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Film Title: 102 Dalmatians

 Best for ages: 4 and up.

Movie Website: Click Here

Year Released: 2008

Rated: G (US)

SYNOPSIS

   102 Dalmatians takes place three years after the first film where Cruella De Vil is undergoing therapy for her rage under the supervision of  psychologist named Dr. Pavlov, whom has created a cure for her madness. She is soon up for parole and with the help of Dr. Pavlov new cure, she proves to the parole board that she no longer hates dogs and is even seen playing with a group of puppies. She is soon released but under the condition that if she goes back to her old ways all of het money will be donated to all the local animal shelters. With a new lease on life, Cruella decides to invest some of her fortune to a animal shelter that is having trouble staying in business. The shelter is run by a guy named Kevin who finds himself falling for Cruella' parole officer, Chloe.  when a disruption caused by the clock "Big Ben" affects the treatment that Cruella is under, she soon goes back to her old ways. With the help of a fashion designer Jean Pierre Le Pelt, Cruella kidnaps a bunch of Dalmatians from the shelter and head to Paris to make her a fur coat, with a hood this time.  Kevin and Chloe soon realize she is back to het old ways and go on a mission to save the puppies from Cruella, in hopes to stop her from succeeding in making the perfect fur coat for herself.

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VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language

   There is not a lot to really push a parent over the top in terms of content in this film, however like the first one there are things that parents should be concerned about. First thing is the overall violence in the film. While no one is hurt really bad or killed; towards the end of the film there is a lot of fighting and yelling between our hero's and villains. There is the dogs biting the villains in the butt a few times, A villain gets his finger crushed by a moving cart, Cruella's partner in crime holds a knife in his hand talks about how he likes to skin the dogs, and then there is the overall scene in which the dogs bake Cruella into a cake, despite the fact it seems as if she in unharmed by the ovens heat. For the most part the violence has an element of comedy that is more similar to what would happen in a cartoon than in real life.

   As far as graphic content, while there is really nothing that will make you as a parent want to hide your children eyes in fear, there are a few things involving fashion that might be a concern, such as Jean Pierre Le Pelt acting like an oddball wearing a lion's hide shorts with the lions head mounted between his legs. There is also a scene in which clothes are taken off by a model during a fashion show revealing a skimpy outfit underneath.  There is also the fact that Cruella smokes in the film, although it's really only in one or two scenes in this film, and she also is shown drinking as well. Other than the things listed above there is really not a lot to worry about, there is no profane language in the film at all so there is no worries on that front.

OVERALL VIEWS

   While the only Glenn Close is returning to the role of Cruella De Vil, and the rest of the cast from the first film is no where to be found in this sequel, a whole other story begins. We see a much nicer calmer Cruella at the beginning one who loves dogs and can't stand the site of fur. It is kind of weird, but once the spell on her is broken we see the old Cruella back in action again and there is no one better than Glenn Close to keep the evil character alive. Staring in the role of Kevin is Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evan as Chole. Also Gérard Depardieu stars as the French fur villain Jean Pierre Le Pelt. The acting in the movie is very good, even the animals seem to know how to hit their mark, and overall everyone did a good job in their roles.

   The films production value is not as good as the first film, but it still hold up. Cruella outfits and hair style are out of this world once again and are the real center pieces of the films overall look and feel. While the sets slightly resemble those of of the first film they are not in line of that of the 1961 animated feature, where in the first film you got that feel. Still, I found this film to be more kid friendly than the first, as we do get a nicer Cruella in this film than we do in the first one.

   Unlike the new DVD for the first film, while only has the movie on it, the DVD for 102 Dalmatians has plenty of special features. They include, a deleted scene of Cruella's release from prison, Three behind the scenes featurettes- Creating Cruella, Animal Actors and Designing Dalmatians. Audio Commentary with Director Kevin Lima, and the animal coordinator and trainers. Puppy Action Overload which features puppy auditions, outtakes, great scenes from the movie music video style, Dalmatians 101: How to pick a dog that fits your personality, Narrated by Waddlesworth, and the theatrical trailer.  The DVD also has a DVD-ROM interactive feature which includes "Visual Effects 102" and "Cruella's Costume Creator".

   Overall, while it's not as good as the first movie it's still a good movie. I found it to be more toned down than the first one and would say that 102 Dalmatians is much more suitable for children ages four and up. It still has some some things here there as listed above that might be of concern, but overall it's a fun film for the whole family.

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