101 Dalmations II: Patch's London Adventure
Special Edition
Special Edition
Studio: Walt Disney Year: 2003 US Rating: Rated G - General Audiences Film Length: 71 Mins Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1. Spanish & French Audio Tracks Subtitles: French and Spanish |
US Release Date: September 16th, 2008
The Film -
out of
“Let those puppies go or I’ll have to knock the stupid out of you”
The Film -
out of “Let those puppies go or I’ll have to knock the stupid out of you”
101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure has the daunting task of being the direct to DVD follow up to one of the greatest animated films of all time, the charming 1963 classic 101 Dalmatians. The adventures of the cuddly spotted ones are part of Disney’s efforts to keep popular cinematic characters and stories alive in sequels and prequels that head straight to DVD and considerable revenues.
The continuing exploits of the enormous family of Dalmatian puppies has one of the litter, Patch, feeling isolated among the throng of brothers and sisters and longing for something new, different. When Roger and Anita, the human guardian’s of Pongo, Perdita and the hundreds of paws of the adorable puppy clan make the move from their overcrowded flat in London to the spacious serenity of a farm in the English countryside, Patch is accidentally left behind. When Patch wakes up to the moving truck packing up and heading to the new home, his distress is quickly replaced by excitement when a ‘Kanine Krunch’ van rumbles past. As it happens, he saw a commercial the night before during his favorite TV show which features Thunderbolt, a heroic dog who always saves the day, announcing auditions in London for an opportunity to have a guest spot on the TV show along side Thunderbolt himself. Patch makes his way to the audition, but things don’t go quite as planned. Meanwhile, the nasty Cruella De Vil is out on bail and conjuring another dastardly plan to turn 101cute Dalmatians into high art or, at the very least, a masterpiece fur that she can adorn proudly.
When Patch’s brothers and sisters are snatched by Horace and Jasper, who have just been released from jail thanks to the malevolent Ms. De Vil, it is up to Patch and his newfound friend and partner, Thunderbolt, to save the day. To make things worse, however, there is an evil plot underway by Thunderbolt’s onscreen sidekick Lightning, who, tired of being an afterthought to the Thunderbolt’s herois, seeks to replace the narcissistic K-9 hero with himself and become the star of the show.
This 2002 adventure was co-directed by Brian Smith and Jim Kammurud, animated by talents across the globe and written by Jim Kammurud, Garrett K. Schiff and Brian Smith and begins playfully with a nice reintroduction of the human family and the plentiful bunch of four-legged friends. The sadness of Patch and the new character of Thunderbolt are quickly established and the adventure is in full swing before you know it. Despite its short running time, 101 Dalmations II: Patch’s London Adventure is chock full of fun moments and action. However, these moments that spring up frequently come at that the price of an uneven story and are tempered by a simple and mostly average script. Even the few musical numbers don’t add much to the overall experience, lacking the fancy and good-humored delight of other Disney productions.
The voice talent is very good, with the king of tongue in cheek, Barry Bostwick, delivering as the uncomplicated and self-absorbed TV hero, Thunderbolt. The sweet, feisty Patch is voiced by Bobby Lockwood and provides a solid London based British accent that captures the spirited tenacity of a young lad and wonderment at his TV hero. Cruella De Vil is brought to life by Susanne Blakeslee, who cackles and sneers with liveliness and a deceitful glee. Martin Short provides the eccentric artist Lars with an absurd snobbery that doesn’t exactly fit with the rest of the film, but still manages to bring about a few laughs. Jason Alexander also provides his unique voice talents to the character of Lightning – not going overboard with nefarious snickering but still conveying a befuddling naughtiness and selfishness befitting of his slighted sidekick. Samuel West provides the voice of Pongo, Maurice La Marche plays Horace and Jeff Bennet provides the dimwitted Jasper with his characteristic low IQ voice.
The animation is extremely faithful to the original 101 Dalmatians and looks great. Occasional CG enhanced animation bring the experience up to date, but never overpowers. But while the film looks great, the story doesn’t excite enough to make repeat viewings a must. Likeable but imperfect, sweet but slow – this outing only succeeds at being average.
The Video - 
out of
out of 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure is presented with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The image is sharp throughout with an almost complete lack of dust, debris of distortions of any kind. The film is filled with brightness, especially in the reds. The blacks are distinct and the lines are crisp. There is a little noise around some edges and it is perhaps artificially sharp at times, but generally speaking, Disney has provided a rather nice looking DVD.
The Sound - out of
out of The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound available on this release has plenty of punch in the subwoofer. Several times during the film, the deep thump is startling, particularly during the audition scene when a Great Dane towers over Thunderbolt and barks. The front channels sound very good, with directional effects that carry into the surrounds coming through without issues. More could have been done in the surrounds, which is a complaint that I have noted in several Disney direct-to-video adventures lately.
The Extra's - out of
out of Music & More
”Try Again” Music Video - (2:14) – The Jazzy, Big-Band style song from Will Young features clips from the film and from the recording booth.
”You’re The One” Music Video - (2:16) – This LMNT pop-song remix has an up-to-date sound and features dialogue from the film.
Games & Activities
Thunderbolt: An Inside Look - Enter Thunderbolt’s trailer and select items from inside for fun and uncover (fake) bloopers, shake change from his couch (which comes with a story behind it) and catch a glimpse of Thunderbolt wearing embarrassing curlers among other treasures to find.
Patch’s London Adventure - This game will have you help rescue the kidnapped Dalmatian puppies by putting together clues, solving puzzles, finding corresponding locations on the map of London and locating keys that will help save the day.
Lost In London - Learn a little about London by answering questions to help find Patch’s 98 brothers and sisters around the English capitol.
Backstage Disney
Making Of “Dog-Umentary” - (7:00) – Follow a group of pooches into the studios of Walt Disney where we get to meet the directors, witness a scene pitch session, meet an animator of Patch, a background artist and get a peak at the actors voicing the film’s characters.
Sneak Peaks
Final Thoughts
As I mentioned, 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure is likeable, but imperfect. Watching Patch zip around London with Thunderbolt gives the film energy and the pace some burn, but the story’s flow is off. The plot is reasonable, but as with the live-action 101 Dalmatians, Cruella De Vil is relegated to an afterthought nemesis while the lead characters work through more entertaining predicaments. Perhaps with more engaging musical numbers and more cohesion between the film’s friends and the folly of their foes, this could have been a far more winning gem. As it stands, however, it is merely likeable.
Overall Score - out of
out of Neil Middlemiss
Kernersville, NC
