101 Dalmatians (1996)

Story

Computer game developer Roger (Jeff Daniels) and fashion designer Anita (Joely Richardson) have 3 things in common: they both live in London, they are single, and they both own a Dalmatian. As their paths cross one day, for Roger's Dalmatian Pongo and Anita's Dalmatian Lady Perdita, it's love at first sight. The 2 dogs introduce their owners to each other and, luckily for the love-struck Dalmatians, Roger and Anita also fall in love, and soon get married.

Everyone is excited when they find out that both Anita and Perdita are pregnant, and when Perdita has 15 adorable Dalmatian puppies, their happiness is complete. But not for long. Anita's remorseless boss, Cruella de Vil (Glenn Close), is obsessed with the idea of having an outfit made from Dalmatian puppy fur. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy the puppies from Roger and Anita, Cruella hires 2 henchmen, Jasper (Hugh Laurie) and Horace (Mark Williams), to ‘dog-nap’ them, along with every other Dalmatian puppy in London.

As the police seem unable to solve the crime and locate the missing puppies, Pongo and Perdita team up with other dogs and animals in the neighbourhood, determined to save their puppies from the evil Cruella.

Themes

Live action remake of Classic Disney animation; family; adventure; crime-solving; teamwork; animal cruelty

Violence

101 Dalmatians (1996) has some violence. For example:

Cruella de Vil is as cruel and remorseless as the Devil alluded to by her name. Viewers discover that in the past she had a white tiger stolen from the zoo, skinned and turned into a blanket – and now she wants a coat made from puppy fur. She has lot ideas of how to kill the puppies, including shooting them, drowning them, poisoning them, bashing them on the head, and using chloroform, and she tries to capture the puppies using a pitchfork. She is visibly excited about the prospect of the puppies dying and being skinned.
Cruella reveals the fur coat of the killed Siberian tiger mentioned at the start of the movie. The skin still has the head of the tiger attached.
The 2 henchmen break into the home of Anita and Roger, violently manhandling Nanny before shoving her into a closet and locking it so they can ‘dognap’ the puppies.
There is frequent slapstick and comedy violence – for example, the animals play several tricks on the nasty and rather clumsy henchmen Jasper and Horace, who slip, fall over, hit their heads, get shocked and thrown off an electric fence, have their car catch on fire, get bitten and nearly freeze after falling into a pond.
Cruella gets kicked by a horse, which sends her flying for several metres, and she repeatedly gets covered in dung and sewage.
Anita hits Roger in the head with a handbag filled with bricks.

Sexual references

101 Dalmatians has some sexual references. For example:

The 2 henchmen jump over an electric fence and land on it, electrocuting their genitals.
Roger checks the genitals of Perdita in the park after confusing her for Pongo.
When meeting with ‘the Skinner’, Horace claims that, ‘the sight of all these deceased creatures gives me a shrinky winky’.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

101 Dalmatians has some substance use. For example:

Cruella is hardly ever seen without a cigarette in a holder.
Jasper is seen finishing a beer, with possibly empty beer bottles on a table nearby.

Nudity and sexual activity

101 Dalmatians has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Anita and Roger kiss on a couch and lay down as the camera pans away from them.
Cruella wears slightly revealing outfits.
Roger and Anita kiss.

Product placement

101 Dalmatians has some product placement. For example:

Dr Pepper is shown during the meeting for Roger’s first video game pitch.
Jasper and Horace drive a Ford truck, with frequent close-ups of the Ford logo.

Coarse language

101 Dalmatians has some coarse language. For example, name-calling includes ‘idiots!’ ‘stinky lab rat!’, ‘stupid, pathetic fools!’, ‘bloody mongrels!’, ‘you filthy beast!’, ‘morons!’, ‘unintelligent’, ‘imbeciles’, and ‘devil’. Threatening language includes ‘I’ll hit you’ and ‘kill the little beasts’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

101 Dalmatians (1996) is a live-action remake of Disney's 1961 animated classic. It has been slightly adapted to fit modern times, but otherwise the movie is a close adaptation of the original. It offers families fast-paced action and adventure, with Glenn Close making a very convincing villain. Frequent references to animal cruelty, along with slapstick violence, scary characters and coarse language make the movie unsuitable for a very young audience and parental guidance is recommended for children aged 6-7.

The main messages from 101 Dalmatians are that sometimes in life it’s important to take initiative; and that you can achieve more as part of a team or together with friends.

Values in 101 Dalmatians that you could reinforce with your children are teamwork, being clever and resourceful, protecting one's family, and the importance of community.

101 Dalmatians could also give you the chance to talk with your children about things like remorselessness, cruelty and selfishness. You could also discuss the ethics and impacts of using animal pelts for fashion.