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Cruella de Vil, Cruella de Vil, if over-priced vanilla DVDs don’t scare you, no evil thing will…

I’m not quite sure who convinced Disney to convert one of their popular, not-quite-top-tier animated films into a live-action feature, but the gamble paid off. 101 Dalmatians made more than $300 million worldwide on its theatrical run, and when you consider how much kids love familiarity within their entertainment, that’s not too surprising. What’s more of a surprise is how odd a beast the film really is, managing to simultaneously duplicate the basic experience of watching the original, while reworking the story into something that functions as a film with actors, sets and trained animals. I remember a family friend taking me to see it when it came you out in 1996, and as a dog-loving pre-teen, I was pleased. In the years since, however, I’ve seen the animated version multiple times…but never again have I ventured to watch the remake. I didn’t even bother with the sequel, 102 Dalmatians. Why is that?

Well, as it turns out, the answer is pretty simple. While the live-action film takes the time to expand upon the romance between the two humans – Roger (Jeff Daniels) and Anita (Joely Richardson) – the story with the dogs is actually diminished, a somewhat natural by-product of the decision to keep a semblance of reality and not have the dogs talk. Because the dogs don’t talk, we are left to their inherent cuteness, as well as a few manipulated “knowing looks,” to give them any sort of character at all. Can you carry a full-length feature on that? Well, no, of course not. So what did Disney do? They brought in the comedy humans.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s some very good (if completely over-the-top) comic acting in this film, and throughout the first half, that’s what’s going to keep any adult or older child entertained. Sure, it’s already a little weird watching familiar British character actors wandering in and out of a Disney film (including Joan Plowright, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Fraser, and the one everyone will notice now, Hugh Laurie!). But it’s Glenn Close who steals the show as Cruella de Vil - a giant surprise to nobody – and it’s Close that everyone wants to see. With that in mind, putting the burden of the film’s second act on her two henchmen, Horace (Mark Williams) and Jasper (Hugh Laurie) is…a slightly risky proposition, and the filmmakers utilize it the only way they can: by imitating Home Alone and those crazy burglars, of course. And that’s exactly when the film descends from a funny, friendly, just-this-side-of-zany family comedy into a little kids’ movie.

This is all very interesting when you consider that Disney had recently had a hit with Homeward Bound (1993), another remake of a 30-year-old film, focusing on the incredible adventures of two dogs and a cat, with one rather major difference: talking. Not literal talking, to be sure, but characterized voiceovers in the style of the Look Who’s Talking series. With the popularity of that film, and a sequel opening within months of 101 Dalmatians, why the choice was made to limit the animals in this film to anthropomorphized body language is absolutely beyond me. The original animated film was already a sanitized and simplified version of Dodie Smith’s charming novel, The Hundred and One Dalmatians; this version is doubly so. Halfway through, it simply loses steam, and unless you’re about six years old, it doesn’t recover.

101 Dalmatians comes to DVD from Disney (who else!) and Buena Vista. The film is presented in an anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer which looks fine, if a touch grainy and dark; colors are not over-saturated, and whites have a tendency toward light greys or even an icy blue. However, picture quality is pleasantly crisp, with perfectly good black levels, and there is only the very, very occasional scratch or imperfection in the film.  The end result is comparable to a very clean but unremarkable transfer of a 1990s romantic comedy (very much the style in which the film is shot). Default audio is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track, but French and Spanish 2.0 tracks are also included, along with optional English subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The only real special feature included on the disc is what appears to be a 4:3 home video trailer for the film’s original release. Couldn’t Disney find the actual theatrical trailer? Oh, and there’s a menu selection for “Additional Titles,” which invites you to check out the cover art of other live-action Disney films. How very 1998!

The disc opens with a promo for, erm, Disney. That’s weird. Also included are trailers for Sleeping Beauty: Platinum Edition, Beverley Hills Chihuahua, 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure, Tinkerbell, and a promo for, God help us, the High School Musical DVD Game. A menu selection called “Sneak Peaks” includes all of these, as well as trailers for Wall-E, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Special Edition, Phineas and Ferb, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and Disney Movie Rewards. Oy.

I enjoyed revisiting 101 Dalmatians, and I’m glad I understand, now, why I’ve always preferred the animated version. There’s just something charming about the idea of our pets sharing their thoughts, dreams, and even a complex messaging system underneath our very noses. The live-action version is cute, and Glenn Close is a wonderful Cruella de Vil, but there’s just not enough here to really sustain interest. Too much slapstick, too little substance, and nonsensically priced at an SRP of $29.99 without any special features. If you love this film that much, I’m sure you already have the older DVD release. If you don’t…wait for a sale. A really, really big sale.

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