Coming up next we have 1996's "101 Dalmatians", the live-action version of the beloved Disney animated classic we've already covered. Pongo, Perdy, and their puppies must face down the villain Cruella De Vil if they're going to have the chance to live happily ever after.
The film's cast includes Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Hugh Laurie, Joan Plowright, Mark Williams, and Tim McInnerny.
Single dogs Pongo and Perdy long for something more. They're both feeling a bit lonely, even though they have great owners.
Pongo belongs to Roger, who designs video games. Currently, Roger needs a villain that will give a proper scare for his latest creation. He keeps coming up short.
Perdy belongs to Anita, a successful fashion design with the House of De Vil. Her designs are popular amongst the clients.
The House of De Vil is run by its namesake, Cruella De Vil. She is a demanding and authoritative employer to say the least.
While Anita is working, one of her designs catches Cruella's eye. It's inspired by Perdy's spotted coat. Cruella is fascinated with the concept.
She invites Anita to her office to discuss it further. Cruella tells Anita that she doesn't want her to be lured away by one of her competitors. Anita replies that the only reason she'd leave would be to get married.
Cruella makes an alteration to Anita's drawing, saying that it would look stunning in fur. She then makes a remark that if the coat is made it would be as if she were wearing Anita's dog. Afterwards, she dissolves into a fit of laughter.
It's probably my favorite scene in the film. (Glenn Close absolutely inhabits the role of Cruella.)
Well, Anita ends up leaving Cruella. She and Roger meet up quite by accident and end up hitting it off. They get married.
Pongo and Perdy get married, too. They even have their own canine audience!
We later find out exactly what lengths Cruella will to go in order for her to have her coveted fur. She has a Siberian tiger killed and skinned right at the London Zoo. The fur is then brought to her by her underlings, Jasper and Horace.
Cruella goes to pay a visit on Anita. She inquires after Roger's job and is informed that he designs video games. "Those horrible, noisy things that children play with on their televisions? Someone designs them? What a senseless thing to do with your life," she observes. She finds out that the dogs are going to have puppies. And she wants them (you know why).
The very night the puppies are born (fifteen in total), Cruella arrives and demands that they be sold to her. When Roger and Anita refuse, Cruella leaves in a huff, vowing revenge.
Meanwhile, the puppies grow into bundles of absolute cuteness. Their parents watch them proudly.
While Roger and Anita and Pongo and Perdy are distracted one night, Cruella sends her henchmen to kidnap the puppies. Once they do, they call Cruella to inform her the job is done.
Pongo and Perdy spread the word and soon animals all over the country are searching for their lost puppies.
It seems Cruella has been very busy organizing puppy kidnappings. She now has ninety-nine puppies in her decrepit country mansion.
Pongo and Perdy arrive just in time to engineer a jailbreak for the numerous puppies. Jasper and Horace have quite a hard time of it trying to keep up with them. In this instance, it seems that the dogs are smarter than the men.
Cruella also has a hard time. She traces the puppies to a barn. Inside, she's got to deal with some rambunctious raccoons and some farm animals. She gets dropped in a vat of molasses and ultimately tossed in a mudhole.
Eventually, the police catch up with everybody. "Is there something wrong?" Cruella asks the officer when he announces a warrant for her arrest.
Even inside the police van, bad things are happening to our villains. Mistaking a sleeping skunk for her purse, Cruella unleashes a torrent of spray and everyone screams in a panic.
All's well that ends well, though. Roger and Anita adopt all of the puppies, bringing their total to 101. They all move to a great big Dalmatian plantation in the country (payed for by Roger's video game. He finally got the villain right: a cartoon version of Cruella De Vil!).
Cast rundown:
Glenn Close.......................................Cruella De Vil
Jeff Daniels........................................Roger Dearly
Joan Plowright...................................Nanny
Mark Williams....................................Horace
Tim McInnerny...................................Alonzo
And that's it for 101 Dalmatians. For the film, 230 Dalmatian puppies and 20 Dalmatian adult dogs were used. When Glenn Close appeared on the set in her fright wig and make-up, one of the dogs playing Perdy repeatedly tried to sneak away. To get the dogs to lick the actors' faces on cue, steak juice and raw hot dogs were rubbed onto the actors' skin before their takes.
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