It has been three years since the events of the live action 101 Dalmatians, and since then, Roger and Anita's Dalmatian Plantation has produced quite a few generations of litters. While Cruella is the only returning human character, Dipstick (one of the original 15 puppies, the one whose tail was half black), has been sold to Chloe (Alice Evans) and Chloe's female dalmatian, and the best part, the spotted dogs are expecting a litter of their own. As fate would have it though, Chloe just happens to be Cruella's parole officer, but it seems that Dr. Pavlov's treatment has completely cured her, which is good because if she ever reverts back to her previous tendencies, all of her money will go to a local doggie second chance shelter.
This particular shelter is run by Ewan (Ben Crompton), who has a small collection of tenants at his shelter (including a parrot who thinks he's a dog named Waddlesworth and is played by Eric Idle), and when Ewan and Chloe meet up (because Cruella buys and starts to clean up Ewan's shelter), a bit of chemistry begins to stir. Meanwhile, the puppies arrive, and when one particular pup named Oddball starts to gain an obsession over spots (mostly because she has none), she inadvertently breaks Cruella's brainwashing.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the cast, Cruella begins to plot another attempt at the same coat that got her put away for three years. She hires a famous fur fashion designer to help her in her dastardly scheme. Jean-Pierre Le Pelt (Gerad Depardieu) is joined by Cruella's butler, Alonzo (Tim McInnerny), and not only do their attempts to snatch enough puppies comes through, but they also frame Ewan for the recent rash of dog-nappings.
Oddball and Waddlesworth will have to join forces with the rest of the dogs at the shelter in order to save their family and reveal Cruella for just the devil she is. While the movie isn't as great as the previous live action, much less the original animated movie, it is cute and feels like the typical Disney sequel. Special features aren't spectacular, but there is enough there to be interesting. There's a handful of featurettes, including one involving working with the dogs, and even a focus on the dogs themselves, from auditions to outtakes.
Like I said, 102 Dalmatians is a far cry from either of the first story's incarnations. It is still cute and should probably be seen at least once by fans of the prequel.
