101 Dalmatians - why was this early Disney remake such a flop with the critics?: Just Films & That
Just Films and That is a podcast that celebrates underrated and underseen films. In this episode, we discuss one of the earliest Disney live action remakes - 101 Dalmatians. So were the critics right to rate it so low? You can listen to all full episodes of Just Films and That now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Transcript
00:00 101 Dalmatians.
00:02 You're a father of Hongo!
00:04 They were totally irresistible.
00:06 We must call this one Lucky.
00:08 So I chose 101 Dalmatians, the live action Disney remake from 1996.
00:13 Now the main reason that I picked it initially was that I wanted to explore it
00:17 in the context of these live action Disney remakes,
00:20 of which we have had many very recently, but this was one of the first to come about.
00:25 But then when I looked at the critical reception, I thought that is a bit underrated for me.
00:29 So at the time of recording on IMDb, it gets 5.7,
00:34 and then over on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience give it 40%,
00:37 and then the critics give it 39%.
00:40 And I just wasn't having that, to be honest with you,
00:42 and I do think that that is really underrated.
00:45 So Josh, had you seen this one before?
00:47 I had seen it before, yeah. I think I went to the cinema to see it when I was a wee boy.
00:51 What did you think watching it again, then? What did you like about it?
00:54 I actually liked a lot more than I thought I was going to.
00:57 The stars are obviously the dogs, of which there are many,
01:00 and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of them.
01:02 But also I think the casting and the performances in this are pretty excellent.
01:06 And of course, Glen Close is just an absolute wonder in this.
01:10 She plays the most excellent Disney villain I think maybe I've ever seen.
01:15 She's cackling, maniacal, and I think she fills the role really well.
01:19 She's also really physical, and she's doing a lot of stunts in this,
01:22 and I really appreciated the effort that she goes into.
01:25 She spends a lot of time in this film covered in manure,
01:28 and it looks really heavy and cold and uncomfortable,
01:31 but she just absolutely nails it, and I think she brings so much to that role,
01:34 and it's one of my favourite pieces of casting ever, I think.
01:37 I mean, I said this when we did the episode, and this is quite a big swing,
01:41 but I think that people have won Oscars for worse performances than this.
01:45 It might sound silly, but I stand by it. I think she's absolutely brilliant.
01:49 She knocks it out of the park.
01:51 I love that cartoonish, scenery-chewing villain.
01:55 I remember when I was a kid finding her quite scary.
01:58 Put them in a bag. I'll take them with me now.
02:00 The puppies are not for sale.
02:02 Dang it!
02:04 So I think the main issue that I have with this film is that some of the things
02:08 that the characters do, some of the dialogue that they share,
02:11 is a little bit too child-friendly to the point where some of it
02:14 doesn't really make sense, and it's as if the film thinks,
02:16 "Well, it doesn't have to make sense because this is aimed at children."
02:19 And I think what I was hoping for was something a little bit more sophisticated
02:22 and a little bit more targeted at the whole family,
02:25 as opposed to just the younger members of the family.
02:28 Like you said, I do think it skews more child-friendly,
02:31 so when you're watching it as an adult, it probably does draw you out at places,
02:35 and that's a little bit of a letdown in terms of, "Well, who's this for?"
02:40 Having said that, those scores are pretty harsh,
02:43 so I think it's not perfect, but I think it's a perfectly serviceable family film
02:47 and it doesn't deserve, what's that, 4.5 out of 10, 45% overall?
02:51 So I think that's harsh. What about you?
02:53 Yeah, I was really surprised when I saw those scores.
02:55 I wasn't expecting that at all, and I wasn't expecting to have chosen this film
02:59 because it's underrated, but after watching it again,
03:01 I definitely think it's underrated.
03:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]