Film / 101 Dalmatians (1996)

This time, the magic is real.

101 Dalmatians is a 1996 live-action adaptation of Disney's 101 Dalmatians, starring Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil, Jeff Daniels as Roger Dearly, Joely Richardson as Anita Campbell-Green-Dearly, Hugh Laurie as Jasper and Mark Williams as Horace. The story is updated to the (then-) Present Day (thus, The '90s), and the animal characters don't speak this time. It was written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Stephen Herek.

The film got a sequel in 2000, 102 Dalmatians.

See also Cruella, a Continuity Reboot origin story film about the eponymous character, played by Emma Stone, produced by Glenn Close herself.

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This film provides examples of:

• 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: All three builds of Roger's game display this. The gameplay environments are all CG with 2D sprites of the characters.
  • Animated Adaptation: Interestingly enough, the designs for Pongo and two of the puppies (Patches and Whizzer) in the footage are from the original 1961 film, with the dogcatcher and the plumber drawn in a similar style. Cruella's design in the game is based directly on Glenn Close herself rather than the original Marc Davis design from the film, but reverted back to the Marc Davis design in the tie-in game.
• Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: The mouse in DeVil Manor makes its tail straight and points it diagonally down and to the left for Kipper, in order to point him in the direction to find the puppies.
• Accidental Misnaming: Cruella never gets Roger's name right (This trope is repeated in the TV series.)
• Adaptational Attractiveness: Glenn Close's Cruella is certainly more good looking than her animated counterpart. Pretty much unavoidable since Glenn Close is a stunner herself, not to mention the animated version is pretty much a gargoyle.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • The police were completely useless in the animated film. Here, they not only arrest Cruella quickly after finding her stash of illegal furs but also rescue the puppies and give them a ride home.
  • Anita gets some key moments. She clonks Roger in the face to rescue Perdita, whom Roger had mistaken for Pongo, and explains she keeps bricks in her purse for that purpose. Later, she is the one who gives the final refusal to Cruella about selling the puppies, though Roger is the first to declare it.
  • And speaking of Roger, he's much firmer and less stuttery when standing up to Cruella.
  • To say nothing for Lucky. During the dognapping, he is the only one to attempt to fight back against the Baduns, biting Jasper on the hand.
• Adaptational Intelligence: The Dearlys, Nanny and the police serve as this. When the puppies are kidnapped, Anita is more than open to the possibility that Cruella took them for petty reasons and realizes it when she finds her Dalmatian coat drawing. Nanny intuits that Perdita and Pongo have gone to search for the puppies, and she is right. Meanwhile the police do find the evidence that Cruella is the most likely suspect to take the puppies and she's arrested for having other illegal furs, including a tiger that was killed for her skin in London Zoo earlier in the film. They also rescue the puppies, Pongo and Perdita, giving them a ride home.
• Adaptational Job Change: Instead of working as a songwriter as in the original version, Roger is an American game developer.
• Adaptational Nationality: While Roger is an American residing in London, the original book and animated movie depict him as an Englishman given the nationality of the book and its author, Dodie Smith. Considering the part was offered to Hugh Grant, it's likely the change was made simply to accommodate the casting of Jeff Daniels.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • The Badun brothers, and in particular, Jasper. In the animated version, Horace and Jasper had no real loyalty towards Cruella, and served her primarily only for money, but also out of fear and intimidation from their boss. In the live-action version, the brothers are not only portrayed as more loyal towards Cruella, but Jasper has fewer qualms about committing animal cruelty. This is best exemplified when Jasper suggests killing the puppies even when someone else (Skinner) was supposed to be doing it for them.
  Jasper: Right.... time to let the little yappers have it.
  Horace: We ain't supposed to do that, that's Skinner's job!
  Jasper: Well, Skinner isn't here, is he? Besides, I don't see why that little runt should have all the fun.
  • In the original film, only Pongo and Perdita's fifteen puppies were stolen whereas the other eighty-four were bought and paid for. In this version, all ninety-nine puppies were stolen.
