial of the 1996 holiday season. The difference is, for all its attempts to hawk merchandise, SPACE JAM still manages to be sporadically entertaining. 101 DALMATIANS, on the other hand, is a one-hundred-plus minute bore. Even children, who will be enthralled by all the puppies, may have a hard time not fidgeting for protracted portions of the running time.
With a script by John Hughes, it's no surprise that parts of this movie play like HOME ALONE. Unfortunately, we've been exposed to this brand of nasty, moronic physical humor ad nauseum in the past half-dozen years, primarily through a never-ending series of HOME ALONE sequels, clones, and rip-offs (most produced by Hughes himself). It's not remotely funny here. See Jeff Daniels slam his bicycle into a park bench and go flying into a lake. See two bad guys get zapped by an electrical fence. See Glenn Close take a bath in marmalade. Ha-ha-ha.
The first 101 DALMATIANS, produced by Disney in 1961, is not one of my favorite animated classics, but its brand of charm and humor are completely lost in this version. Back then, the dogs talked, and their dialogue made the film. Here, the four-legged protagonists are completely without voice, and, consequently, without personality. Virtually half this movie lacks dialogue (unless you count occasional yaps by the dogs and quips by the bad guys as "dialogue"), and, with nothing to fill the void, 101 DALMATIANS turns out to be a stale, lifeless movie-going experience. I felt like going to sleep and asking someone to wake me for the closing credits (which feature a jazzed-up rendition of the song, "Cruella DeVil", from the original).
The villain of the piece, Cruella DeVil, has long been one of Disney's nastiest baddies, and Glenn Close seems the perfect choice for the role. Sadly, although Close does her over-the-top best, Cruella doesn't really work. In one of its few sly observations, the script notes that for a villain to be successful, the viewer's feelings for him/her have to go well beyond hatred. We don't feel much for Cruella, and certainly not anything as passionate as the desire to see her annihilated (unless such an occurrence shortened the film).
The story -- or rather what passes for a story -- takes place in contemporary England, and features some wonderful set design (101 DALMATIANS' sole redeeming grace). It tells of how, through the connivance of two Dalmatian, a computer game designer, Roger (Jeff Daniels), meets a fashion designer, Anita (Joely Richardson), one day in the park. They fall in love and get married. Anita's Dalmatian, Perdy, and Roger's dog, Pongo, follow suit, and soon, puppies are on the way. But all is not well. Cruella DeVil, Anita's boss and a lover of real fur coats, has decided that she wants something with spots. When Roger and Anita refuse her generous financial offer for the little dogs, she tries nefarious means, sending a pair of paid thugs (Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams) out to do some dog-napping. In short order, not only do they have Perdy and Pongo's fifteen puppies in custody, but 84 others, as well. (99 + Perdy + Pongo = 101, if you feel obligated to do the arithmetic.)
There's not enough human characterization in this film to fill a thimble. Jeff Daniels (FLY AWAY HOME) and Joely Richardson (I'LL DO ANYTHING) seem almost superfluous, creating personalities that are as richly-textured as cardboard. The crooks are generic -- if you lose track of which movie you're watching, you can be forgiven for confusing Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, the inept burglars from the HOME ALONE series. And Joan Plowright, who plays Roger and Anita's housekeeper, is nearly invisible.
This is a despicable motion picture. Not only is it completely unnecessary (the animated version is perfectly adequate), but it's a blatant example of Disney's commercialism run rampant. Simply and succinctly put, 101 DALMATIANS has one overriding aim: to sucker parents into buying spotted paraphernalia for their children. Worse still, thousands of real Dalmatian puppies purchased in pet stores this year will end up being destroyed by animal shelters when their new owners tire of, then discard, them. The movie is bad, but the mentality behind it is worse, and, for that reason, 101 DALMATIANS belongs in the dog house.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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