101 Dalmatians
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: November 27, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Director Stephen Herek does an admirable balancing job, though the movie slows whenever the animals solo onscreen. [27 Nov 1996 Pg.01.D]
80
TimeRichard Schickel
For us dog saps, it is especially nice to see cuddlesomely real pooches instead of drawn ones doing smart-pet tricks. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Where the film misses its biggest bet, however, is in depriving the animals of the voices they had in the animated version. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
Though this film's considerable warmth derives from dalmatian puppies and other animals who take charge of their fates, Close steals the show. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
Dalmatians proves an apt playground for Hughes as one could surmise that his inspiration for treating comic bad guys in his movies so violently comes from a cartoon sensibility. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The story seems awfully far-fetched when real people play the characters, but the canines are cute and Glenn Close was born to play Cruella De Vil, the monstrous magnate who sets the plot in motion. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff(not credited)
Since each is more adorable than the one before - and together they're an irresistible mass of squirming speckles - the whole elaborate edifice holds up pretty well. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
What's funny in cartoons is not always funny in live action, and some of the dunkings in unsavory substances left me less than amused. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
If the Disney animated original (1961) -- adapted from Dodie Smith's novel -- tried to approximate live action, this 1996 Disney live-action remake often tries to evoke cartoon. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverPeter Rainer
The entire remake has been dumb-dumbed by John Hughes, who wrote the script and produced. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Thanks to Glenn Close's delicious villainy, it succeeds in breathing archly theatrical life into the irresistibly monstrous Cruella DeVil. Otherwise, this remake goes to the dogs too often. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubMaria Schneider
Not much reason to see this one, because in 1961 Disney made an animated version called 101 Dalmatians, which is better. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
But when it comes to that great puppy pilgrimage, the movie, which was written and produced by John Hughes, falls astoundingly flat. Read full review
50
NewsweekDavid Ansen
But the tale has been squeezed to fit the mold of director John Hughes, which for long stretches makes it feel as much like the third "Home Alone" as the second "Dalmations." Read full review
40
Washington PostJohn F. Kelly
Annoyingly, the movie is marred by anemic connecting scenes and a seeming disdain for something as simple as logic Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Fluffy and mild to the point of somnolence, it can't even get the full benefit of its strongest asset, Glenn Close's performance as the grasping virago Cruella DeVil. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleHollis Chacona
At times, the film feels like one painful, protracted pratfall. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Even children, who will be enthralled by all the puppies, may have a hard time not fidgeting for protracted portions of the running time. Read full review
20
Washington PostDesson Thomson
In Hollywood, imitation is the most profitable form of flattery. That is the only plausible explanation for 101 Dalmatians, Walt Disney's disappointing live-action remake of its own 1961 classic. Read full review
10
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
But by the end, the charm and delicacy of the 1961 cartoon have long been replaced by laborious gross-outs. Is this now official Disney policy? Read full review
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