• Adaptation Name Change: Hell Hall is instead called De Vil Manor.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: The original book and the animated adaptation mention that Anita and Cruella were schoolmates and friends as children. In this film, Cruella is Anita's employer and mentor, with a notable age gap between them.
• All There in the Manual: Most of the puppies' names are found only in promotional materials for the film.
• Animal Reaction Shot: Pongo and Perdita have more than their fair share of yawns and nods and embarrassed looks.
  • Played for Laughs during the ending, as the puppies all tilt their heads in line with the minecart in the game, and flip their ears up wih and Oh, Crap! expression upon seeing Cruella in the game.
• Animal Talk: There's a scene where Pongo and a bird communicate with each other.
• Animated Adaptation: Sort of. Cartoon versions of these movies' unique puppies have been featured on tie-in merchandise, and a few characters from the movie made it into the cartoon series.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Horace lists the many things wrong with his and Jasper's current assignment.
  Horace: I'll be honest with you, mate! This job is fast losing its charm! The housing stinks, the food's lousy, the lavatory facilities are appalling, and so far, we haven't been paid so much as one quid!
  Jasper: Oh, will you stop moaning?! Look, this time tomorrow night, it's all over. We get our boodle, we'll be outta here before you can say dead puppies.
• Ash Face: Horace, after the Banana in the Tailpipe moment below.
• Babies Ever After: Roger and Anita have a little girl at the end, while the puppies grow up with puppies of their own. And it seems like Roger and Anita are about to have another.
• Bag of Kidnapping: This is how Jasper and Horace steal the puppies.
• Banana in the Tailpipe: Raccoons put a large nut in the tailpipe of the bad guys' truck. The pressure does shoot the nut out eventually - when Horace is examining the tail pipe.
• Battle Discretion Shot: Jasper punching Horace for commenting on Mr. Skinner's scar after the former explicitly tells him not to is not shown to the audience as Jasper closes the door before the punch. It would be too violent for a G rating if it was actually shown.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Horace, freezing cold after dropping into icy water, tries to turn on the heat in Jasper's van. He gets heat all right... in the form of fire streaming out of the vents, thanks to a squirrel previously biting off the van's heater control valve. This forces both Jasper and Horace to abandon the flaming van and walk by foot.
  Horace: (angrily) I can't stand the cold no more.... I WANT HEAT!! (turn on the van's heater on, only for flames to engulf the van's vents) FIRE!!! TOO HOT!!! TOO HOT!!!
• Bowdlerise: A slight re-dub occurred in the United Kingdom release, in which Horace's line "No bloody wonder you can't talk, mate!" was re-dubbed to "No blinkin' wonder you can't talk, mate!" The "bloody" slang is considered to be profane in the United Kingdom.
• Bratty Half-Pint: The kid testing Roger’s Dalmatian starring video games.
• Bumbling Henchmen Duo: Jasper and Horace, just like their animated counterparts, are comedic henchmen working for Cruella.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Anita's drawing of Cruella in a Dalmatian coat. She finds it after Pongo and Perdita run away and realizes that Cruella did take the puppies, to kill them.
  • The tiger fur. When the police find it during their raid of Cruella's house, it's more than enough evidence to prove she's taken the puppies and committed more crimes besides.
  • The skunk who takes a nap in Cruella's car as she prepares to retrieve the puppies. She mistakes it for her purse and at the end, it makes its way into the cop car holding Cruella and her henchmen, and sprays all four of them for one last punchline.
• Christmas Episode: The scene where the puppies get their collars is suggested to be set during Christmastime, due to its use of Mel Torme's "Christmas Song".
• Clever Crows: There is a heroic raven in the barnyard, him calls Pongo and Perlita to report that his lost puppies are in the barnyard. He then warns the other animals about Cruella's arrival at the place, even he very brave one attacks Cruella and stealing his red hat.
• Comically Missing the Point: There's this exchange after Cruella and her henchmen have been defeated:
  Cruella: (addressing Jasper, Horace, and Skinner) Congratulations, you three have won the gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Moron Olympics.
  Horace: (after a very long beat) Who won the gold?
  Cruella: (screaming) SHUT UP!!
