DVD Review: 101 Dalmatians: 2-Disc Platinum Edition

In the annals of animated villainy there is, perhaps, no one more immediately recognizable as rotten to the core than Disney's Cruella de Vil. From her appearance to her voice to her selfish, obsessive, and cruel personality, Cruella is an absolutely perfect villain, and she is back in all her horrible splendor in Disney's 2-Disc Platinum Edition of the 1961 animated classic, 101 Dalmatians.

As it is indeed a "classic," the film has stood the test of time. The story still holds water; the dogs are still cute; the songs and music still work; and Cruella is still evil personified and a wonder to behold. Watching this picture on family movie night is just as sure to be a hit as it was in 1961. The exceptions may be young or sensitive family members uncomfortable with the idea of watching a film in which the villain plans to kill 101 puppies for the purpose of making and selling fur coats out of them, and people who dislike the word "idiot," which is used frequently throughout the picture.

Disney's two-disc offering of 101 Dalmatians is, to my way of thinking, a little much. If I were doing a research project on the film, I can see where some of the offerings may be useful. If I were recovering from surgery and heavily sedated with Percocet, Vicodin, or some similar drug, the second disc of Dalmatians might be an interesting diversion. But as a regular viewer I am certain that most of what is worthwhile on the second disc could have, with a bit of shuffling and editing, been fit onto the first. The one aspect of disc two, which proved diverting to my children and me, was found in the "Games and Activities" section, the "Puppy Profiler." This is a game wherein the player answers questions to determine what kind of dog he or she would be, and what kind of "pet," or human, he or she would have. (My second daughter and I were Dalmatians, my eldest daughter was either a Chihuahua or poodle, and Boy Wonder was a Cocker Spaniel.)

I had planned to list and describe the second disc offerings, but they go on ad nauseam, and I don't have the stomach for it. Suffice to say that the dramatization of correspondence between Walt Disney and the story's author, Dodie Smith, does not exactly qualify as engrossing, and deleted and "abandoned" songs were probably best left that way. The section designed to teach non-English speaking viewers to speak English seems a little (interesting, the French word fits so well here) bizarre, and the repetition of years worth of trailers and radio spots quickly becomes tedious.

This disc set is not a purchase that I recommend except to the most devoted or fanatical 101 Dalmatians fan. If you are curious about the above mentioned (and not mentioned) contents of disc two in this latest release, my advice is to rent it. If you own a previously released copy of 101 Dalmatians, you already have in your possession all you really need. After all, how many dogs can one house contain? And no matter how many times she is re-released, there is only one Cruella de Vil.

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