101 Dalmatians (1996)

A woman kidnaps puppies to kill them for their fur, but various animals then gang up against her and get their revenge in slapstick fashion.

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writers:

Dodie Smith (novel), John Hughes (screenplay)

Stars:

Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glenn Close	...	Cruella De Vil
Jeff Daniels	...	Roger
Joely Richardson	...	Anita
Joan Plowright	...	Nanny
Hugh Laurie	...	Jasper
Mark Williams	...	Horace
John Shrapnel	...	Skinner
Tim McInnerny	...	Alonzo
Hugh Fraser	...	Frederick
Zohren Weiss	...	Herbert
Mark Haddigan	...	Alan
Michael Percival	...	Police Inspector
Neville Phillips	...	Minister
John Evans	...	Pensioner with Bulldog
Hilda Braid	...	Woman On Park Bench #1

Storyline

Fashion designer Anita and computer-game writer Roger meet, fall in love and marry along with their dalmatians Perdita and Pongo. But the proud dogs' puppies are kidnapped by Anita's boss Cruella De Vil, who is stealing young dalmatians to make the coat she has set her heart on. Enlisting the help of the British animal kingdom, Pongo and Perdita set out to find and rescue all ninety-nine pups from their fearsome captors, Jasper and Horace.

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Plot Keywords:

puppy | dalmatian | fashion | coat | designer | 

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Taglines:

This time, the magic is real.

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Genres:

Family | Comedy | Adventure

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 November 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

101 Dálmatas

Filming Locations:

Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath, Hampstead, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$54,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$45,073,479 (USA) (29 November 1996)

Gross:

ITL 16,131,423,000 (Italy) (2 May 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Wizzer Productions, Great Oaks Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Glenn Close appeared on the set as Cruella in full fright wig, makeup, and costume, one of the dogs playing Perdy repeatedly tried to slink away.

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Goofs

When Cruella attempts to hand over the cheque, it can be clearly seen dated in the American format, mm/dd/yy. Also the bank sort code on the top right doesn't correspond to the second set of figures at the bottom, which is the case with UK cheques.

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Quotes

Cruella De Vil: [of Horace and Jasper] I've seen more intelligent pieces of carpet!

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, Cruella's laugh can be heard as the Walt Disney logo appears.

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Connections

Spin-off 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997)

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Soundtracks

"The Christmas Song"
Written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells
Performed by Nat 'King' Cole
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Special Markets

User Reviews

Rather Lame And Induces More Groans Than Laughs.

First there is the animated 101 Dalmations, which I love. But then there is this one, the live-action one, which I don't like. This is not terrible, it's just rather boring and a little painful to watch. This movie is rather lame and it induces more groans than laughs. I rarely laughed throughout the course of this movie, in fact, I rarely even smiled. 101 Dalmations somewhat corrupts the meaning of the animated original, especially in the humor department. Whereas the original animated movie had great humor for the entire family, this one is reduced from family humor to childish humor. I like childish humor, but not a movie that is strictly childish humor. A movie needs to have a type of humor that is not for just children, it needs to have a type of humor that is for everybody, not for just one type of person. All in all, this movie is not one of the worst movies ever made, but I just didn't like it, it was too childish and silly for me. I probably would have like it better if the humor would have been more appropriate for somebody like me.

Another thing I didn't like about this was the fact that they based this live-action movie on an animated feature film from the 1960's. I have nothing against live-action movies based on cartoons being made, but this was not a good idea. This production wasn't a good idea, it didn't even sound like a good idea. Making live-action movies based on cartoons usually isn't a good idea, it just doesn't seem to work. This movie is proof of that. Kids nowadays are looking for a movie with likable characters and very good humor. This film has neither of those, having lost in its live-action making what the animated original did so right.

In short, this movie is boring and unfunny, it is not even that entertaining for children. Adults will probably find it boring just like I did, children may like it, especially very small children. Anyone else? No. 101 Dalmations is not a terrible movie, it is just boring, unoriginal, unfunny, and just plain forgettable. I'll repeat what I said in the above paragraphs, this lame live-action adaption induces more groans than laughs. Do yourself a favor and rent the animated original instead.

4/10