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Film Title: 101 Dalmatians

 Best for ages: 6 and up.

Movie Website: Click Here

Year Released: 1996

Rated: G (US)  G (CANADA)

SYNOPSIS

 101 DALMATIANS is a live action remake of the 1961 animated Disney classic. In this version, actress Glenn Close plays the evil Cruella De Vil, who is bent on getting her hands on a set of Dalmatian puppies to make herself a fur coat out of them. Cruella sends her cronies Jasper and Horace to kidnap the puppies from Anita who works for Cruella as a fashion designer and her husband Roger who own the parents of the puppies Perdita and Pongo.  Jasper and Horace succeed, and when  Perdita and Pongo realize their pups have been kidnapped they enlist the help of all the animals of London to help them track down the puppies and bring down Cruella and her gang.

VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language

  Disney did a good job with this one and threw some caution to the wind by toning down a lot of the violence that is in the original 1961 animated film. Sure Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil is really evil in this one and does doe a few things here and there that are mildly violent and yes she does smoke cigarette's in this live action film, but overall while she may scare some young kids I don't think any kids over the age of eight would even blink an eye at her in fear. Another concern also might be two of the film characters having a shotgun wedding only hours after they meet.  But other than that there is some cartoon like violence and some psychical violent contact, but no one gets hurt to the point where anything is serious and no one dies or gets killed in the movie which is a big plus.

   Other things include Pongo taking Roger for a run in the park in which Roger mistakes Perdita for Pongo and gets bopped on the head by Anita with her purse, and a life saving experience where Roger helps bring one of Pongo and Perdita puppies named Lucky back to life after he is born.  and of course you do have Cruella's fits of rage using words like fools and idiots to put people down.

OVERALL VIEWS

   I was lucky enough to get a tour of the set for this film in Disney studios back in 1998, which was tow years after the movie was filmed. It was a set on one of their sound stages and while I'm not sure if they shot many of the scenes there it was really cool to get a good look at some of the set design and art work used on the film. The filmmakers really made sure that the gave the movie the look of the cartoon while trying to bring the animated adventure to life.  Everything from Cruella's wardrobe to her home all resembled the likeliness of the 1961 animated feature.

   The movie in all it's entirely resembles that of the cartoon from 1961, the great cast which includes Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil, Jeff Daniels as Roger and Joely Richardson as Anita al fit perfectly in their roles compared to the characters of the animated film. While the dogs do not talk in the film, they do communicate with one another by barking at each other in an organized way. There is however some differences in the plot, as Roger is a video game designer and he and Anita are expecting a child in the film. Still despite some minor changes in an attempt to give the film a more up to date feel, the story is still the same. If your a fan of the Home Alone movies, you'll also be happy to know that John Hughes also wrote the script for this live action film along with writing partner Ricardo Mestres, While Hughes did not direct this film, it does have overtones that echo Home Alone, especially that of Cruella's thugs that she hires to kidnap the puppies.

   Overall, as an adult I enjoyed this one. It has all the elements that made the animated version so special and the performance by Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil is outstanding. I think some young kids might be scared of her however, as she really does do a good job at making the character of Cruella come off as this crazy, yet scary nut case. However, unless you child is sensitive to odd characters I think most kids will get a kick out of her and see her as a not so great person, who in the end gets what she deserves.

   The DVD does not have any bonus features but does include the films trailer and a few little things here and there. For the most part you really just get the film with this DVD in it's letterbox format. But the quality and picture look really good, and it's well worth buying just for the seer fact that it is a very good movie.

BUY THIS MOVIE.