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101 Dalmatians

101 Dalmatians

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sadly never included when reviewing Disney's best work...
Review: I have recently rediscovered 101 Dalmations as my 18 month old son insists on watching it every single day. What has surprised me is that I have not even remotely grown tired of it and it grows in appeal with each watch.

Never really up there when people consider the best Disney animated features - Jungle Book, Snow White etc. usually take the acclaim - I think it is one of the finest and more subtle of the Disney movies.

The story is wonderful and well adapted for a wider audience. Cruella is evil personified and there are great comic moments - slapstick for the kids and cunning wordplay for the adults.

Some of the animation is not of the highest quality - check out some of the snow scenes and they don't quite ring true. But overall the movie has a endearing tone and feel.

One major criticism, as with nearly all Disney and Beuna Vista DVDs, is that there are no good extras. What is the point of this excellent new format if idiots in huge companies don't use it to its full potential?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of Disney's funnest films!
Review: Pongo and Perdita are the proud parents of 15 dalmatian puppies. When an old friend of the family, Cruella De Ville, shows up offering to buy all the pups, the trouble begins. Soon it's a madcap, fun-filled race to find 99 missing puppies before they're turned into coats!

This is a classic Disney animated film. It contains several wonderful, memorable moments... such as Cruella's confrontation with Roger, and the courtship of Roger and Anita.

The animation is bar none. As far as stylized, caricaturized animation goes, this is one of the top five to watch for believable, fluid movement. The characters, mostly, are unique and unforgettagle.

The score is par for the course, though it has the same feel as the score for Jungle Book. (Dalmatians actually came out first...) The three actual songs in the film are quite hummable and entertaining, but this is definitely not what one may categorize as a musical.

For sheer entertainment, 101 Dalmatians is at its best during the suspense scenes, of which there are many. Quite an interesting (and somewhat scary...) movie.

Anyone who is picky about their animation will notice the re-use of many "cycles", which was pretty much a necessity when you're talking about drawing 99 puppies running through the snow.

In addition, there are a few points in the movie where the action wanes and the plot slows down a little too much. That's about the worst thing I can say about the story...

Overall impression: 101 Dalmatians is a must-have for your movie library. Though the video is currently out of production, it is still available on DVD. Animators and hopeful in particular will find a great reference piece in this film.

And Cruella DeVille is cool...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Disney's 17th Animated Masterpiece!
Review: To refresh the Disney Company from the financial failure of Sleeping Beauty, the company released 101 Dalmatians, a some sort of plot-less story that kind of started a weak plot era which continued until the great storyline designed in The Rescuers. Back to the film it is the story of Pongo, a dog who falls in love with Perdita and they together have 15 puppies that later become kidnapped by the evil Cruella Devil, who wants the puppies to make herself huge furr coats. The film is nicely animated although the characters aren't exactly the most memorable ones ever but I guess I enjoyed this film more than I thought.

Like all the other Limited Issue DVDs, this DVD brings very little or not any bonus features. Luckily this film has been officially announced to be part of the Platinum Edition line, which will give 101 Dalmatians, the treatment it deserves.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Delightful story with puppies that will steal your heart
Review: It was a stroke of genius for the legendary Disney Studio to decide to remake their classic 1961 animated feature "101 Dalmatians", as a live action feature. Never a great fan of remakes, I feel this story is a natural for a live action version and on first viewing it totally won me over. It has so much to offer viewers of all ages, whether it be its 99 gorgeous Dalmatian puppies that would melt the heart of any dog lover, a top class production with terrific sets, locations and stunts or a wonderfully wicked villianess in the incomparable Cruella De Vil played to perfection by gifted actress Glenn Close.

The film follows closely the original story and tells the tale of London couple Roger and Anita who meet through a Dalmatian dog mixup in a London Park and fall in love, marry and find themselves the happy "parents" of 15 beautiful Dalmatian puppies when their Dalmatians Pongo and Perdita begin a family of their own. Their happiness is short lived however when Anita's boss the dastardly Cruella De Vil spots the puppies and immediately makes plans to have the puppies kidnapped so that she can turn their pelts into the extravagant spotted fur coat she has always dreamed of having. What ensures is a comical tale full of laughs, great stunts and hilarious situations of the "boo the villian, cheer the dogs" variety. The Dalmatian parents, with the aid of many assorted members of the animal kingdom from woodpeckers, squirrels, and assorted sheep pigs, and dogs not only succeed in tracking down the missing puppies in their hideout but also outwit Cruella and her incompetent accomplices at every turn. The animals revenge on Cruella and her accomplices makes for most of the humour as they find themselves being dumped through falling roofs, landing in tubs of gooey molasses and being smelled out by skunks!

No expense was spared on this production and indeed all the live action characters bare an amazing resemblance to their cartoon counterparts. Gleen Close towers over the whole production in her performance as Disney Studios most famous villianess the totally over the top Cruella De Vil. Her makeup, hair styles and clothing is everything you would imagine Cruella to be. It is to the credit of Glenn Close that she succeeds totally in bringing to life such a well known and "loved" cartoon villianess. A supremely talented actress as seen in such diverse roles as those in "Fatal Attraction", "Dangerous Liaisons", "Meeting Venus", and "Paradise Road" among others, she is a total riot as the bizzare fashion designer with an extreme fur fetish. It is she who makes "101 Dalmatians" such memorable viewing and her encounters with the animals in the second half of the film will have you laughing for ages. The sight of Cruella rising out of the tub of molasses where she has been unceremoniously dumped by the animal brigade will bring fits of laughter to the viewer. The film also boasts the great talents of Jeff Daniels and the lovely Joely Richardson as Roger and Anita the loving couple drawn to each other by their fondness for Dalmatians, and the gifted Joan Plowright as Anita's former Nanny who finds herself performing the role again but this time for the 15 puppies in the house. Much of the comedy stems from the great playing by Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams as the wacky Jasper and Horace employed by Cruella who's job it is to steal the puppies for Cruella. They receive the main brunt of the animals "revenge" to great comic effect as does John Shrapnel in the role of the sinister scarred Skinner who is employed to turn the puppies coats into Cruella's new coat. The animal stunts performed in this film will have you gasping as the animals seem top take on human personalities of their own to brilliant effect. The location photography around London and in the snow scenes at Cruella's hideaway also create a very pleasing look to the film.