• Composite Character: As in the animated film, it combines the book's Missis (Pongo's mate) and Perdita (another female who was brought in as a sort of wet-nurse because there were too many puppies).
• Crotch-Glance Sex Check: When Roger mistakes Perdy for Pongo, he lifted her leg to check for her sex.
• Darker and Edgier: This film is a good deal grimmer than the original animated version, and even the original book. The opening scenes include a news report about a tiger in a zoo being illegally killed for her skin, showing the lengths Cruella will go to for her furs; Cruella's henchman Mr. Skinner is terrifying; Anita flatout realises that Cruella plans to kill the puppies for her coat...
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Cruella can be very sarcastic and snarky in the film:
    "Puppies! You have been a busy boy!"
    • "(To Jasper after the puppies are stolen) "My faith in your limited intelligence is momentarily restored."
    • (To her henchmen in the police van) "Congratulations! You just won gold, silver and bronze in the moron Olympics!"
  • Roger also has his moments:
    • (To Pongo about being unable to sell any of his games) "We're fast approaching the point where I'm gonna have to start eating your table scraps."
    • "I went swimming in the pond." and Anita taking his sarcasm seriously makes it funnier.
• Decomposite Character:
  • In the animated film, Horace and Jasper were supposed to kill and skin the puppies themselves. This film introduces the character of Mr. Skinner, who Horace and Jasper are tasked with delivering the puppies to. Though they do consider doing the job themselves when Mr. Skinner was running late.
  • Though Tibbs the cat still makes an appearance, his role as the animal who sneaks the puppies out of the villains' hideout is transferred to a new character, an Airedale Terrier named Kipper.
• Demoted to Extra: As noted above, Sgt. Tibbs no longer saves the puppies like in the original, and only makes a brief cameo in the barnyard scene.
• Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: Jasper tries to emphasize to Horace not to comment on Mr. Skinner's huge scar on his throat. First words out of his mouth when Skinner opens the door?
  Horace: Crikey! Look at the size of that scar! No bloody wonder you can't talk, mate!
  Skinner: (Death Glare)
  Jasper: Excuse me for a minute. (closes the door and decks Horace)
• Disappointed in You: Cruella was displeased when her best employee Anita got married, earlier she tried to discourage her from such things since she believes married/family life would damper her potential, even though it's not for case for Anita. When Anita refuses to sell the puppies to her for any price, Cruella became furious and fires her from her job, proclaiming to her that she'll never work in fashion again.
• Dog Walks You: Pongo and later Perdita run after the other, dragging their owners on bikes by the leash. Poor Roger and Anita end up veering out of control and land in the park duck pond.
• Dope Slap: Horace gets one from Jasper after loudly pointing out the scar on Skinner's neck when he was specifically told not to.
• Even Evil Has Standards: In spite of serving Cruella, the Badun brothers (particularly Horace) make little to no effort in hiding their discomfort about Skinner's methods of skinning animals for taxidermy.
  Jasper (examining one of Skinner's tools): God, bloody gruesome line of work you're in, Skinner.
  Horace: The sight of all these deceased creatures gives me a shrinky winky.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Cruella cannot understand why Roger and Anita, who are on a fixed income, refuse to sell the puppies, even when she offers them a cheque for £7,500. In fact, her insistence is what convinces them that Cruella's intentions are not in the puppies' favor.
  Anita: But Cruella, what would you do with 15 puppies?
  Roger: That's irrelevant, Anita. She can't have any of them because they're not for sale!
• Evil-Detecting Dog: Pongo and Perdita are immediately distrustful of Cruella as they furiously growl and bark at her, knowing that she only wants their puppies for their fur coat.
  • The local pensioner's pet bulldog furiously barks at Jasper and Horace after they kidnapped the Dalmatian puppies from the Dearly residence; even the bulldog's barks were loud enough for Pongo and Perdy to hear, leading them, Roger and Anita to find out what happened. Even Horace lampshades this by pointing out how serious this is, only for Jasper to brush it off.
