Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Having not seen the film version of 101 Dalmations and only hazily remembering the cartoon, I really wasn’t sure about watching this. Disney sequels aren’t exactly known for their high quality… but since we had bought this DVD cheap somewhere, I thought I might as well watch it. In many ways I was pleasantly surprised by 102 Dalmations, however.

The plot starts with eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil Cruella De Vil (Glen Close) having been “cured” of her fur addiction – in fact, she has become a bit of a dog lover! The new technique for mind readjustment that was used on her isn’t exactly perfect though, so will Old Cruella come back? This is certainly the viewpoint of Parole Officer Chloe Simon (Alice Evans), who mirrors the rather interesting moral of the film, that people don’t deserve a second chance because they don’t change. (Oh well at least it’s different!!) Add in a deranged Furrier (Gerard Depardieu), De Vil’s loyal (who knows why?) Butler, Alonzo (Tim McInnerny), and a couple of ragamuffins with criminal records who run an abandoned dog shelter, and of course lots of dogs, and you have the whole set. The crux of the storyline is Cruella’s personality change and how it affects those around here. There are typical Disney gags and a typical Disney romance thrown into the bargain. It’s actually plotted quite well though and things go merrily on their way with one or two little surprises which stop the overall predictability from ruining the film. It’s aimed fair and square at children, which is fair enough, but as light entertainment it’s fluffy and has a few moments of absurd humour that will make most adults smile – especially adults happily living their second childhood. There are a number of amusing set pieces, most notably the finale where Cruella is turned into something quite extraordinary!

Glen Close as Cruella (or just “Ella”, as she prefers to be called while in nice mode) is superb. She revels in the role with the extremely exaggerated gestures and affected speech. She is ably supported by Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd as the main straight (as in non-comical) roles, while poor old Tim McInnerny gets pushed from pillar to post as her Butler. Somewhat surprisingly I didn’t feel that Depardieu really suited his character, but even so he wasn’t exactly bad. Ian Richardson is scandalously underused in a small role as de Vil’s solicitor. The animals of course do very well, and the CGI is implemented very well indeed. The music score is fun and fits the mood of the film very well. Don’t expect a masterpiece and you could well be pleasantly surprised by the film itself.

DVD Extras

There are a number of extras on this DVD 0 Disney have gone for the “small but many” approach. Some of them are merely montages of clips from the film, as in “Puppy Overload”. There is one deleted scene featuring Cruella De Vil’s release from prison, which was quite fun. Other features include how the special effects were created (interesting stuff – they couldn’t find a non-spotty dalmation so the spots on Oddball were digitally removed frame by frame!), how Cruella De Vil was created for the film (and how she compares to the animated version), and w the animal “acting” was achieved. Some good stuff along with some pretty mediocre – much like the film itself really.

Final Verdict

If you have kids this will be a good purchase. Otherwise, unless you are a particular fan of dogs or Disney, this is probably one of those “okay to watch once or twice a decade” films. Better than I was expecting. (My wife, who’s seen the first film, says it’s not as good as 101 Dalmations but that’s hardly surprising. Even so this is nowhere near as bad as Disney sequels usually are!)

Other Doggie Films

Good Boy
Look Who’s Talking Now

Eric Idle (The voice of Waddlesworth, a parrot who believes himself to be a Rottweiller) – also played Passeportout in the BBC version of Around the World in 80 Days

Glen Close was also in The Stepford Wives (2004 version)


See Also:

Top Ten Animated Movies

Top Ten Children's Movies


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD