102 Dalmatians

If it weren't for the vivaciously rabid scenery chewing by Glenn Close and Gerard Depardieu--playing maniacal fashion victim Cruella De Vil and her overzealous French couturier of puppy peltwear--102 Dalmatians would be nothing more than lackadaisical, prefab Disney fare. Cutesy animal antics are coupled with a generic love story about a handsome PETA-phile (Ioan Gruffudd) with a bankrupt animal shelter who falls in love with a pretty parole officer (Alice Evans) assigned to a "rehabilitated" Cruella. When Cruella discovers her case worker owns five Dalmatians (including Dipstick, a hold-over from 1996's live-action version of 101 Dalmatians), she snaps and becomes a dognapper again, leading to chase scenes that end in vats of goo...and that's pretty much all there is to it. Still, this a strong, optional purchase, considering the Disney pedigree and the sell-through price. (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—Oct. 14, 2008—Walt Disney, 100 min., G, $26.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2000's 102 Dalmatians sports a nice transfer with DVD extras including an audio commentary (by director Kevin Lima, the animal coordinator, and trainers), three production featurettes—”Creating Cruella,” “Animal Actors” and “Designing Dalmatians” (16 min. total)—a “Dalmatians 101” featurette on picking a dog that fits your personality (2 min.), a brief “Cruella's Release” deleted scene, a brief “Puppy Overload” action montage, four “Visual Effects 102” interactive visual effects segments, the “Watcha Gonna Do” music video by Nobody's Angel, a DVD-ROM “Cruella's Costume Creator” feature, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a unimpressive sequel.]