102 puppies: Pound bound

By Matthew Barrett

Daily Film Editor

Who let the dogs out? That would be Disney who followed up their mediocre live action version of "101 Dalmatians" with an even less inspired sequel ,"102 Dalmatians." In the this installment, we find Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close) cured of her dog-hating ways and dedicating her time to remodeling homes for abandoned dogs, complete with hairstyling stations so no pooch will ever have to deal with a mop-top.

While her efforts land Ella, as she now goes by (Cruella just sounds too mean), on the cover of a few fashion magazines, they don't make for much in terms of story. And so it doesn't take long, for the Cruella of old to rear her head and start chasing down little puppies again so that she can catch them and turn them into a fabulous fur coat, with hood (hence the extra pup in the film's title).

It's beyond the point to grouse about why this movie isn't as good as "The Lion King" or either of the "Toy Story" films, because there is nothing here that indicates that "102 Dalmatians" was meant to be enjoyed by anyone past grade school. The film and its jokes are too predictable and outlandish - the film's finale revolves around Cruella getting baked in the middle of the cake by the dogs. The makers also rely on the cuteness of the dogs for a large part of the film's humor and never make much of an effort to give older viewers a story or even an occasional laugh.

Everything about this movie just feels stale and old. The marketing campaign with dogs falling down from the sky was ripped off from "Magnolia" and there is no plague of puppies in the film. Close phones in her performance of Cruella, taking one of the more vicious Disney villains and changing her into a much tamer version of the Cruella we know and love. It also seems that much more attention was put into De Vil's costumes than in making her a character who strikes fear into the hearts of viewers of any age.

There really wasn't much reason to expect anything as the film was directed by Kevin Lima, who helmed the equally lame "Tarzan." Lima seems unsure throughout the film and gives us a weak story that's more concerned with getting adorable expressions from the dogs than in giving us a smart movie that has something to offer viewers of all ages.

Perhaps the only thing that Lima does right is resist the urge to serenade us with the Baha Men's anthem "Who Let the Dogs Out" when the dogs make their final escape. It's just a shame that so much time, effort and money was wasted on a film that will appeal to so few.

Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Glenn Close reprises her Oscar-winning role as Cruella DeVil in "102 Dalmatians."