Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #253115 in DVD
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish

Amazon.com essential video
It's hard to know who thought it would be a good idea to make a live-action version of Disney's animated classic. The one bright notion anyone had was casting Glenn Close as Disney über-villainess Cruella de Vil; her flashing eyes and angular features are a perfect match and do credit to what is one of the most indelible animated characters Disney has ever created. The story remains essentially the same, focusing on Cruella's plot to kidnap the puppies of a young married couple (Jeff Daniels and Jolie Richardson) and make them into a coat. But the dreaded John Hughes, who wrote this script, fills it with sadistic slapstick and far too few genuine laughs. The human actors work hard, but to little avail; thankfully, there's a passel of puppies to regularly steal scenes when the going gets dreary--although there are only so many laughs to be had from inappropriate dog puddles. --Marshall Fine

From The New Yorker
The remake from hell. In the new live-action version, directed by Stephen Herek, the dogs no longer talk but merely cock their heads and bark, and the humans, led by Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson, go through the whole affair with a sort of dazed, disbelieving look, as well they might. In her initial scenes as Cruella DeVil, Glenn Close displays a certain scarlet relish for her own monstrosity. But by the end, the charm and delicacy of the 1961 cartoon have long been replaced by laborious gross-outs. Is this now official Disney policy? -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Delightful story with puppies that will steal your heart
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!

Finally, here comes a long overdue release from Disney's Vault!
this is a great live-action take on the original classic starring two-time Golden Globe winning actress, Glenn Close. This DVD has been out of print for several years now, and is long overdue for a new release. Currently the cheapest that you can buy the only other dvd version of this film, is at $55 dollars, which is used in an "acceptable" condition. I really would like to update my disney collection, and I am very happy that they are releasing this DVD. Although, I do prefer the animated version, I do like the acting performance of Glenn Close's greatly convincing role as Cruella Devil and Joan Plowright's perfect fitting role as the Nanny. Any Disney collector would definitely be excited that this classic, which actually generated $320,689,294 in theatre sales, when it was released in 1996, is being brought back out of the disney vault for the first time in 9 years!!!!!

Bored Me Silly
I never felt myself really irritated by having to sit through a film, until I watched this.

Too much "action-packed". Too "over the top". I found my thoughts drifting to how much wasted energy on the part of thew actors. and what a waste of special effects.

The "hilarious" ending where Glenn Close is being made into a cake was so far fetched and so long. I thought this film would never end.

It's silly and ridiculous and seems to last an eternity.

This is not a movie for children. They will not enjoy cruelty to animals or the horrible main character.