HTF REVIEW: "101 Dalmations II: Patch's London Adventure (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

101 Dalmatians II
Patch's London Adventure




Studio: Disney
Year: 2002
Rated: G
Film Length: 70 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.66:1)
Subtitles: English



I am sure that the most loyal enthusiasts of
Disney animation must cringe when they learn
about these direct-to-video sequels of classic
animated titles. What is with these direct-to-
video films anyway? Were they intended to be
a low-budget means of releasing new titles to
the market, or were they theatrical projects
that just weren't up to snuff? It's easy to
sell just about anything to a kids market, but
when it comes to adults, the animation and the
story better be good.
Rest assured adults of all ages, 101 Dalmatians II:
Patch's London Adventure is going to please
the most discriminating audiences.

Our fun-filled adventure begins in London where
Anita and Roger are packing up to move themselves
and their clan of 101 dalmatians out to Dalmatian
Plantation, a farm in the country big enough for
the dogs to romp and play. It's also far enough
out of the way where Cruella De Vil won't easily
find them.

On the night before the big move we find Patch,
the smallest of the Dalmatians, watching his
favorite TV hero, Thunderbolt, save the day. Patch
dreams of becoming a "one-of-a-kind" hero like
Thunderbolt, and when the family accidently leaves
him behind the next morning, Patch goes out to
find his favorite TV star.

Meanwhile, we find Cruella De Vil hanging out at
a local art gallery with a spot-fixated artist who
she hires to inspire. When the artist fails to
calm her "spotty" frenzy, she decides another attempt
to kidnap the dalmatian pups.
There are many positive things going for this
new 101 Dalmatians adventure. Firstly, the
story is fun and lively enough to be entertaining
to both kids and adults alike. The meat of this
story involves young Patch meeting his favorite
TV hero, Thunderbolt. I promise you'll particularly
enjoy watching the film's most memorable musical
number, Try Again, as our canine pair
humorously go in search of partaking in heroic deeds
in order to attract the Press. It's moments like
this that you can really sit back and be entertained
by the sheer wit of what you are watching. In fact,
the entire story is so cleverly written and
beautifully animated that it's easy to lose yourself
within it all.
How is the transfer?
Here is where I appeal to the Disney animation
enthusiasts....
101 Dalmatians II may not be on par with the
quality animation you expect out of the studio's
mainstream theatrical releases, but you'd be surprised
how well animated this film is and how stunning it
looks on DVD. As most people have realized,
nothing makes better DVD demo material than
beautifully animated films. This transfer stands
up to the best of them. Image is absolutely razor
sharp with vivid neon-like colors that illuminate
just about every frame. Just a terrific looking
picture with so much detail and rock solid black
levels.

The DTS 5.1 mix is quite good. This punchy
and bright soundtrack manages to be just as
entertaining as the film itself thanks to a
fairly active mix with excellent sound direction.
The film's jazzy big-band orchestration is well
divided amongst the 5 channels -- so much so, you
may find your feet tapping along with it from time
to time. This mix is also notable, particularly
for the fact that it gives so much support to the
various effects sounds heard throughout. From
dalmatian pups that seem to emanate from any given
channel at any given time, to the outrageously
funny noises of Cruella De Vil's car, you'll be
quite pleased with the way effects noises are
brought to life. The sound people really did a
nice job here creating a clever environment that
highly compliments the film.
Special Features

This DVD is totally geared for kids which makes me hard
pressed to figure out why Disney chose an anamorphic
transfer here. Isn't this the same Disney that
colorizes classic B&W films for DVD and believes
that kids hate those nasty black bars? While I could
knock myself out silly trying to figure out their
logic, I am most thankful that this film got the
beautiful anamorphic transfer it deserves.

Behind the scenes Dog-umentary is the perfect
treat for young kids. The entire featurette is
hosted by a group of real-life canines who take us
inside the Disney animation studios. There we
meet directors Brian Smith and Jim Kammerudto who
give us a brief overview of the animation process --
from story pitch to actual animation to voice. Kids
will enjoy watching Bobby Lockwood voice their
favorite dalmatian pup, and adults will enjoy
watching veteran comic Martin Short show off his
voice talents. An enjoyable little featurette for
the fact that it cleverly teaches kids about the
animation process.
(length: approx. 7 minutes)
Thunderbolt: An Inside Look is interactive
fun at its best! Welcome to Thunderbolt's personal
trailer. Take a look around at all the stuff that
line the shelves of his dressing room Go ahead --
use your remote to click on various items to see
commercials, still pictures and even a funny
blooper reel that shows Thunderbolt blowing his
lines.
Lost In London Game is a trivia game with
multiple-choice questions based on the various
sites of London seen in the film. As you guess
the correct answer to these fairly easy questions,
you get a little history of the London locales
such as Buckingham Palace, the Tower Of London
and Big Ben. A lot of effort was put into this
game, because in addition to learning all these
cool facts about London locales, kids get to rescue
their favorite pups.
There are two Music Videos here. The first
is Try Again by "British Pop Idol" winner
Neil Young. The second, You're The One is
sung by LMNT.
You'll also find the usual cavalcade of Disney
promotional trailers for upcoming theatrical and
DVD releases.
Final Thoughts

