101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (DVD)

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Kids will especially respond to a plot line that has a character seeking out and interacting with a "movie star," as it's a fantasy of most young folks to picture themselves in the movies, as a hero, or hanging out with cinematic royalty.

In terms of the level of accomplishment, I would rate this objectively as a strong 6 out of 10. As a sequel, it's probably on the level of "Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea." And coincidentally, the directors who gave us that sequel (Jim Kammerud and Brian Smith) worked on this one as well. Both shows come SO close to a 7, and of course the target audience--kids--will rate it even higher. But adults who sit alongside them won't find it as captivating as the original 1961 classic.

Video:
Though this was direct-to-video, it's still presented in 1.66:1 widescreen and features bright, bold colors and a decent amount of detail. There's a slight graininess throughout, which you'd expect, but it's very slight. Those London backdrops look gorgeous and evoke the watercolor backgrounds of the original film.

Audio:
The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, with French and Spanish language tracks as well, and subtitles in French and Spanish. The tonal quality is rich, and the soundtrack makes good use of the effects speakers.

Extras:
There's an additional game here, but the trade-off is that the DTS option from the previous release is now gone. There's obviously only so much room on a disc.

Kids will enjoy a "Dog-umentary" that has a pack of dogs visiting the studio for a start-to-finish primer on animation. It's well done, and pitched at young viewers who will better appreciate what they've seen after watching this. A "Thunderbolt: A Look Inside" is fun in-character extra that allows kids to go inside Thunderbolt's trailer and click on different materials, including bloopers, commercials, and fan mail. Both features are under seven minutes. Two music videos ("Try Again," "You're the One") are also included from the first DVD, along with a "Lost in London" game that's really a primer on London's most famous sights that you have to click on the right answer in order to get a live-action clip and "tour" of the site.

New to this title is "Patch's Twilight Adventure Game," one of the most complicated games Disney has included on one of its direct-to-video sequels. Players first have to select the right four puzzle pieces in order to obtain a "clue," and then go to a map of London and search for that section. Once you click there, players get rather difficult games that involve counting. Like, count the purple butterflies moving left to right (when a lot of them seem to be moving back and forth or up and down) or count how many chickens are left in a hen house (when they keep entering and leaving). Even your astute, math-driven child will find this challenging. But on one level, where you have to match the arrows that fly from Cruella's car, the game doesn't work with all DVD remotes. Better to try this one on the computer.

Bottom Line:
There are far worse sequels out there than "Patch's London Adventure." At times, this one has a Saturday morning feel to it. But it's certainly worth adding to the family video library, because it's the kind of film that has enough going on to where it will probably prompt repeat play.

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