101 DalmatiansDirected by Stephen Herek
Average customer review:
Product Description
UPC:786936769586
DESCRIPTION: Unleashing every ounce of Disney magic, 101 Dalmatians thrilled audiences of all ages with fast-paced adventure and comedy featuring a brilliant performance by five-time Academy Award® nominee Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil. Achieving new heights of hilarity, Disney s all-time classic puppy tale came to life as a worldwide box office sensation. In their small London flat, Dalmatians Pongo and Perdy, and their human pets Roger and Anita, are overjoyed by the arrival of 15 puppies. But when the spotted-fur-loving Ms. De Vil and her clumsy cohorts, Jasper and Horace, dognap the litter along with every other Dalmatian pup in London Pongo and Perdy must rally the town s animals to their rescue. The plan hurls them towards a thrilling climax filled with uproarious moments as the puppies attempt to outwit their captors and bring on a final showdown with Cruella!
Packed with the largest and cutest collection of puppies ever brought to film, 101 Dalmatians also features a superb cast of talented humans, including Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson and Joan Plowright. Now you can bring home Disney s live-action comedy hit, praised by critics as nothing short of phenomenal!
END
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1205 in DVD
- Released on: 2008-09-16
- Rating: G (General Audience)
- Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
- Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Original language: English, Spanish
- Dubbed in: French, Spanish
- Number of discs: 1
- Running time: 103 minutes
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
One of my childhood favorites.
I have to admit, like "Toy Story," "101 Dalmatians" was one of my favorite childhood favorites from Disney. Although the worst part of the film was that Cruella DeVille use to give me the freaks. But I would have to admit that even though she still gives me the freaks, Glenn Close's performance is actually pretty good.
The movie tells the story of a guy named Roger who has a dog named Pongo and then he falls in love with a lady named Anita. Anita has a dog named Pertie. But the real catch of the dog is that they are dalmatians. Soon, Roger and Anita get married and together they have their own life with their maid Nanny.
The family soon gets puppies, which are dalmatians, but the one thing that is bothering them is that Cruela DeVille wants to kidnap them. She hires her two best friends, Jesper and Horace, to kidnap them. Pongo and Pertie want to find their missing puppies.
The DVD doesn't offer too much but sneak peeks. But it's still a great movie and a fun movie to watch. Different from the cartoon version, but that's all right. I was at least entertained with the movie and now we also have "102 Dalmatians" for me to finish.
Glenn Close steals the show
Disney remade their classic animated film of the same name 35 years after the original, as a live-action movie in 1996. The tale is familiar to most: two Dalmatians, Pongo & Perdy, bring their owners together. Roger (Jeff Daniels) and Anita (Joely Richardson) fall in love almost at first site when they meet in the park. They get married and their Dalmatians have puppies. Sounds like a lovely romantic tale, right? It would be if it weren't for Anita's boss, the evil Cruella de Vil (Glenn Close). Cruella is a fashionista who loves fur...and her latest desire is to own a coat made of Dalmatian fur. When she learns that Anita's dog has had a litter of 15, she sets her sites on them to make her desire come true. Anita & Roger turn down her offer, so she sends her bumbling minions Jasper & Horace (Hugh Laurie & Mark Williams respectively) to steal them for her.
Does it equal the original? No, not really...but this is not a surprise. How could you top Marc Davis' animation of Cruella, one of the most memorable characters in animation history? Still, you have to give Glenn Close much credit for making Cruella her own...remove her and you have little reason to watch this film. With her fright wig and amazingly over the top costumes, Close truly comes close...she is an evil delight to watch as she barks orders (pun intended) and does everything in her power to make the fur coat a reality. Laurie (now starring in the hit series "House") and Williams are excellent as her bumbling henchman. The animals are also lots of fun to watch, as they often show that they are much smarter than their human counterparts.
Note to parents: this movie is somewhat darker than the animated versions, with a few creepy scenes with the taxidermist. Nothing major, but still parents might want to be careful as Glenn Close's characterization is more frightening and nightmare inducing than her animated namesake.
Sadly and surprisingly, there are no extras on this DVD other than a theatrical trailer. The widescreen (2:35:1) picture is excellent (enhanced for 16x9 TVs), and there is a wonderful Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix.
Overall, an enjoyable film that is bumped up a few notches thanks to Glenn Close's performance.
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!!!!!
