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I really had high hopes for this one; Glenn Close reprising
her role as Cruella and Gérard Depardieu as her costar.
However, it really is just more of the same, and sadly even
sillier than the first. This time, Close is just too over-the-top
to really be as delicious as she was in the first outing.
Even the slapstick at the end as she gets her comeuppance
from the animals (again) is not as funny. The romantic leads
are duller than dishwater as well, and there is no Joan
Plowright to add an extra dollop of much needed class and
humor. Still, from reading the other reviews on Amazon,
there must be a place in people's hearts for this film...I
would guess that children (very young children) might find
it amusing, although some of the plot material is a little
unsettling: plenty of talk about killing animals and taxidermy,
red paint thrown at a fur coat to simulate blood during
an animal protest, as well as some of the prison/makeshift
psychiatric hospital scenes thatare also disturbing.***
On to the plot: years after the first movie, Cruella
has spent time in a prison facility where she has been undergoing
psychiatric treatment (including electro-shock therapy)
to make her have an aversion to fur coats. Her successful
treatment allows her to be paroled, and she is back on the
streets. Coincidentally, her parole officer Chloe owns Dipstick,
one of the Dalmatians that Cruella terrorized in the first
movie. During her first appointment with Chloe, Cruella
coincidentally notices a photo of an animal shelter on Chloe's
desk and decides to be its benefactor. Dipstick & Dottie
(Chloe's other dalmatian) also (coincidentally) are about
to have a litter of pups...just in time for Cruella's treatment
to wear off during visit #2 to Chloe, when the sounding
of Big Ben's clock chimes (which coincidentally happens
just as she is sitting in Chloe's office where her dalmatians
just coincidentally happen to be roosting at the moment).***
Now that she is back into fur coats again, Cruella drags
out Anita's sketch of the infamous dalmatian fur coat from
movie #1 and decides she wants 102 dalmatians this time...enough
to make a hood, too. She teams up with furrier Jean-Pierre
LePelt (Depardieu). Jean-Pierre is a cross between a punk-rocker
and Liberace...not really sure where the writers were going
with this character.
Naturally, there is chemistry between Chloe and the
owner of the animal shelter (at least on script there is),
and they team up to keep Cruella from killing the dalmatians
for her new coat.
Although the story is lacking, the special effects are
wonderful. The costume, hair, and set designers did a spectacular
job as well...if only the story had been as carefully planned.
Sigh...
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| Special
Features: |
On a bright note, this DVD really has some amazing extras,
which is surprising since the new release of the live action
101 Dalmatians is totally devoid of extras. Here's what
you get:
*Deleted scene: "Cruella's Release," which shows more
details about what happens as she is getting out of prison...amusing,
but not really missed from the movie.
*3 featurettes: "Creating Cruella" (includes interviews
with Close), "Animal Actors," and "Designing Dalmatians."
*Audio commentary w/director Kevin Lima and the animal
coordinator/trainers
*"Puppy Action Overload" music video with puppy auditions,
outtakes, and scenes from the film
*"Dalmatians 101": featurette on how to pick a dog
that fits your personality, covered with scenes from the
film, narrated by Eric Idle, who voice Waddlesworth the
parrot who thinks he's a rotteweiler in the film.
*Theatrical Trailer
*"Visual Effects 102" shows how spots were digitally
removed, how they made the parrot talk, and more.
*DVD-Rom feature: "Cruella's Costume Creator."
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