You ever watch a movie and wonder why it exists? That is exactly the reaction I had when I watched 102 Dalmatians. Released in 2000, 102 Dalmatians is the sequel to the fun 1996 live-action remake of the Disney Classic, 101 Dalmatians. While that movie was good, this one feels just so unnecessary and not even Glenn Close can save it.
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The Movie Review
Let me start by saying that Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil is a lot of fun. Glen Close absolutely nails this role and she is great here, but it is the story that she has to work with that lets her down. It is a real shame that she never got to be Cruella again in a movie that is actually good.
The story here takes place three years after 101 Dalmatians. Cruella de Vil has done her time and thanks to the work done by Dr. Pavlov, she is cured of her evil ways. I think this is a really fun scene and it does set things up pretty well to be fair. Cruella gets released from prison and tries to rebuild her life.
Cruella is warned that if she breaks her parole and reverts to her evil ways, her millions of pounds fortune will be taken from her! Cruella actually has no intention of being bad again, but the work she did in prison comes with a huge problem and that problem does not take long to reveal itself.
You see, the work that Dr. Pavlov did is all undone if the patient hears a loud bell noise and as Cruella is living in London, it does not take long for Big Ben to snap her back into her evil ways. I think as a way to get her to be evil again, this is pretty damn wafer thin if I am being honest with you.
One of the dalmatians from the original batch of 101 Dalmatians Dipstick has a mate called Dottie and Dottie gives birth to a gorgeous litter of pups. One of the pups called Oddball has no spots and is just so adorable. Cruella once again has her dream of making an epic fur coat made from Dalmatians… that is right, it is pretty much the same plot as the original movie.
Now, that plot worked great in the original movie, but here it just feels old. Not only that, the two human “good” characters Chloe and Kevin are just not all that interesting or likable. It feels like a lame and lazy rehash and while I would not say this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen, it sure as hell is not one of the best.
The best thing about this movie as you have already figured out is Glenn Close. She looks amazing as Cruella and her clothes here are truly awesome. This is actually a great-looking movie and captures the spirit of London really well, but that is all the good things I can really say about it.
By all means, go back and watch the live-action 101 Dalmatians movie, that movie holds up well and is fun. However, I would suggest that you skip 102 Dalmatians as it is such a letdown, I imagine it seems even worse if you watch it straight after 101 Dalmatians. If you want some more Cruella in your life, check out the 2021 Emma Stone Cruella movie instead of this.
