By Stephanie G

102 Dalmatians
(2000)
Directed by Kevin Lima
Starring Glenn Close, Ioan Gruffudd, Tim McInnerny, Eric Idle, Alice Evans
Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 16, 2008

Many sequels fall under the pressure of their predecessors. Disney made a great attempt to try and recreate the magic of the first 101 Dalmatians live-action film by re-casting Glenn Close, whose portrayal of the villain Cruella DeVil brought the first movie great success. Unfortunately, this film proved that only her performance was worth watching.

102 Dalmatians begins with the puppy-loving Ella, who has been rehabilitated from her evil puppy-hating ways and gets out of jail on parole. In order to acclimate back into society and to serve as a classic bit of comedic irony, she decides to save a dog pound that is threatened by eviction. Unfortunately her rehabilitation trance doesn’t last for long, with the sound of Big Ben, she snaps out of sweet kind Ella and turns back into the fur-obsessed Cruella DeVil.

I must say this movie definitely tops the wardrobe department from the last film. With the theme centered around fashion, it gave the costume designers a great opportunity to push the limit on what they could create using only black and white. Cruella’s wardrobe, which changed practically every five minutes, did keep me entertained and eager to see what she would be wearing next.