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| Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 1
| 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!
By : Susan Granger
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| | Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 3
| 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.
By : Laura Clifford
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