102 Dalmatians (DVD)
APPROX. 100 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2000 - MPA RATING: G
" We can only hope that no one at Disney can count to 103.
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Sometimes, Disney lovers, you just wish the studio would quit while they're ahead . . . or at least not too far behind. Every film is not worthy of a sequel, much less a sequel to a remake.
How else would you describe "102 Dalmatians," the live-action sequel to "101 Dalmatians," which was a live-action version of the beloved 1961 classic Disney animated film? Except, perhaps, to say that as watchable as the first live-action film turned out to be, this follow-up was surprisingly dreadful--like, How could they do this to us? dreadful!
The first live-action film fought the impulse to go Disney Channel over-the-top, but the sequel caves in to insipid silliness and all things inane. Glenn Close returns as Cruella DeVil, but, surrounded by outrageous characters and an outrageously bad script this time around, she can't do a thing to keep this film from becoming a sad parody of the first one.
Neither can director Kevin Lima, who had previously handled behind-the-camera chores on the respectable "A Goofy Movie" (1995) and the much-heralded "Tarzan" (1999), and who would rebound from this awful outing with "Enchanted" (2007). The screenplay from Kristen Buckley ("How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days") may be based on a novel by Dodie Smith, as the first animated film was, but the lines themselves and the way that the scenes are constructed and strung together spell disaster. The final result is so dumb that it's painful to watch, if you're an adult. The only pleasure comes for Gerard Depardieu-haters, who will giggle and snort as they watch him parade around as a Haute culture French designer who looks more like he just wandered off the set of the live-action "Flintstones" . . . or "Road Warrior."
But, you know how it is with fashion. One day you're in, and the next day you're out. Out are Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson as Roger and Anita (and probably pointing heavenward by now, in appreciation), while this time around the male-female leads are handled by Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans.
The first film ended with Cruella being carted off to jail, and the second begins with Cruella being "rehabilitated" by a guy named Pavlov (I'm not kidding) and being released on parole. Her officer, Chloe (Evans), doesn't seem alarmed at all to be dealing with this woman with half-black and half-white hair, even though her own pet is a Dalmatian. In fact, it's one pup from the first film all grown up now, the black-tailed doggie known as "Dipstick" (not to be confused with anyone running for public office). But more coincidental and unbelievable than that, somehow a guy who runs a doggie shelter bankrolled by the DeVil empire is in line to get the full 8 million pounds that Cruella has left if she reverts to her old ways. So in a convoluted plot, Cruella of course DOES backslide, and she has her new henchmen try to frame Kevin (Gruffudd) so that a) the police are thrown off the track of her own dognapping, and b) she can retain her fortune. It's same-old same-old as puppies are grabbed and waiting to be skinned (or rescued).
So where does Depardieu come in? He plays a rival designer who ends up going into dastardly business with Cruella. And the two of them fuel each other's over-the-top performances. There's nothing understated or controlled about either one. They both go for comic-book lunacy, and probably go beyond that.
The major change between the two live-action Dalmatian films is that the studio gave in to the talking animal impulse this time around, with a parrot named Waddlesworth (voiced by Eric Idle) who thinks he's a dog. Idle does a great job and it's funny for a while, but like everything else in this film, the routine gets old awfully fast. Dumb routines like Kevin grabbing the rope in his teeth for a tug-o-war against a breed of dog known for its jaw-strength dot the unbelievable (and I mean that in the worst possible way) landscape of this film. There are occasional funny lines, as when Cruella's rival is doused with a bucket of paint from an animal rights demonstrator and she quips, "Demonstrators? I thought they were critics." But by and large, the lines aren't anything to even smile over.