I never fail to watch "101 Dalmatians" without finding a smile appearing on my face. It is a totally delightful film that is just as much for adults as it is children which is a real credit to the Disney Studios. Glenn Close really makes the film a viewing experience with her over the top playing here but if you are in anyway a dog lover you can't help but be totally captivated by these delightful 101 spotted creatures charming the audience in "101 Dalmatians". Enjoy!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disney's 17th Animated Masterpiece!
Review: To refresh the Disney Company from the finacial failure of Sleeping Beauty, they decided to use a more modern form of literature and make that into a film, from there came 101 Dalmatians.

This film is the story of Pongo, a sort of lonely dalmatian dog who lives with his human "pet" Roger in an old apartment in the city of London. Well, Pongo thinks it's time to find a mate, a mate for him, and a mate for his "pet". After searching for a while he meets Perdita, immediatly he knows he's found the perfect match, same with Anita, Perdita's "pet", the perfect match for the bachelor Dodger. After they get married, Pongo and Perdita have 15 puppies, and believe happiness has come for them. But Anita's old school mate, Cruella DeVil, has placed her eyes on the puppies, and won't stop until she gets her hands on them, or better, her two henchmen Jasper and Horace get hands on them and skin them, so that she can make furr coats out of them.

Personally, I did not enjoy this movie much. In my opinion it's pretty overrated, I mean the plot and story are simply boring and unimaginative, the animation style is horrible, and the backgrounds look plain cheap, they seem like a bunch of water-color/pencil drawings. The songs and soundtrack are pretty dull. It is funny how people consider the 70's and 80's as Disney's time of forgetable and cheap films, well really, the 60's is the worst decade in Disney history, to begin, this and "The Sword in the Stone" were released, I really don't know which of the two is cheaper, then "The Jungle Book" doesn't have the greatest animation, but it is more fun and entertaining than the previous two. To finish it up, in this decade Walt Disney died.

Still, 101 Dalmatians was released for the first time ever on Disney DVD as part of the Limited Issue collection. Like all other titles under this label, the lack of bonus features does not go unoticed, I don't own this DVD so I don't remember what is in it, but I know it is over prized for what it contains. 101 Dalmatians got an undeserved spot in the platinum edition collection, which will take this film to the ultimate treatment. So, neither the film or the DVD is really worth it, so I'd wait until a better release.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A disney masterpiece!
Review: Set in London, a handsome bachelor with his pet Dalmatian Pongo seeks eyes on a beautiful Dalmatian with a beautiful owner. When the two pets and owners meet each other, love comes and marriage as well, the dogs now have 50 puppies. However the evil Cruella Diville wants to her hands on her employee's puppies but the puppies go off on many adventures.
An entertaining animated achivement with Xerox animation and graphics, good voice acting and the memorable "Cruella Diville" song make this a must see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 101 Thumbs Up!!!!
Review: The animated version of this is tremendous. This is the first Disney movie that I have ever owned, and I still have it after 10 or more years. I'm 18 now, but I can't stop loving this movie. I think it is my favorite Disney movie, and one of the most enchanting, and enduring movies of all time. I just watched it the other day, and i still think it is brilliant. It's a movie for kids and adults alike to love and cherish forever.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: CORNY!
Review: One of the WORST films by Disney is this "101 Dalmations", which is a live-action version of the original cartoon movie & is nowhere near as good. All it was is just a retelling of the story obviously, but very little excitement and fun, bad acting and cheesy, cheesy, cheesy special effects. (not to mention the jokes sucked!) It is also TOO short! They could've added in more and it would've been better but it all ended too soon. Disney is really going downhill with these sequels and remakes and I suggest that they STOP now!! How anybody could like this film is beyond me! This is the stupidest, crappiest movie remake ever! Save your money and buy the original cartoon version instead cause it's 100% better than this smelly pile of dog crap! Your kids will also like it more.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ALWAYS ENTERTAINING!
Review: I just got to share this movie with my 4 year old granddaughter and just like the one before her (who is now 8) we had a great time viewing it.
Her eyes widened as she met the evil Cruella, who wanted those poor little puppies so she could have a coat. "Why would someone want to do that Grammie?" her little voice asked me.
How cute is that? This is a great movie, full of enough action for the little one, not a complicated storyline so they can easily follow along, sprinkled with chuckles here and there and ending on a very happy note. Lots of fun!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Classic For Every Generation!
Review: 101 Dalmatians is a GREAT film! Kids will be rolling over laughing and be awestruck by what happens! Cruella De Vill wants a coat and will do anything to get it. But, this coat is going to be made of Dalmatian fur!Watch the rest of the movie and see if Cruella's cruel wishes come true. It is definitely NOT a boring film and I can't resist watching it once in a while!!!!


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