  • Upon Pongo and Perdy's departure, Nanny correctly points out that the two dogs just ran off only to look for the puppies. She even points out that dogs themselves have a sixth sense that helps them deduce a person's true nature, just like they did with Cruella. This is what caused Anita, Roger and Nanny to learn that Cruella is responsible for stealing the puppies in the first place; with Anita sadly saying that Cruella wants to kill the puppies only for her spotted fur coat.
• Evil Laugh: Several impressive examples, courtesy of Cruella.
• Evil Is Hammy: Glenn Close knew this was a great role for the application of mountains of ham, and she brought it all with her. Her legendary talent let her pull it off while making it look easy.
• Expy: Mr. Skinner's black coat, hat, and gloves resemble those of Judge Doom.
• Faint in Shock: Anita goes out cold when she learns she's pregnant.
• Femme Fatalons: One of Cruella's outfits has long, curved fingernails on the outside of her High-Class Gloves.
• Flames of Love: Roger and Anita's romance begins with them drying their clothes by the fire. When things get clearly romantic, there's a lingering shot of the clothes catching on fire before a Smash Cut to the characters getting married.
• Foe Romantic Subtext: Cruella seems really interested in Anita. She acts like a Woman Scorned upon reading about her marriage announcement in the paper, and says she misses the "interaction" with her at work. It's outright confirmed in the novelization that she had feelings for Anita, and Anita choosing Roger over her is partly what fueled her revenge desire.
• Foreshadowing: Very early on in the film Anita happens to catch a news report about a tiger being killed at London Zoo. Younger viewers likely won't realize the meaning of 'excoriated', but then Jasper and Horace pick up an order for Cruella that turns out to be the tiger's pelt.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Cruella and Jasper are choleric, Horace is phlegmatic / sanguine, and Mr. Skinner is melancholic.
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Roger accidentally proposes to Anita on the day they meet, but she accepts.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: As often happens, the newspaper articles briefly visible onscreen repeat the same few lines over and over again.
• Friend-or-Idol Decision: Cruella, Anita's boss, offers to take the puppies, to buy them. While Roger declares they're not for sale, Anita is a bit hesitant at first because of the money being offered, and because refusing your boss is not necessarily a good idea. Then Cruella shouts at them to take it, and Anita finally puts her foot down by quietly refusing the offer. She's not surprised when Cruella fires her and threatens to blacklist her from working in the fashion industry again.
• Graceful Loser: After failing to catch the dogs one too many times, Jasper and Horace willingly turn themselves in upon seeing the police cars.
• Gross-Out Show: A pig farts in Cruella's face, she falls into a vat of molasses, is kicked by a horse into a pigsty, and sprayed by a skunk that she mistakes for her handbag. There's also Wizzer, the puppy who is constantly peeing.
• Handbag of Hurt: At the start of the movie, Anita uses her purse to attack Roger, believing he was trying to take Perdy. This purse also contains three bricks, which delivered a solid blow to Roger’s unsuspecting face.
• "Home Alone" Antics: Jasper and Horace suffer all kinds of humiliations (Jasper nearly gets impaled by a mounted moose's antlers, Horace falls into a freezing pond, etc.). Of course, this movie was written and produced by John Hughes.
• Harmless Freezing: Horace, though he's still blue and shivering in the next scene.
• Hoist by Her Own Petard: Cruella's love of fur includes her having a rare Siberian tiger illegally slaughtered for her pelt; later, she organizes the theft of Pongo and Perdy's litter to spite their owners. On top of the dogs finding and rescuing all the puppies she was planning to use for her coat, Anita and Roger were already suspicious of Cruella after her fury at being denied the puppies, so they realize what she's planning and get the Metropolitan Police to raid her house, where the discovery of the tiger pelt alone is enough to get a warrant for her arrest.
• Human-Focused Adaptation: Sort of. Because none of the animals talk in this version, the humans get more focus and screen time.
• Humiliation Conga: The villains end up getting this. Horace and Jasper are reduced to staggering through the woods after suffering a Groin Attack via electric fence, to the point where they find being arrested a relief. Cruella, after constantly being tricked and stalled by the farm animals, ends up covered in molasses, mud and pig manure. And when they finally all end up in a police van — along with Mr. Skinner, who's come out worse for wear from being mauled by a dog — it turns out there's also a skunk in there with them, who starts spraying. Cue the screaming.
