101 Dalmatians 1996

THE WACPINE OF ‘101 DALMATIANS’

WRITING: 4
ATMOSPHERE: 3
CHARACTERS: 7
PRODUCTION: 5
INTRIGUE: 5
NOVELTY: 1
ENJOYMENT: 4

In this age of endless Disney live-action remakes, one easily forgets that it was already a thing back in the 90s. This remake of 101 Dalmatians cashes in on the popularity of live-action animal films of the era (think Babe and Stuart Little). Thank God they didn't make the dogs talk in this one!
The script follows the original animated film fairly closely, but gives the story a more realistic touch and moves the action to the modern-day. When we complain about The Lion King or Aladdin being too similar to their animated counterparts, we should remember that the same applies to this film. Since the script hardly throws in any new twists or tries to depict the story from a new angle, this remake does not feel warranted at all. It is hardly superior to the original.
The first half of the film flies by in a whiff but the second half drags out a bit before the climax, as the film helplessly tries to fill in time with mostly silly and unnecessary comedy sequences (i.e. the Home Alone-ish sequence, with the dogs bullying the poor crooks).

For the most part, 101 Dalmatians is goofily over-the-top, filled with physical comedy and the kind of light-hearted villainy only seen in the 90s family films. It's both hilariously nostalgic and oddly dated. The first quarter of the film is the funniest and works the best, then it gets more and more tedious from there, until the overly dragged out and goofy finale.

This, for once, is a movie where the baddies steal the show. Glenn Close is bonkers and phenomenal as the over-the-top Cruella de Vil, a character modelled after the animated version but with a touch of its own. It has a tinge of Johnny Depp in it as well if he was a woman. She gets overly eager at times, however, so she turns tiresome by the end. Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams are a strange couple as the goofy henchmen and it is so weird to see them here when they are strongly associated with other roles these days.
They made Roger a video game writer from his songwriter in the original and it feels hilariously dated today. Roger and Anita barely appear in the film's second act and the actors don't leave lasting impressions.

I'm happy they used real dogs here and trained them well because that makes this film so much more realistic. The production otherwise is what you would expect from a Disney family film at the time, although the costume and set design for Cruella and her office is wonderful, almost Burton-esque.
Some scenes could have been cut shorter, like the montage of different animals passing the message of the lost puppies; we get the message quickly. I also cannot stand the sometimes too loud orchestral score that seems to have no real melody at all. Then we have that one sequence that uses CGI for the dogs and the less we speak of it the better.

While I love Glenn Close initially and find Laurie and Williams goofy, their major presence soon takes the magic out of them and makes the second half a tiresome watch. The cute puppies and fairly well-trained animals also don't help much to keep the film going.

101 Dalmatians isn’t a fresh or original movie, neither when comparing with the original, nor when putting it side by side with other similar family films. It’s an updated version of the classic tale that feels dated 25 years later and does little to prove it needs to exist.

While the film has its moments, and it’s difficult not to enjoy Glenn Close make Cruella her own, I can’t help but feel that 101 Dalmatians should stay in the 90s where it belongs, while we focus on the lovely animated classic instead.

WACPINE RATING: 4.14 / 10 = 2 stars