101 DALMATIANS
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
101 Cross-Promotions
(Walt Disney)
Directed by Stephen Herek
Written by John Hughes, based on the novel by Dodie Smith
Cast Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan
Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, John Shrapnel
MPAA Rating "G"
Running Time 103 minutes
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC
(27NOV96)
==
Tragic, perhaps, the fate that befalls the Disney 'toon. In recent years, our most-beloved family features have been transformed into Saturday morning cartoons (THE LION KING), sequelized in made- for-video movies (ALADDIN), and, even, staged on Broadway as fully- functioning musical productions (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST). Is anyone really surprised, then, by a live-action remake of ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS? Talk about future marketing strategy! Just pick any ol' classic in Walt's vaults, re-release it into theaters, then re-release it on video, and then remake it as a big-budget "event picture." Throw in a boatload of licensed products, a video re- lease for the remake, and a subsequent airing on ABC/Disney, and you've made millions. If not billions. Repeat every five years-- duh, to cash in on the current crop of toddlers-- and another four-way stock split before the end of the decade is guaranteed. Just like that.
Happily, the sound of ringing registers is but a soft echo in this exceptionally warm and fuzzy (furry?) remake. Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson have a wonderful chemistry as the London dog owners who fall in love after their Dalmatians do. (Though I had to think twice if I was watching the guy who played the President in INDEPENDENCE DAY. No, that was Bill Pullman.) They're also a world more interest- ing than Glenn Close, whose narrow performance as Cruella De Vil is the year's most overrated. (Blame the script. As written, she's less a cruel villain than a campy eccentric.) Most impressive are the technical credits, from art direction to animal handling to location photography. Some of the best production work of the year is on display.
Too bad that the script, by John Hughes, doesn't let the dogs talk. Several later sequences of inter-breed interaction are particularly tiresome. (Woof. Cut to dog barking. Woof. Cut to other dog listening. Woof. Cut to first dog running in direction of second dog. Repeat several times.) Another major problem of the script is Hughes' overabundance of violent physical humor. Okay, I laughed at the bumbling bad guys (Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams, both nicely underplaying) getting their 'nads fried on an electric fence, but this movie really deserves something more than the unintended alternate title of HOME ALONE 3: SEEING SPOTS. I don't even know if I can recommend this to young kids, as they'd probably fall asleep somewhere in the middle.
Grade: B-
-- Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC, USA, Earth legeros@pagesz.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w) I'm also on the Web! http://www.pagesz.net/~legeros/
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