• Iron Butt Monkey:
  • Horace. He slips on the ice, winds up crashing through a window, slides across the battlements, and drops 20 feet into icy water. None of this kills him.
  • Cruella gets kicked across a farmyard by a horse, has a massive pig land on her,, covered in hay, thrown into a vat of molasses, and is catapulted through a high window and down into a pig sty. None of this kills or even hurts her.
• Know When to Fold Them:
  • Jasper and Horace are only too happy to surrender to the police after getting the crap beaten out of them.
  • Downplayed with Cruella. After being subjected to so much humiliation by the animals (covered in hay and molasses and thrown into a pigpen), Cruella finds herself caught by the police, who declares that they found her tiger-skinned coat (thanks to a complaint filed by Anita and Roger) and that her plot to skin the puppies have been exposed and that she will be facing charges for her crimes. However, rather than spewing out a tantrum as usual, Cruella instead swallows her pride and accepts her fate, though she takes out her frustration against her henchmen (who are also arrested) inside the police van.
    Cruella: (realizing that she's about to be arrested after her plan is exposed) Oh.... (curls up her dirty streak of hair from her face) ....is there something wrong?
• Live-Action Cartoon: Among a lot of things like Cartoon Physics, Cruella’s over-the-top wardrobe and personality, the animals high-fiving and the villains getting pummeled in cartoonish ways.
• Lost in Imitation: Naturally seems to be based more on the 1961 film than on the book. Though unlike the first film, it does get Roger and Anita's last names from the original book right: Dearly instead of Radcliffe. Also, the sequel includes the dinner party from the book, which was not included in the original film.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Cruella and her minions, when they realize her handbag is a pissed off skunk that they're locked in a confined space with.
  • The puppies, upon being terrified by Cruella's design in Roger's video game.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Lucky has a horse-shoe pattern on his back (and was lucky to live after his Near-Death Experience), Rolly is fat, Wizzer has a weak bladder...
  • Mr. Skinner skins animals.
• Minecart Madness: A 3D version serves as the final level in Roger's game.
• Misplaced Wildlife: Raccoons and a skunk in England. Justified in a bizarre way. There are feral populations of raccoons and skunks in England. Long story short, they were bred for the fur trade (and as exotic pets) but ended up escaping into the wild and breeding. It's not so much a case of misplaced wildlife in fiction, but rather a case of misplaced wildlife in Real Life.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The Dalmatian that appears in Roger's video game strong resembles Pongo's animated counterpart. The puppies at the end similarly look like they’re lifted from the animated film. One of them even looks like Lucky's animated counterpart.
  • Also, Cruella. In the game, she chases after the puppies in her car like in the animated film and sports her animated counterpart's Nightmare Face.
  • When the puppies are about to receive their collars, they are shown watching TV much like in the original film when they watched Thunderbolt. Here they are shown watching Disney's own The Aristocats, during the closing of the "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" sequence, and Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, showing Shadow being reunited with Peter.
• Never My Fault: In the end, Cruelly furiously blames Jasper, Horace and Skinner for her arrest by calling them incompetent twits; she had failed to realize that Anita and Roger filed a complaint against her, which led the police to discover Cruella's tiger-skinned coat in her mansion, thus deducing her plot to kidnap and skin the puppies.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In this version, Cruella gets the idea for a Dalmatian skin coat from a sketch that Anita draws inspired by Perdita's fur. Though of course Anita never meant for the coat to be made of real fur.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Cruella stealing Pongo and Perdy's litter to spite Anita and Roger ends up causing her downfall. The dogs muster the Twilight Bark, go to rescue their children and ruin her operation in Suffolk; meanwhile the humans naturally suspect Cruella of organizing the theft, Anita thinks back to the Dalmatian skin coat she designed, she puts two and two together and they immediately call the police to search the de Vil house.
• Nightmare Retardant: In-universe, Roger's attempt at making an interesting villain for his video game, which is a devilish plumber. Pongo just yawns.
