It would be impossible to write about Disney's new live-action "101 Dalmatians" without placing it in the context in which it was seen.
On Friday night, the Michigan Theater hosted the Midwestern Benefit Premiere of the film amid Hollywood-style hoopla. While throngs of people milled about outside the theater awaiting the arrival of Jeff Daniels via an old-fashioned fire engine, Detroit news vans readied their cameras and Dalmatian dogs ran amok through the crowd. Once local hero Daniels showed up, the masses swelled inside the theater, helping themselves to free popcorn and soda.
Through the work and donations of numerous local businesses and, of course, Disney, the Michigan Theater was, for a brief weekend, transformed into a Hollywood movie palace. The Premiere benefited Daniels' Purple Rose Theater Co., located in his hometown of Chelsea, Mich. Amidst this type of excitement, the film itself is somewhat anticlimactic. It is also a little distracting when there is a Dalmatian dog sitting in the seat next to you, alternately watching the movie and staring at you.
Nonetheless, "101 Dalmatians" was the main event (even though Jeff Daniels received more applause than the film), and it can be said that, at the least, it lives up to its expectations.
John Hughes wrote and produced this adaptation of the classic animated film which features a gaggle of Dalmatian puppies and a cruel, devilish fur lover, aptly named Cruella DeVil. This new version differs only slightly from the original, even retaining some of the old dialogue verbatim. It keeps the look of old London and the English countryside, while setting it firmly in the present. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, it loses a bit of the original's magic.
Jeff Daniels is cast as Roger - now a video game programmer instead of a composer - the charmingly oafish owner of Pongo, a Dalmatian. One fine day Roger and Pongo are out in the park where the latter becomes smitten with Perdy, a lovely Dalmatian owned by Anita (Joely Richardson). The two couples immediately fall in love and, faster than you can say "Disney fantasy," they get married. The wedding scene is a splendid representation of the sort of parallel storytelling that occurs throughout the film, juxtaposing the actions of the human characters with those of the dogs.
After the marriage, Anita becomes pregnant, Perdy gives birth to 15 puppies and everything is happy. But, of course, we know that Cruella is on her way.
Glenn Close is absolutely perfect as the monstrous witch who kidnaps a total of 99 Dalmatian puppies, including Pongo's and Perdy's, for use as her clothes. She is in rare form here, way over the top with lines like, "I don't care how you do it: Poison them, drown them, bash them over their heads ... !" Close has the look, the voice and the attitude down; she is Cruella DeVil.
But the real stars here are the dogs. Because they don't speak in this version, there was a worry that the dogs would lose their charm. But in fact, all the animals in the live-action film are even more endearing than the original. This is because of the brilliant trainers who - with just a little bit of help from Jim Henson's Creature Shop and Industrial Light & Magic - drew such amazing performances out of dogs, puppies, sheep, horses, raccoons, rodents, you name it. The antics and emotion-drawing abilities of these well-trained canines are reason enough to see this film.
The production is aided by the designers, who created magnificent sets and costumes, particularly for Cruella. Director Stephen Herek ("Mr. Holland's Opus," "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure") is equally adept at handling the menagerie of animals and maintaining a nice balance between them and the human actors on-screen.
The film, like the original, creates a sort of parallel world of the animals, where they all communicate and cooperate freely. This was part of the magic of the original, and it even incorporates a subtle message about inter-species (or interracial) relations.
Although the new "101 Dalmatians" suffers from an even more far-fetched finale than the original - relying upon Disney's ideal of unexplained aftermaths - it still manages to carry over much of the fun of the animated classic. Unfortunately, most people won't get to see it in the context of an exciting Midwest Premiere, where even dogs had their own seats.
Here is a small sample of the 101 Dalmatians.