If Disney chose to cut corners with this direct-
to-video release, you would be hard pressed to see
how they did it. This DVD is definitely worth a
purchase, and worthy of being placed next to other
Disney animated fare in your colletion. While I am
recommending a purchase, I strongly caution you
to find the best deal possible on it. For a feature
that runs just over an hour, the $29 price tag is
highway robbery. You can find this on-line for just
under $23, and hopefully cheaper than that elsewhere.
Disney fans don't miss this!
Release Date: January 14, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality

 

[Kenneth Cummings]

Hehe, that was a good review Ron, even so I have to admit 101 Dalmation is my least favorite of the classic Disney movies, but this review makes me want to watch the sequel.

 

[Jake Lipson]

As a Disney animation enthusiast, I'm opting to not bother with this. Disney's sequels have insulted me one too many times that the good ones arem't any redemption. I'll just try and find the original on ebay or wait until it gets reissued in 2010 (long time :frowning:!) As for the sequel, I'll pass.
Ron, I know there's a Lion King trailer on the disc that mentions new footage and a new song "The Morning Report." I've seen some screenshots, but nothing really new; I really want to see the preview in its entirety. Is there any way you can rip it off of the DVD and post it? Thanks.
And, as always, a great review.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Is there any way you can rip it off of the DVD and post it? Thanks

No chance.

 

[James Reader]

Thanks for the review Ron. I'm looking forward to this, the Stitch Movie and Inspector Gadget 2 - all Disney DTV movies this year.

There are two Music Videos here. The first is Try Again by "British Pop Idol" winner Neil Young.

It's actually WILL Young.

 

[Louis C]

Thanks James. My my hey hey, I too was confused.

 

[Ron-P]

I'll be picking this one up. My daughter will love it.
Peace Out~

 

[GlennH]

I've bought several of these direct-to-video Disney animated sequels for my daughter. Some are pretty good (Little Mermaid II, Lady and the Tramp II) and others are awful (Hunchback II).

Since 101 Dalmatians II seems pretty good, I'd like to get it, but the price sure is daunting. These things really should have an MSRP of $19.99, not $29.99. I may just rent it, or wait awhile and watch for a good sale price (like one of those Disney Store $10 sales or something).

Thanks for the review.

 

[Matt Wallace]

My only take on Disney's logic is maybe they think this sequel will only sell to an older crowd. While movies like the Lion King and Little Mermaid came out to a different crowd, the age of people who grew up with 101 Dalmations and Lady and the Tramp date a little older. Then again, that doesn't explain Mr. Limpett or the full frame stuff... Oh well. They DID do, however, an excellent job on Lady and the Tramp 2 ( the only direct to video sequel I could recommend from Disney without hesitation). It's my hope that the better sales of LatTramp 2 maybe influenced their decision to tackle this one in almost the exact same nature rathe than some of the other more recent sequels. I'll be adding this one tomorrow. Thanks, Ron.

Matt

 

[Colin Jacobson]

As a Disney animation enthusiast, I'm opting to not bother with this. Disney's sequels have insulted me one too many times that the good ones arem't any redemption.

I don't get this attitude. If you support "101 2", then you tell Disney that their DTV stuff will sell if it's good. Ignore the crap, buy the good, and the studio might get the message. (And I agree with Ron - "101 2" really is a lot of fun!)

 

[Paul McElligott]

I just think it's sad when one of their DTV releases has more extras than the DVDs of some of their theatrical movies.

 

[JosephMoore]

Concerning Disney sequels:

- The theatrical release of a Disney movie is basically expensive marketing for the beginning of a franchise. Traditionally, there has been very little incentive to *not* take sequels straight to video as this is an almost guaranteed money maker. (Read below for a caveat.)

- The way Disney scheduling works, sometimes top notch people are on "down-time" from a feature and can contribute to a video release. Also, the direct-to-video teams are staffed by better talent and have better budgets than in the past, again because these things make money (though none of the animators want to do video, everybody wants to do "features.") Even the quality of their TV animation keeps getting better and better.

- Disney has been suffering from a string of duds and a real dirth of ideas in story development, so you are going to see a lot more sequels green lighted for the theater. "Jungle Book 2" is the first of many. Everything being pitched is a sequel, or a prequel, or whatever. If there's already been a sequal, do a third, is the prevailing thought process.

- Look for stories developed out of the Orlando studio. These guys brought you "Mulan" and "Lilo & Stitch." These days they're surpassing the Burbank studio in almost every regard.

 

[James Reader]

- Look for stories developed out of the Orlando studio. These guys brought you "Mulan" and "Lilo & Stitch." These days they're surpassing the Burbank studio in almost every regard.

