102 Dalmatians

102 Dalmatians is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Kevin Lima in his live-action directorial debut and produced by Edward S. Feldman and Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to the 1996 film 101 Dalmatians, a live-action remake of the 1961 Disney animated film of the same name and stars Glenn Close reprising her role as Cruella de Vil as she attempts to steal puppies for her "grandest" fur coat yet. Close and Tim McInnerny were the only two actors from the first film to return for the sequel. The film received negative reviews but was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, losing to Gladiator.[2]

Not to be confused with 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure.
102 Dalmatians
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKevin Lima
Produced byEdward S. Feldman
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Kristen Buckley
  • Brian Regan
Starring
Music byDavid Newman
CinematographyAdrian Biddle
Edited byGregory Perler
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • November 22, 2000 (2000-11-22)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$85 million
Box office$183.6 million[1]

Plot

After three years in prison, Cruella de Vil has been cured of her desire for fur coats by Dr. Pavlov. She is released on probation, but warned that if she breaks parole she will be forced to pay the remainder of her fortune, some eight million pounds, to all the dog shelters in Westminster. Cruella therefore mends her working relationship with her valet Alonzo, and has him lock away all her fur coats. Cruella's probation officer, Chloe Simon, is the owner of Dipstick (one of the original 101, bought from the Dalmatian Plantation of Roger and Anita Dearly) and suspects Cruella will strike again.

Dipstick's mate, Dottie, gives birth to three puppies: Domino, Little Dipper and Oddball, who appears to be an albino and begins to feel self-conscious about her lack of spots as she grows up. Cruella buys the Second Chance Dog shelter, owned by Kevin Shepherd, and saves it from insolvency, to restore her reputation. Meanwhile, Dr. Pavlov discovers that when his therapy's subjects are subjected to loud noises, they revert to their original states, but conceals this discovery. Inevitably, when Big Ben rings in her presence, Cruella reverts to her former personality. She enlists the help of French furrier Jean-Pierre LePelt to steal Dalmatian puppies for a new fur coat with a hood, specifically modifying the original design to use Dipstick's children.

During a nighttime date together, Kevin tells Chloe that, if Cruella violates her parole, her entire fortune will go to him, since his dog shelter is the only one currently operating in Westminster. Knowing this, Cruella has Kevin framed for the theft of the first 98 puppies Le Pelt takes, also exploiting the fact that Kevin has a prior record of dog-napping. She invites Chloe and Dipstick to her house for a dinner party, to decoy them away while LePelt steals Dottie and her three puppies. Dipstick hurries back to the apartment and hides in LePelt's truck, but is later captured at the train station. Chloe rushes home to save her pets, but arrives too late. She is joined by Kevin, who has escaped from prison with help from his dogs and talking scarlet macaw, Waddlesworth (who thinks he is a dog). Kevin explains that his earlier conviction was for breaking animals out of a lab, where they were being used for experiments.

Upon finding a ticket for the Venice-Simplon Orient Express to Paris dropped by LePelt, Kevin and Chloe attempt and fail to stop Cruella and LePelt before they get on the train. Oddball and Waddlesworth manage to get on board the train, and Kevin and Chloe follow to Paris, where they free the dogs before being discovered and locked in a cellar. Cruella goes after the puppies alone, while Alonzo, having been scolded beyond his patience, defeats LePelt and frees Kevin and Chloe. They pursue Cruella to a bakery, and find that the puppies, led by Oddball, have tricked Cruella into being baked in an enormous cake. Cruella survives, and she and LePelt are both arrested.

Kevin and Chloe, with Ewan the former exonerated from the theft accusation, are personally awarded the remnants of Cruella's fortune by Alonzo himself. Oddball's coat finally develops a few small spots, much to everyone's surprise.

Cast

Release

Production
A customized Panther De Ville driven by Cruella de Vil in the film

The early working title was 101 Dalmatians Returns. Production began in December 1998 and ended in mid-November 1999 without the use of John Hughes who produced the 1996 film, due to the critical failure of Flubber and the shutdown of Great Oaks Entertainment. The film was set to be released on June 30, 2000, but was pushed back to November 22. The film's teaser was released on the same month the film came out in 1999, and shows stock footage from The Shawshank Redemption. Oxford Prison was used for the scene as Cruella walked out of prison. The teaser appeared in theaters before Toy Story 2 and Stuart Little. 102 Dalmatians was filmed partially in Paris. On November 7, Disney released the soundtrack to the movie, including pre-eminently, a cover of Paul Anka's "Puppy Love" (sung by Myra)[3] and original songs: Mike Himelstein's "What Can a Bird Do?" (voiced by Jeff Bennett), "My Spot in the World" (sung by Lauren Christy) and "Cruella De Vil 2000" (better known as "Cruella De Vil (102 Dalmatians)", sung by Camara Kambon and Mark Campbell[4] of Jack Mack and the Heart Attack, a derivation of "Cruella de Vil").[5]

Reception

Box office

The film opened at the third position behind M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The film did well at the box office, earning $67 million in the U.S. and $116.7 million in other territories, bringing its total to $183.6 million worldwide.[1] Despite this, it grossed less than its predecessor.

Critical response

After premiering in New Zealand, the film received positive reviews and was described by media as a "howling success".[6] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 31% based on 90 reviews, and an average rating of 4.42/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "This sequel to the live-action 101 Dalmatians is simply more of the same. Critics say it also drags in parts-- potentially boring children-- and that it's too violent for a G-rated movie."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[9]

Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 out of 4, writing: "Glenn Close does what can be done with the role. Indeed, she does more than can be done; Cruella is almost too big for a live-action film and requires animation to fit her operatic scale."[10]

Home media releases

102 Dalmatians was released on VHS and DVD on April 3, 2001 and re-released on DVD on September 16, 2008.

Video game

A video game loosely based on the film, that was entitled Disney's 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue, was released in 2000, with Frankie Muniz as the voice of Domino, Molly Marlette as the voice of Oddball and Susanne Blakeslee as the voice of Cruella de Vil. Horace and Jasper also appeared in the game despite not being present in the film.[11]

References
  1. "102 Dalmatians (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  2. "Academy Awards 2000 - Winners and nominees by category". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  3. "Release "102 Dalmatians" by Various Artists". MusicBrainz.org. Retrieved 15 December 2013. Puppy Love – Myra [Mayra Carol Ambriz Quintana ... composer/lyricist]: Paul Anka
  4. "Cruella ..." citations:
  5. Soundtrack overall citations:
  6. Premiere goes to the dogs Retrieved November 2013 (subscription required)
  7. 102 Dalmatians Rotten Tomatoes
  8. "102 Dalmatians Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  9. 102 DALMATIANS (2000) B+ Archived 2018-02-06 at the Wayback Machine CinemaScore
  10. "102 Dalmatians Movie Review & Film Summary (2000) | Roger Ebert".
  11. "102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue". Amazon. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
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