101 Dalmatians (1996 film)

''101 Dalmatians'' is a 1996 American adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Great Oaks Entertainment, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Directed by Stephen Herek from a screenplay by John Hughes (who co-produces the film), it is a live-action remake of the 1961 animated film '' One Hundred and One Dalmatians'', which was based on the 1956 novel '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' by Dodie Smith. The film stars Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, and John Shrapnel. Unlike the 1961 original film, none of the animals speak.

''101 Dalmatians'' was released on November 27, 1996, and grossed $320.7 million in theaters against a $67 million budget, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1996, despite receiving mixed reviews. Close was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, while the film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair.

Plot

American video game designer Roger Dearly lives with his pet Dalmatian Pongo in London. Roger develops a video game featuring dog chase, but it is rejected because the villain is inadequate. His attempts to redesign the game prove unsatisfactory.

One day, Pongo sets his eyes on Perdita, another Dalmatian. After a chase that ends in St James's Park, Roger discovers that Pongo likes Perdita. Her owner, Anita Campbell-Green, falls in love with Roger when they meet. When they return to Roger's home, Anita accepts his proposal. They get married along with Perdita and Pongo. Anita works as a fashion designer at the House of de Vil. Her boss, Cruella de Vil, has a deep passion for fur, going so far as to have a taxidermist, Mr. Skinner, skin a white tiger at the London Zoo to make her into a rug for her. Anita, inspired by her Dalmatian, designs a coat made with spotted fur. Cruella is intrigued by the idea of making garments out of actual Dalmatians, and finds it amusing that it would seem as if she was wearing Anita's dog.

Perdita gets pregnant, and so does Anita. Cruella visits their home and becomes excited when she learns that Perdita is expecting. Weeks later, she returns when a litter of 15 puppies are born and offers Roger and Anita £7,500 for them, but they refuse. Enraged, Cruella dismisses Anita and vows revenge against her and Roger. One winter evening, she has her henchmen, Jasper and Horace, break into their home and steal the puppies, while the couple is walking in the park with Pongo and Perdita. Along with 84 other Dalmatians that were previously stolen, they deliver them to her broken-down country estate, De Vil Mansion. Cruella asks Skinner to kill and skin them to create her coat.

With the family devastated at the loss of their puppies, Pongo uses the twilight bark to carry the message via the dogs and other animals of the United Kingdom, while Roger and Anita notify the police. Anita realizes Cruella was behind the kidnappings and confirms her suspicion when she shows Roger and Nanny her portfolio. An Airedale Terrier named Kipper follows Jasper and Horace to the mansion, and finds all of the puppies, who he helps escape under the duo's noses. They make their way to a nearby farm, where they are later joined by Pongo and Perdita. Cruella arrives at the mansion and discovers what has happened. Angry with the thieves' failure, she decides to carry out the job herself. After several mishaps, Jasper and Horace discover nearby police looking for Cruella and hand themselves in, joining Skinner who was attacked in defense while trying to capture a puppy who had been left behind. Cruella tracks the puppies to the farm and tries to capture them, but the farm animals incapacitate her. The police arrive and arrest Cruella, before sending the puppies home.

Pongo, Perdita and their puppies are reunited with Roger, Anita and Nanny. After being informed that the remaining 84 puppies have no home to go to, as they have not yet been claimed by any owners, they decide to adopt them. Roger finally creates a successful redesign his video game, featuring Dalmatian puppies as the protagonists and Cruella as the villain. With this success, they move out of London to the countryside with their millions. Roger and Anita have a baby girl, while the dogs grow up with puppies of their own.

Cast

Production

The animatronic creatures used in the film are provided by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Producer Edward S. Feldman guaranteed the adoption of every puppy used in the film. Over 300 Dalmatian puppies were used over the course of filming, because "we could only use them when they were 5 or 6 weeks old and at their cutest." Filming took place at Shepperton Studios in London.

Writer John Hughes approached Glenn Close for the role of Cruella de Vil, but she initially turned it down. The film's costume designer Anthony Powell, who was working with Close on the Broadway show ''Sunset Boulevard'', then convinced her to take it.

Minster Court was used as the exterior of Cruella de Vil's fashion house. Sarum Chase was used as the exterior of her home. Cruella's car is a modified 1976 Panther De Ville.

Release

Box office

''101 Dalmatians'' was released in the United States on November 27, 1996. The UK premiere of the film was held on December 4, 1996, at the Royal Albert Hall, London, and the exterior of the Hall was lit with dalmatian spots.
It grossed $136.2 million in North America and $320.7 million worldwide.

Home media

''101 Dalmatians'' was released on VHS for the first time on April 15, 1997, Laserdisc in early 1997, and on DVD on April 21, 1998. It was re-released on September 16, 2008.

Video game

* A Handheld LCD Game based on the film was released in 1996 by Tiger Electronics.
* The 1997 '' Disney's Animated Storybook'' (CD-ROM for PC) adaptation uses elements of this film, along with the original animated movie.
* A video game based on the film entitled '' 101 Dalmatians: Escape from DeVil Manor'' was released in May 1997.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, ''101 Dalmatians'' has an approval rating of 39% and an average rating of 5.30/10, based on 36 reviews. The site's critic consensus reads: "Neat performance from Glenn Close aside, ''101 Dalmatians'' is a bland, pointless remake." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film two and a half stars out of four and said, "For older viewers, ''101 Dalmatians'' may seem closer to the artistic level of the ''Beethoven'' dog adventures than the mid-level Disney classic that inspired it. Hint: Don't wear your fur coat to the movie."

Controversy

Animal rights organizations protested the film's release, saying that Dalmatian sales shot up after the premiere, fueled by impulsive purchases of puppies by parents for their children. Being ill-prepared to care for a relatively difficult breed of dog past puppy-hood, many of these new owners eventually surrendered their animals to shelters, where many dogs ended up being euthanized.

Sequel and backstory

A sequel, ''102 Dalmatians'', was released on November 22, 2000. Glenn Close returned in her role.

Disney planned a live-action Cruella de Vil backstory film on the title character's origins titled '' Cruella''. Glenn Close was an executive producer and Emma Stone played the title role. The film was released on May 28, 2021. In June 2021, Disney announced its sequel was officially in the early stages of development.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:101 Dalmatians
101 Dalmatians films
1996 films
1996 children's films
1996 comedy films
1990s adventure comedy films
1990s American films
1990s children's adventure films
1990s children's comedy films
1990s English-language films
American adventure comedy films
American children's adventure films
American children's comedy films
American films with live action and animation
English-language adventure comedy films
Films about pets
Films about kidnapping in the United Kingdom
Films based on adaptations
Films based on children's books
Films directed by Stephen Herek
Films produced by John Hughes (filmmaker)
Films scored by Michael Kamen
Films set in London
Films set in Suffolk
Films shot at Shepperton Studios
Films shot in London
Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker)
Live-action films based on Disney's animated films
Remakes of American films
Walt Disney Pictures films