Avis Metacritic

Though this film's considerable warmth derives from dalmatian puppies and other animals who take charge of their fates, Close steals the show.

Dalmatians proves an apt playground for Hughes as one could surmise that his inspiration for treating comic bad guys in his movies so violently comes from a cartoon sensibility.

What's funny in cartoons is not always funny in live action, and some of the dunkings in unsavory substances left me less than amused.

If the Disney animated original (1961) -- adapted from Dodie Smith's novel -- tried to approximate live action, this 1996 Disney live-action remake often tries to evoke cartoon.

Thanks to Glenn Close's delicious villainy, it succeeds in breathing archly theatrical life into the irresistibly monstrous Cruella DeVil. Otherwise, this remake goes to the dogs too often.

Not much reason to see this one, because in 1961 Disney made an animated version called 101 Dalmatians, which is better.

At times, the film feels like one painful, protracted pratfall.

Annoyingly, the movie is marred by anemic connecting scenes and a seeming disdain for something as simple as logic

Even children, who will be enthralled by all the puppies, may have a hard time not fidgeting for protracted portions of the running time.

In Hollywood, imitation is the most profitable form of flattery. That is the only plausible explanation for 101 Dalmatians, Walt Disney's disappointing live-action remake of its own 1961 classic.