101 Dalmatians - ep74

If Disney remakes don’t scare you, no evil thing will.

Years before Disney went bananas with live-action remakes of their animated classics, the Mouse House recruited Glenn Close and a bunch of dogs to update the 1961 classic about a nice old lady who just wants to own a nice coat. Okay, so she wants the coat made out of dalmatian puppy fur, so doggy parents Pongo and Perdita must recruit a small army of farm animals to stop that crazy Cruella de Vil from making what will obviously be a very ugly coat.

Building up its pedigree, “101 Dalmatians” adds John Hughes-penned pratfalls in the style of “Home Alone,” Jeff Daniels as an “independent video game developer” and two bumbling henchman played by Dr. House and Ron Weasley’s Dad.

Old Millennials Remember ‘101 Dalmatians’ podcast

A holiday hit back in 1996, the live-action “101 Dalmatians” isn’t quite as infuriating as the Disney remakes that would come later. For the most part, real animals are used (minus a few awful shots of 90s-era CGI), and they don’t speak, which immediately elevates the viewing above your standard “Air Buddies” adventure.

Tyler and Angela discuss Glenn Close’s go-for-broke performance and whether the film’s rescue mission in the second half works without the animals talking to each other as the do in the original. We also try to figure out the character of Nanny, played by “Dennis the Menace” superstar Joan Plowright. She’s a nanny? For a family with no kids? A live-in housekeeper? A dogsitter? A weird old lady with the power to identify pregnant dogs just by looking into their eyes?

What are you doing here, Nanny?! You’re making us nervous. At least Cruela de Vil makes her intentions clear.

Also discussed in this episode:

Strangers on a Train (1951)
Laura (1944)
The Clapper (2017)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
The Land of Steady Habits (2018)

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