Susan Granger’s review of “102 DALMATIANS” (Walt Disney Pictures)
In this highly anticipated sequel to “101 Dalmatians” (Thanksgiving, 1997), the spiky-haired villainess Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close) is released from prison after promising that she will give up her dream of wearing the ultimate Dalmatian fur coat. To prove her good intentions, she wears a coat made of garbage bags, trimmed with bubble wrap. But, being the vicious, fur-lusting liar that she is, she is soon plotting another “fur-ocious” scheme to terrorize the spotted canines. Now she’s pursuing them through the streets of Paris. And there’s a fantastic Parisian-bakery scene in which Cruella chases some puppies into a cake-making machine and the dogs flip the “on” switch. It’s quite a sight to see the sadistic Cruella sliding on a baking pan, which looks like a bobsled, into a massive bowl of cake batter. If this isn’t an upcoming Disney theme park ride, I’ll crumble my dog biscuits! The canine characters include Dipstick, the son of 101’s Pongo and Perdy, and Dottie with their pups: Domino, Little Dipper and Oddball, who has all-white fur, no spots. Actually, computer wizardry removed Oddball’s spots; once Dalmatians hit a certain age, they are no longer spot-free. Preying on her black-and-white spotted-fur fetish, Cruella’s lured back into puppy-napping by a French furrier, Jean Pierre La Pelt (Gerard Depardieu), while Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd try to protect the Dalmatians while falling into puppy love themselves. Directed by Kevin Lima, the production is even more elaborate and outrageous this time ’round as the devilish De Vil romps around doing her dirty deeds. And the 102nd pelt is necessary because, this time, Cruella wants her Dalmatian coat to have a hood. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “102 Dalmatians” is a G-rated, entertaining 8. Puppies, puppies, puppies!
