101 Dalmatians (1996)

The Golden Age of Disney is dead and gone. Hell, even its Second Golden Age was puttering out by the time the live adaptation of the1963 cartoon was made. Regardless, of all of the films that one could have adapted, the rather lifeless animated film about a large group of dogs and hapless villains would not be on the top of my list.

Based on the 1956 children's novel by Dodie Smith, we have the story of Pongo and Perdita and their pet humans, Roger and Anita. When the two star-crossed canines birth 15 puppies, Anita's psychopathic boss, the fashionista and megalomaniac Cruella De Vil tries to buy them off of her after becoming obsessed with the idea of a dog-skin coat. When the two humans refuse, her fit of rage leads Cruella to take drastic and criminal actions.

With the help of her two cronies, Horace and Jasper, Cruella steals the puppies and brings them to her family estate, a rundown mansion outside of London, and adds them to the collection of 84 dalmatian pups already snatched. When Roger, Anita and a whole squadron of inexplicably involved police officers are not able to save the dogs it is up to Pongo, Perdita and the Twilight Bark to gain the help of the animal kingdom to save the little ones.

As a child I remember being amused by the cartoon story of a bunch of talking dogs and their dimwitted "pets", as the humans were always referred to, outmatching one of the strangest villains in the world of Disney. Watching this version, however, I cannot possibly imagine how it could be interesting for anyone under the age of eight. This is such a lackluster story told without any real zeal, without much comedy and is so full of unjustifiable actions from the human characters that the entire thing just becomes a zany, pointless mess.

Even though the film boasts a strong cast including Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams, the film is never anything more than a showcase for the amazing talents of the animal trainers. I love a good dog film as there is something oddly rewarding about seeing an animal being taught to be more human. The dogs here are incredibly cute and that nearly kept my attention diverted from the fact that this is nothing more than a poorly edited search-and-rescue film with some very unimaginative slapstick thrown in to fill in the short running time.

Apart from the animals one does have to commend Glenn Close for her committed and outrageously fun work as Cruella. A skeleton of woman with her frazzled black and white hail, talon-like nails, and expensive furs, she gives the title of "fashion-editor" venom enough to make Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" pale in comparison. Her delicious cackle and insane eyes give her a force that fills the screen with such intensity that when she is on it seemed as though I were watching a second film. Here is a woman who suffers from her craft. It is one thing for a seasoned actress to simply do what she does in any film (referring back to Streep, just look at what she did in "The Iron Lady"), but it is another for an six time Oscar-nominated actress to wallow in molasses and pig-filth. I certainly hope she got paid what she deserves.

This film is not worth the time of anyone. It's slow, uninteresting and the comedy flops in almost all scenarios. Even with its cast I would choose to watch the slightly more believable animated version which felt like it was actually made with some love.

1/4