Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

AwokeEnrightened Disney plumbs the depths of their overrated animation and creates a one hundred minute commercial for their dalmatian products.Glenn Close perfectly embodies Cruella DeVil. She is the fashion designing boss of Anita (Joely Richardson). Roger (Jeff Daniels) has a dalmatian, like Anita, but he is unsuccessful as a video game designer- living in that hotbed of video game designing- London.Anita and Roger meet overly cute, and their dogs Pongo (his) and Perdy (hers) fall in love, too. Anita and Roger marry, and get pregnant. Pongo and Perdy marry, and get pregnant. Poor Perdy squeezes out fifteen puppies, under the watchful, slumming eye of Joan Plowright, playing Nanny.Cruella returns and offers to buy the puppies. She was inspired by one of Anita's designs and plans to make a giant fur coat out of dalmatian puppies. She and her henchmen have been collecting puppies, and these final fifteen will give her her frock. Anita and Roger do not sell.The puppies are dognapped by henchmen Jasper (Hugh Laurie) and Horace (Mark Williams), who look exactly like their animated counterparts from the better Disney film. The very long finale is one giant rescue scene, as the puppies are helped by other animals to escape, with Cruella, the henchmen, and a psychotic mute taxidermist named Skinner (John Shrapnel) on their collective tails.Screenwriter John Hughes apes his "Home Alone" ingredient of having grown men injured by cute creatures so often, I though I was watching an unofficial sequel. Director Stephen Herek is no Chris Columbus, however. While Columbus can direct (usually), Herek is all over the place, not quite sure what he should be capturing in order to double over the audience with laughter. The scene where Anita and Roger meet after wrecking their bikes thanks to their runaway dogs is milked for all it is worth and runs way too long. The editing is not tight, as Herek switches back and forth between multiple cameras, and capturing extreme close-ups of "funny business" instead of just letting the actors be funny.Daniels and Richardson get lost in the shuffle, making no impression on the audience whatsoever. Glenn Close is just right for the part, with some amazing costumes and hair, but she seems reined in as well. The film makers cannot decide if their audience is innocent children or their tired parents. Some of the dialogue is harsh, like the villains' plans for the puppies, but that is offset by sugar coating too many scenes (including the finale).There are also a couple of clips from other Disney films in the movie, but this does not seem like an inside joke so much as free advertising for other Disney videos.In the end, "101 Dalmatians" fails to deliver on its intent. Close almost breaks free from the shackles of marketing mediocrity, but the real loser here is the audience. The puppies are adorable as hell, though.

caitlinbiwer This film has a great storyline, it's suitable for the whole family and is entertaining. This film came out before I was born so I grew up watching these kind of films, and through watching it recently I have found my love for Disney films once more.There is an element of comedy with the names of the Dalmatians being 'dipstick' and 'whizzer' and the villains are fairly funny too, featuring Hugh Laurie from House and Mark Williams from Harry Potter with their name-calling and arguments with one another. With some scarier parts (when you're a child) such as when they kidnap the puppies and 'Mr Skinner' who has a scar on his face.Although, even though it is a children's film there are some very unrealistic parts of them film, such as how are the couple making money and can afford a nanny when they are both not at work or making money, why they marry after only knowing each other briefly and the typical 'scruffy van and tights over your face' cliché bad guys. Yet, this brings the film to the onset of it being very focused for children, and avoids financial worry and darker features.The dogs and their owners are very friendly people and animals, with an unpredictable storyline for children which keeps them engaged within the film. Overall, a very well-balanced film with many light-hearted sections.

varden_longraf I remember when this came out in theatres I was a little skeptical being a huge fan of the Disney original but after watching it I will say glen close played a spot on version of cruela deville. the movie really followed the storyline of the original quite well and was entertaining by the great cast they used to keep the theme of the original. I actually found myself watching it a few times even with my kids and was happy to see for once that a remake didn't just go with the flow but put some heart in the film that make a realistic remake for once fit the same likability as the original. Definitely one I would watch again and again and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Disney classic!

halon8 So I settled down on a Sunday evening to what should have been a pleasant Disney film. Boy, was I disappointed.This live action version takes the basic elements of the original, but strips out all the charm. There's no cat. There's no scene where the puppies disguise themselves as labradors.Cruella is a mean business woman, who's annoyed that one of her employees (Anita Dearly) wants to get married and have children. Because obviously, you can't mix a career and having a family. The undertones of 'career bad, motherhood good' are just unnecessary in a modern children's film. Cruella is more pantomime than actually scary.The lack of original charm isn't replaced with anything else. It's just boring and predictable.This film has an amazingly talented cast, which is completely wasted here. The jokes are just not funny. Most of the film is taken up with lame, unoriginal slapstick. Part of the first sequence has Roger Dearly accidentally trying to steal Perdy because he has mistaken her for Pongo. That's right. He loves his dog so much, he can't even recognise him. The screenwriter obviously has either never had pets or just assumes children are stupid.The dogs are cute, but have no personality. The puppies have very little screen time at all. If you liked the sequels to Home Alone, you might like this movie. If you liked the original cartoon or any recent children's films that actually have a good storyline, you'll be disappointed. I'm afraid most of the reviewers here are giving this movie a pass because 'it's a child's film and you can't expect that much'. Well I do expect better from Disney and I wouldn't subject my children to this film. Try the book instead.