December 1, 1996 -- "101 Dalmatians" is a cartoonish live action movie. The good news is, Glenn Close is great as the nasty over-the-top villain Cruella De Vil. The bad news is you have to wait until the closing credits to hear that great Cruella De Vil song.

This is a Disney film and the studio does have the best animal handlers in the business. Some of the animal stunts are unbelievable, and, of course, no animals were harmed.

As in most Disney animal films, the animals are portrayed as humans with extra feet and fur. They think, feel and communicate much like us. One dog even performs pantomime to convey a message about the 99 puppies stolen to make Cruella's spotted fur coat.

The Great Escape of the puppies is engineered by a bunch of animals who outwit their dimwitted human captors, and then the chase is on. This is very harmless entertainment for kids with a non-so-subtle anti fur coat message. It is not quite up to adult standards, however. For kids it rates a B. For adults, a C-.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.