And Ironically, didn't most of the crew who are now working in Orlando used to work at Walt Disney TV Animation who made the first ever DTV films?

There is nothing wrong with the DTV films in principle, especially now that the production values and money have improved. Its a shame that Hunchback of Notre Dame II couldn't have had the same production values as Lady and the Tramp II and 101 Dalmatians II seems to have, as the original is by far my favorite Disney animated film.

Incidentally, I think some of the films are being greenlighted for other business reasons (something to do with trademark retention?)

I understand Orlando manages to produce better pictures (at a lesser cost) primarily because they are further away from Disney management and as a result get less interference!

 

[Alex S]

Thanks for the review Ron.
I wasn't going to pick this one because of some of the other Disney direct to video sequels I bought like Cinderella II were terrible.

But now I will.
My 2 daughters will love it.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Since 101 Dalmatians II seems pretty good, I'd like to get it, but the price sure is daunting. These things really should have an MSRP of $19.99, not $29.99. I may just rent it, or wait awhile and watch for a good sale price (like one of those Disney Store $10 sales or something).

The Disney Store near us *is* selling this title (along with most Disney DVD titles) for $19.95.

 

[GlennH]

I was talking MSRP, not selling price. If it had a $19.95 MSRP it would be selling for a more reasonable $14 to $15, and probably cheaper if you looked hard enough.

As it is, I'll wait until the inevitable price reduction.

 

[Bob Black]

I'm glad to hear this release has better animation than the usual Disney direct-to-video sequel (and an anamorphic transfer), but I simply don't support these low-budget catastrophes. Disney's animation studio has hit the same low point as it did through the seventies and early eighties, as far as I'm concerned. If it weren't for its deal with Pixar, heads would probably have rolled by now!

They certainly miss Howard Ashman's great musical work on their theatrical releases. Beyond this, however, they simply seem to have no good ideas for stories. "Lilo & Stitch" and "Treasure Island" just don't have the magic of the long string of recent animated hits through the late eighties and nineties (Lion King, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast). It seems the only animated hits these days are CGI animation such as "Toy Story", "Shrek", "Monsters, Inc." or "Ice Age"! I think Dreamworks' animation department has released better animated titles than Disney in the last few years. Just my opinion, of course!

 

[BarryR]

I think LILO & STITCH is as good an animated feature as Disney has ever done.

 

[James Reader]

If it weren't for its deal with Pixar, heads would probably have rolled by now!

I'm sure they wouldn't - Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventures may not have been the best film Disney have ever done, but it wasn't bad (some of their theatrical releases have been worse) and it brought in a hefty $500m to the studio in sales worldwide. (Of course the title's filming and promotional expenses will have to be taken out of this figure for the profit)
Not bad for a cheap, direct to video film is it? Certainly nothing to get Eisner worried about - in fact it positively vindicates his strategy for DTV releases.
(And I still can't understand all the fuss about Treasure Planet's box office - for a start they didn't include any of the worldwide sales, and the DVD is more than likely to double or triple the films worldwide takings).
Personally I'm not against DTV releases as such - each must be taken on it's own merits. Some have been poor, some have been good, and - IMOHO of course - one has been exceptional.
And of course, Toy Story II started as a DTV release.
There's no reason why any sequel should 'automatically' be creatively bankrupt, but it's true many often do end up retreading many of the successful elements of the first film without adding anything new of their own. But to dismiss them all without sampling is wrong.
The main problem with the DTV releases is that there's just too many of them. I'm running a thread here which I hope to list all the DTV releases for 2003 - already it's far too long (And I'm investigating the status of another upcoming title to see if that needs to be added).
The glut of titles - like their big screen animated features - is giving people the impression that Disney doesn't care anymore. Strip away all the features and DTV projects that are of lesser quality and you'll be left with titles just as frequent and good as Disney in 60's, 70's or 80's.
Just like any other studio, pick and choose which releases you want to view and there is no reason why your Disney viewing should be any less enjoyable than at anytime over the past 30-40 years.
(And yes, I also think Lilo and Stitch is an exceptional film. I think it's Disney's best since Hunchback of Notre Dame.)

 

[Erwin]

I have to agree with Ron, this is a great looking animated film. I rented it the other night for my daughter and it looks like we'll end up purchasing it. I have only seen some of the scenes, but it looks worthy enough to have deserved a theatrical release. Personally, I am all for these Disney Sequels if they are done right, and most of them are. I actually liked The Lion King II, Lady and the Tramp 2, and The Little Mermaid II. I have Beauty and Beast: Encanted Christmas, but it's kind of corny. I remember Beauty & The Beast: EC being the very first Disney animated title back in 1998 before Disney opened the door to several of their movies in 1999. Lets see how The Jungle Book 2 turns out. John Goodman was a good choice, I think, for Baloo(sp?), the bear.