102 Dalmatians
| 102 Dalmatians | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kevin Lima |
| Screenplay by | Kristen Buckley Brian Regan Bob Tzudiker Noni White |
| Story by | Kristen Buckley Brian Regan |
| Produced by | Edward S. Feldman |
| Starring | Glenn Close Ioan Gruffudd Alice Evans Tim McInnerny Gérard Depardieu |
| Cinematography | Adrian Biddle |
| Edited by | Gregory Perler |
| Music by | David Newman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $85 million |
| Box office | $183,611,771[1] |
102 Dalmatians is a 2000 family comedy film directed by Kevin Lima in his live action directorial debut and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to the 1996 film 101 Dalmatians and stars Glenn Close reprising her role as Cruella de Vil as she attempts to steal puppies for her "grandest" fur coat yet. Glenn Close and Tim McInnerny were the only actors from the first film to return for the sequel. The film was released on VHS and DVD on April 3, 2001, and re-released on DVD on September 16, 2008.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, but lost to Gladiator.[2]
Plot
After three years in prison, Cruella de Vil (Glenn Close) has been cured of her lust for fur coats through mental therapy under Dr. Pavlov (David Horovitch), and is deemed eligible for parole. Cruella is released into the custody of the probation office on the provision that she will be forced to pay the remainder of her fortune, eight million pounds, to all the dog shelters in the borough of Westminster should she ever repeat her crime. Cruella redubs herself "Ella", mends her working relationship with her long-suffering valet Alonso (Tim McInnerny), and has him lock away all her fur coats, having developed an aversion to fur during the therapy. Cruella's probation officer, Chloe Simon (Alice Evans), however, feels uneasy about trusting Cruella, believing that someone capable of committing the crimes she did to be incapable of changing. For her part, Chloe is the new owner of the now-adult Dipstick, one of Pongo and Perdita's original 15 puppies, having purchased him from Roger and Anita Dearly. Dipstick and his mate Dottie have recently given birth to three puppies, Domino, Little Dipper and Oddball. However Oddball completely lacks any spots.
In order to mend her reputation, Cruella buys the Second Chance Dog shelter, owned by Kevin Shepherd (Ioan Gruffudd) and which is facing financial problems. Cruella quickly becomes a success with the dogs, though Chloe is still skeptical and even confronts Kevin over his decision to allow Cruella near the dogs. Meanwhile, Dr. Pavlov discovers a side effect to his therapy: when the subjects are subjected to loud noises or sonics, such as Big Ben's chimes, their brainwaves are affected and they revert to their original states. Dr. Pavlov, however, decides to cover it up rather than warn Kevin.
Inevitably, during a meeting with Chloe, Big Ben rings and Cruella suffers a psychotic break, returning to her ruthless, fur-loving self once again. Now more determined than ever to obtain her spotted Dalmatian fur coat, Cruella enlists the help of a renowned but controversial furrier, Jean-Pierre LePelt (Gérard Depardieu), to steal one hundred and two Dalmatian puppies, the new three to be used for a hood.
Meanwhile, Kevin and Chloe begin to develop a romantic relationship. Over dinner, Kevin tells Chloe that if Cruella violates her parole, her entire fortune will go to him, since his dog shelter is the only one in the borough of Westminster. Cruella, however, uses this to her advantage and has Kevin framed for the theft of the puppies, the police using his previous record of dognapping (later revealed to have been done to save animals from being used for medical research) and his being the beneficiary of Cruella's fortune as sufficient evidence to arrest him. Cruella invites the devastated Chloe to dinner at her house with several other guests and their dogs. While Chloe is away, LePelt breaks into her apartment and steals the three puppies, despite trouble with Dottie. Chloe gets wind of this and rushes home, but arrives too late just before Kevin, who also learned of the dognapping and escaped from prison with help from his dogs and talking parrot, Waddlesworth (voiced by Eric Idle). After finding a ticket for the Orient Express dropped by LePelt, Kevin and Chloe rush to the station, but are too late to stop Cruella and LePelt. Oddball, who earlier had escaped from his captives, manages to sneak aboard the train with Waddlesworth's help.
In Paris, Kevin and Chloe follow Cruella and LePelt to the skinning factory and discreetly begin helping the captured puppies escape, but they are seen and locked in the cellar just as the puppies flee. Cruella goes after them alone. Alonso, after having been berated once too many times, finally rebels against his employers and defeats LePelt in a heated battle. Alonso frees Kevin and Chloe, and they give chase to a wedding cake factory adjacent to the bakery, where the puppies and Kevin's dogs combine their efforts and finally overcome Cruella by having her baked into a cake using the old machines. They send her into the adjoining cafe, where she is arrested and sent to finish her prison sentence along with a ranting LePelt.
Kevin and Chloe are awarded the remnants of Cruella's fortune by Alonso himself, and they celebrate together as they see that Oddball's spots have finally begun to appear.
Cast
- Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil
- Ioan Gruffudd as Kevin Shepherd
- Alice Evans as Chloe Simon
- Tim McInnerny as Alonzo
- David Horovitch as Dr. Pavlov
- Ian Richardson as Mr. Torte
- Gérard Depardieu as Jean Pierre Le Pelt
- Eric Idle as Waddlesworth (voice)
- Carol MacReady as Agnes
- Kerry Shale as Le Pelt's Assistant
Release
- On November 24, 1999 a teaser trailer was released with Toy Story 2.
Production
The early working title was 101 Dalmatians Returns. Production began in December 1998 through January 1999 to mid November/December 1999. The film was set to be released on June 30, 2000 but was pushed back to November 22, 2000. Oxford Prison was used for the scene as Cruella walked out of prison. 102 Dalmatians was filmed partially in Paris.
In November 6, 1999, 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[citation needed] – a derivation of "Cruella de Vil").[5]
Reception
Box office
The film opened at the third position behind M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The film did well at the box office, earning $66,957,026 in the U.S. and $116,654,745 overseas, bringing its total to $183,611,771 worldwide.[1]
Critical response
After premiering in New Zealand, the film received positive reviews and was described by media as a "howling success".[6]
In America, the film received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 31% "Rotten" rating, based on 90 reviews, with the site's consensus reading "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."
On the similar review site Metacritic, the film has a score of 35/100.
Video game
A video game based on the film, that was entitled 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue, was released in 2000, with Frankie Muniz as the voice of Domino and Molly Marlette as the voice of Oddball.
References
- ^ a b "102 Dalmatians (2000)". Boxofficemojo.com. 2001-04-10. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Upcoming Cover Art - The Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD". Ultimatedisney.com. 2003-03-29. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ "Release "102 Dalmatians" by Various Artists". MusicBrainz.org. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
Puppy Love – Myra [Mayra Carol Ambriz Quintana ... composer/lyricist]: Paul Anka
[better source needed] - ^ "Cruella ..." citations:
- "102 Dalmatians". BBC.co.UK. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
Music Played [...] Camara Kambon [–] Cruella De Vil 2000 [–] Featured Artist: Mark Campbell.
- "Search [Kambon Cruella]". Last.FM. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- "Search [Campbell Cruella]". Last.FM. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- "102 Dalmatians". BBC.co.UK. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ Soundtrack overall citations:
- "102 Dalmatians". Amazon.co.UK. 2000. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- "102 Dalmatians – Various Artists". Last.FM. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
Jeff Bennett - What Can a Bird Do? [...] 604 [listeners ...] Myra - Puppy Love [...] 1,359 [listeners ...] Lauren Christy - My Spot in the World [...] 201 [listeners]
- ^ Premiere goes to the dogs Retrieved November 2013 (subscription required)
External links
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