• Not His Sled: Although much of this film follows the same story beats as the animated version, the climax is completely different. In the animated version, the Dalmatians escape in a moving van, a car chase ensues, and the villains are defeated when they crash their own vehicles. In the live-action version, there is no moving van and no car chase. Instead, the story resolves with the police showing up to arrest the villains and take the Dalmatians back to London.
• Of Corsets Sexy: Cruella wears a cheetah striped one when she tries to buy the puppies.
• Oh, Crap!: Played for Drama. After Pongo and Perdita run to find the puppies, Anita and Roger are talking with Nanny and considering the possibility of Cruella taking the puppies for revenge. Upon Nanny explaining that dogs have a sixth sense that can help them deduce a person's true intents. Anita remembers her Dalmatian coat drawing that Cruella was so ecstatic over and shows it to Roger and Nanny, announcing with horror that Cruella is going to kill the puppies to make the coat. Cue Mass "Oh, Crap!" from all of them.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Glenn Close. Her American accent is constantly poking through in the vowels. And right before that when Anita tells Cruella that she's having a baby, "You know what they say, accidents may happen!"
• Panicky Expectant Father: Roger is nervous enough during the birth of Pongo's puppies and wonders how he's going to react when his own baby arrives.
• Pet the Dog: Cruella does genuinely appreciate Anita's hard work and talent, praising her for her designs and remarking that any fashion house would be lucky to have her. When Anita mentions that she hopes to marry someday, Cruella sincerely warns her not to throw away her career for a man's sake. There's even a small moment when Cruella examines Anita's spotted dress and asks her permission to add a cape instead of altering the design on her own. All told, Cruella seems to really care about Anita.
  • However, this is horribly subverted when Cruella learns that Anita married Roger in a newspaper article, that she furiously curls the newspaper into a ball before throwing it away. She even unjustly fires Anita when the latter refused to sell the puppies to her.
    Cruella: (after seeing that Anita and Roger won't sell the puppies to her) All right.... keep the little beasts. Do what you like with them: drown them for all I care. You're a FOOL, Anita! I've no use for fools!! You're FIRED, you're finished!! You'll never work in fashion again, I'm through with all of you!! I'LL GET EVEN!! Just wait: you'll be sorry, YOU FOOLS!!! YOU IDIOTS!!!!
• Police Are Useless: Completely subverted. When Anita realizes that Cruella has taken the puppies and is going to kill them for her coat, the UK police get a warrant to raid Cruella's house, which leads to them finding the tiger fur that was in the papers earlier. Ms. De Vill gets arrested, as do her cronies. The police also find all the puppies and return them to Anita and Roger.
• Product Placement: A noticeable Dr. Pepper can is seen in the first scene with Herbert testing the game.
• Punny Name: The puppy who constantly pees is named Wizzer.
• Put on a Prison Bus: Towards the end of the film, Horace and Jasper willingly surrender to the police and find Skinner upon entering the van. Later, Cruella joins the trio thanks to the police having an arrest warrant for her after finding the tiger-skinner coat in her mansion.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the Humiliation Conga that Jasper and Horace suffer, when they happen to run across the police, they willingly surrender.
• Setting Update: Among other things, Roger is a video game designer.
• Slapstick: Roger falls into a lake after Pongo drags him on his bike. A few minutes later Perdy does the same thing to Anita. Also, out of all the villains, Cruella gets the most physical comedy by the end and is covered head to toe in mud.
• Smelly Skunk: Cruella De Vil mistook a sleeping skunk for her black mink stole. When she and her fellow dog-nappers got arrested and put in the back of the paddy-wagon, the skunk wakes up, and EVERYONE gets sprayed!
• Stocking Mask: Horace and Jasper wear stockings over their heads before forcing their way into Anita and Roger's home to lock the nanny in a cupboard before kidnapping the puppies. Played for Laughs in a previous scene when they both get their heads in the same stocking and struggle to get out of the van.
• Suddenly Shouting: Cruella. Which prompted Anita herself to tell her off.
