102 Dalmatians

If Hollywood keeps on its current path, one of these days I am going to do it:

I am going to sit down and compile a volume of all the films and movies Hollywood has remade and remade, with the title of this tome being: "The Twice-Chewed Meal".

Doing so, of course, will reveal an ugly truth Hollywood does not want you to know:

Of the thousands and thousands of films and movies Hollywood has made, maybe a hundred are original efforts.

For as long as I can recall Hollywood has held the wrong-headed belief that if a film or movie succeeds once, twice is better.

Which goes to explain why "102 Dalmatians" was made. When "101 Dalmatians" was made as an animated film it was a success across the board. So it was justifiable to a point that it could be remade as a live-action effort. That film proved equally successful.

Which meant, for reasons perverted, a sequel was certain.

And here it is: "102 Dalmatians".

Disney knows that people who go see Walt Disney movies want simplicity, so simplicity here: Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close) has been released on probation after previously being convicted and jailed for dognapping. She is assigned to a parole office named Chloe (Alice Evans), who loves Dalmatians, who does not believe for a moment Cruella has changed--reformed. But. . . superficially she seems otherwise: She gets involved in the activities of a shelter for homeless animals, run by a fellow named Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd), who is rather fond of Chloe.

Then something happens: Big Ben chimes and Cruella returns to her former self.

Yes, this premise is original and different from the first movie, but it is, at its most basic, a twice-chewed meal. We know Cruella. We know that she will attempt to profit from the dogs. We know she will be caught.

Regardless--and this may go to explain much as to why moviegoers are so willing to see remakes--"102 Dalmatians" is worth the ticket price.

Cruella is, and will remain, a sinful delight with her bigger-than-life self and her self-serving excess, from her home, with (dog) fur-storage rooms and dungeons, hidden doors, and traps, to her hair--half black, half white, to her nails and sadistic clownish makeup.

I wondered, watching this movie, if the creators went back not to the first movie, but the original, and studied it to determine how to do this one. I think so. There is a certain energy here that is usually reserved for animated efforts.

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