102 Dalmatians (DVD)

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Watching Cruella get hers as she's dumped with raw eggs and flour and mixed into a batter and baked into a cake, I couldn't help but sympathize with poor Glenn Close. Make that empathize, because watching this film I knew exactly how she felt.

Video:
This color feature was digitally mastered. It's presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions, and as you'd expect from a Disney offering the production values are solid. Colors are bright, and there's only a hint grain and (in some scenes) noise. There's also a little drop-off in color saturation in several exterior shots, but overall it's a decent picture.

Audio:
The audio is even more impressive, with an English DTS 5.1 the favored option because it's the more dynamic soundtrack. The alternative is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, with French and Spanish language tracks as well and Spanish subtitles. The tone is pure, the spread across the front speakers is nice and wide, and the dialogue, music, and effects are modulated so that they don't compete with one another.

Extras:
Lima seems at a loss for words at times on the commentary track, but so would I. The most interesting sections involve the animal coordinators and trainers, who have plenty to say about one of the film's continued strengths--the use of animals. But the level of information is pretty surface throughout, and there are dead spots here and there. You'd think with four people that someone would have something to say.

The rest of the bonus features are considerably shorter. A single deleted scene ("Cruella's release") isn't all that much, and neither is "Puppy Action Overload," a brief clip montage set to music and combined with outtakes. The trailer is a throwaway, and for people without a PC so is "Cruella's Costume Creator," which is a DVD-ROM bonus (several other DVD-ROM features are accessible). That leaves a PSA from Disney on "How to Pick a Dog that Fits Your Personality" (which complements numerous warnings throughout that the studio is not trying to encourage anyone to run out and buy a cute little Dalmatian puppy) and four short features.

Those who thought the parrot was really talking might not want to watch "Visual Effects 102," which shows how it was done. In the film, there's only one part where the bird looks a bit like the ratty animatronic robin from "Mary Poppins." Other than that, it all looks superbly real. Then there are three behind-the-scenes featurettes on "Creating Cruella," "Animal Actors," and "Designing Dalmatians." The latter has the most meat and provides a decent overview of production design, but animal lovers will still enjoy the brief bonus feature on the trainers and their tricks (don't try this at home).

Bottom Line:
"102 Dalmatians" is a shrill movie that tries too hard to be zany and funny, and ends up being neither. We can only hope that no one at Disney can count to 103.

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