  Cruella: (offers the check) Take it. (the Dearlys are hesitant, then cue Dramatic Thunder) TAKE IT!!!!
• Suddenly Voiced: Skinner, but only at the end of the film when the skunk starts spraying, when he does make one shriek of horror while banging on the van like a traumatized child.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • When the puppies are born, Cruella tries to take them immediately when learning their spots come later. Anita refuses to allow this by pointing out that the puppies have to be with their mother for several weeks. Besides which, they're not selling the puppies just like that.
  • Unlike the animated film, where she dismissed Roger's accusation of Cruella, Anita herself pieces together that Cruella was behind the puppies' kidnapping. Police Are Useless is also not in effect here, as the law immediately get a warrant to raid Cruella's house when she becomes a suspect, finding the tiger fur — already the subject of a criminal investigation — to prove that Cruella is guilty. Cruella is then arrested as soon as they find her in the countryside.
• Sycophantic Servant: Cruella's assistant, Frederick. He even admits to it:
  Cruella: What kind of a sycophant are you?
  Frederick: Ummm.... what kind of a sycophant would you like me to be?
• Take That!: In-universe. At the end of the film, Roger adds Cruella to his video game as the villain.
• Tempting Fate: An unhinged Cruella rants about being victorious yet against the Dalmatians and all the other farm animals and then yells that she will have the last laugh, laughing maniacally as she does so. The farm animals, in a kind of example of a Shut Up, Hannibal!, kick her out of the barn and into a pigpen. Moments later, the police shows up to arrest her. Clearly, that was her last laugh.
• This Is My Human: Pongo, at least, considers himself the Master of the household.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After Cruella De Vil and her henchmen have been defeated and are being carted off to prison by the police, she has this to say:
  Cruella: My business, my reputation, my life, has been ruined because you three incompetent twits let yourselves be outsmarted by a bunch of dumb animals! And you call yourselves men? HA! I've seen more intelligent pieces of carpet!
  What follows next is that they are sprayed by a skunk that Cruella had confused for her handbag.
• Title Drop: "Make that 101 Dalmatians, sir."
• Translation Convention: Averted. The animals have no dialogue, unlike in the original.
• Truer to the Text: A minor case but the couple being named "Dearly" instead of "Radcliffe" makes it somewhat more faithful despite being Lost in Imitation.
• Urine Trouble: Whizzer pees on a magazine cover with Cruella de Vil's face on it during the escape. This is also Whizzer's entire shtick.
• Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Zigzagged for Mr. Skinner. While Cruella is this as well, she is hammy and laughably evil at times. But with Skinner, there are no such moments, apart from Horace's comments. He never utters any dialogue because a dog tore open his throat (with a visible scar shown), and he has a permanent leer on his face. His job is basically skinning animals and turning them into coats for Cruella. He was about to do so to Lucky, until Kipper mauls Skinner with a shot in the shadows. He is terrifying as a result. Notably, he does not encounter any slapstick in the film like Horace, Jasper, or even Cruella. However, he comically panicked and banged inside the police van like a scared child when the skunk started spraying against him and the other villains.
• Wacky Marriage Proposal: Roger proposes to Anita via a Freudian Slip: "Would you like another cup of marriage? I mean tea?"
• Worst News Judgment Ever:
  • Why do National Newspapers like The Independent have reports on two relative nobodies getting married? Or make the kidnapping of fifteen puppies front page headline news? While Anita did work as a fashion designer for Cruella's fashion house and she and Cruella are on a first name basis, there's little on screen to imply she's particularly notable within the company - Cruella's only really interested in Anita's work when she designs the coat (her original idea being for FAKE fur). On the other hand, Cruella does try to discourage Anita from getting married out of fear of squandering her talent, so it might be that Anita is more up and coming than we really see in story. Based on the other articles, the wedding was probably announced in the 'Births, Deaths and Marriage' section. Most English newspapers have them, some even include pictures.
  • The final headline about Cruella getting arrested makes more sense, since she's the owner of a famous fashion house and they've already linked her to the illegal killing of an endangered Siberian tiger and the attempted skinning of helpless Dalmatian puppies.

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