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Rating:  - Always a classic
Had to have this movie on DVD. It has always been my favorite and this version is wonderful!
Rating:  - Fine movie
I like 101 Dalmatians just fine as a movie. Its a bit strange in modern culture to see a children's film with so much smoking. Whats even more surprising is Roger, a hero character, smokes his pipe in most of the movie. The villians top the smoking by combining it with some drinking. I don't mind overmuch though, because its an older film. There wasn't as much as a cultural pressure against smoking or drinking back in the day.
The animation is finely restored. I enjoy the story, the animation of the dogs is appealing, and their trials and clever escape ideas are fun to watch(if almost always in vain). Take it or leave it, liking the show is up to you.
My gripe - other than the boring special features- is the bulk of advertisements cluttering the opening. With VHS you could fast forward through the already viewed and outdated previews. In the theaters they're usually still relevant and sometimes exciting. In this DVD... not even the cheat buttons on my remote button. Title group - blocked. Menu - blocked. Top menu - same story. One can shorten the blow by tapping the next track button repeatedly, but its a major hassle and still takes forever. I just paid full price for a movie thats been out since I was 10. You think they could drop the mandatory advertisements for their customers(Especially when those movies advertised have been out since I was 5. We got it.)
Rating: - LUCKY DOG REVIEWS "101 DALMATIONS": 4 STARS AND TWO PAWS UP!
Hi. My name is Lucky. I am a cocker spaniel dog. There is also a puppy dog named Lucky in "101 Dalmations," but I am not named after this pup. Our Common name is just a coincidence.
I live in Washington State with my Human Daddy Dewey. He brought home this Disney animated film "101 Dalmations." He must like it, because we've watched it together twice. As for me, I think it is an interesting and involving adventure story. The kidnapped dogs trek all across London in the middle of Winter, escaping the clutches of SuperWitchy Villainess Cruella De Ville and her cronies Horace and Jasper. This film is one of Disney's tightest, most efficient examples of storytelling. The engrossing adventure tale is told in 75 minutes or so. I like it because it shows that dogs and other animals really do RULE THE WORLD and are very smart-- and evil humans who would harm animals are stupid and easily outwitted. Cruella De Ville did not particularly scare me. She's a horrendous character with a horrendous scheme, believe me, but she's drawn too abstractly and she's too outrageous to be taken seriously. I dislike her, though, and think the ASPCA should lock her up-- and the same goes for Witchy Miss Gulch, who puts Toto in the bicycle basket in "The Wizard Of Oz." Cruella and Miss Gulch are two horrible movie hags!
I'm removing a star from my review because Daddy Dewey and I don't think the skimpy "extras" on the second disc add much to the total package. I give "101 Dalmations" two paws up!! Daddy Dewey and I think you should buy this classic quick before Disney sends it back into the vault. I also think the Disney Company should consider making a film titled "101 Cocker Spaniels"-- that would be another definite Box Office Smash!
Rating:  - Disney's hatred of consumers is showing (again)
"101 Dalmatians" is a classic Disney film and one of their better efforts. Complaints about the animation style arise from failure to appreciate that it IS a style. It's wonderful for its clarity and lack of clutter and arises from a cartooning style popular during the late `50s and early `60s.
It must be admitted that the "good side" characters are a little bland, especially the parent dogs' owners. The Disney people should probably have employed some better voice talent for these people and given them a few interesting crochets - assuming this wouldn't be too great distortion of the original book.
However, Cruella De Vil and her nincompoop sidekicks more than make up for this deficiency. In the 1996 live-action version, the brilliant Glenn Close is even nastier and funnier. However, Betty Lou Gerson, the voice actress here, gives her Cruella plenty of bite and venom. Also making up for so many pallid characters are the "Cruella De Vil" song and Cruella's own number about pelts.
On the whole, the film is a good romp. Young children may be apt to take Cruella's threat to the puppies seriously ... although Cruella is painted in such broad strokes that a moderately intelligent 5-year-old will probably realize that she's all smoke and mirrors. Teen-agers and adults will relax and enjoy the fun without worrying.
The extras included in this set are on occasion interesting, even meaty. They are some inducement to buy the new edition even if you have one of the old ones. Also an inducement is the restoration work on the film itself, which makes it look as fresh as it did in the theaters. Well, almost (see below).
You may at this point wonder at my rating for this offering, since my verbiage seems to be working toward a tepid mid-range score. No such luck. This edition of 101 lies at the bottom of the barrel. I don't know why anyone would want to buy it, much less rent the thing. The reason is its disastrously mutilated visual aspect.
The Disney people have had a vile and pernicious prejudice against widescreen aspects from the get-go. The only reason they even make widescreen films for theaters is that's what audiences expect. But they know there are a lot of Luddite fools out there who want films to "fit" their oh-so-1960s little-screen TV sets. And this plays right into their hatred of the widescreen medium. Getting them to put out a DVD with a film showing its original dimensions sometimes amounts to pulling their teeth with rusty pliers. This latest travesty really takes the cake.
"101 Dalmatians" was filmed at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. Every single VHS and DVD edition of it that I know of has mutilated the original down to a disgusting 1.33:1 ... with a coy little note that it's been mutilated to "fit your television screen". WELL, IT DOESN'T FIT MINE. Welcome to the 21st Century, stupid stupid Disney people. Yes, people still buy antiquated little screens ... save those pennies, guys! But half the programs on many channels are already in widescreen, and it doesn't fit YOUR screen, ha-ha-ha. It fits mine. Most widescreen films are produced on DVD only in widescreen, and it's about time.
If Disney wants to wallow in the last Century, that's their business. However, I don't see why we should enable them by buying their old-fashioned, creakily antiquated products. Once they produce a widescreen DVD of 101, I'll buy it. Used ... that way they don't get my money. Until then, I'll just keep my VHS tape. Yes, Disney, I can still be even more-antiquated-than-thou. As to this issue of the film: what a rip-off!
Rating: - 101 Dalmatians, and responding to the scenes cut review
First, in response to the assertion that some smoking images were cut from this edition: I just compared this edition to the 1992 VHS release and there were NO differences in the amount of smoke in the scenes, the cigarettes/pipes/cigars were never cut, and even scenes which portrayed characters doing nothing but smoking were left intact. So, to the best of my knowledge this edition has not been altered or censored in that respect, at least in comparison to the VHS version. Potential buyers should also note the runtime for both the Platinum edition and Limited Issue DVD are the same.
As for the review of the film, of course it gets 5 stars in my book. The 4 star review is for this particular edition.
Good things: The sound and picture are restored beautifully, everything looks crisp and the colors are gorgeous. One thing of special note is Cruella's smoke is restored to a ghastly green, as it was intended (the VHS version was definitely washed out and more gray.) The special features are mostly passable - the documentary is good but a little short. I do like how much credit it gave to the author Dodie Smith though. There are some awesome little tidbits on how they animated the vehicles, but I wish they had gone more in depth on that. The small feature on Cruella probably could have been folded into the larger documentary as well. The real gem of this edition are the promo trailers and advertisements - there's a ton, and they're quite fun to watch!
Bad things: The special features ARE thin on this one, especially compared to other Disney Platinum releases. There is no commentary, which I would have loved. The biggest issue however, is the lack of widescreen. The film was available in widescreen as well I believe, and I wish Disney had included it as a viewing option. These concerns were enough to drop a star from the rating, but don't let this stop you from buying the DVD! The restored picture and sound alone are worth the purchase.
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