The two Emmas chew up the scenery and, oh! what scenery it is, but there are plenty of others in the cast, including Joel Fry as Jasper, Paul Walter Hauser as Horace, Mark Strong as John the valet, John McCrea as Artie, and Tipper Seifert-Cleveland as young Estella.
Craig Gillespie directs from a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, with story credit by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis, all based on the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. The previous versions of her novel were the animated One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and the live action 101 Dalmatians (1996) with Glenn Close. Thanks to Wikipedia, I'm reminded that the plots of those two movies revolve around Roger and Anita and their dogs Pongo and Perdita. Anita has a small part and Roger's is even smaller.
Nicholas Britell's score is outstanding, and I'm streaming it on Apple Music as I type, but I suspect I'm one of the few who will remember it, because of the aforementioned song list, below. I'm sure it cost the Disney budget a lot of green to license this classic list. The original motion picture soundtrack, as published by Disney, has only sixteen of those songs. Here it is on Apple Music.
Jenny Beavan's costume design is amazing and there's an "eyewear designer" credit for Tom Davies. In fact, I commented during the movie how good Stone looks in her glasses, with tons of makeup on her saucer eyes.
Jenny Beavan's costume design is amazing and there's an "eyewear designer" credit for Tom Davies. In fact, I commented during the movie how good Stone looks in her glasses, with tons of makeup on her saucer eyes.
Typical of a Disney joint, the production values are over the top, and the head of that department is Fiona Crombie. Then there's the cinematography by Nicolas Karakatsanis. I must mention the awesome long tracking shot that I'm going to guess was done by drone. Watch for it.
It's my opinion that this is not for young children, with its length of over two hours, the featured petty criminality, and the threat of dog-icide. The dog Buddy, however, is played by an adorable rescue.
Stone was last blogged for Zombieland: Double Tap, Thompson for Late Night, Hauser for the title role in Richard Jewell, Strong for The Brothers Grimsby, Gillespie for I, Tonya, Fox for How To Be Single, McNamara and Crombie for The Favourite (Stone was Oscar-nominated and more for playing another conniving woman in that one), McKenna for Annie (after which she was series co-creator and co-writer on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Marcel for Saving Mr. Banks (in which Thompson played another prickly character, the writer of Mary Poppins), Britell for If Beale Street Could Talk, and Beavan for A United Kingdom. I've seen few of Fry's many credits, and enjoyed him in Yesterday and ten episodes of You, Me, and the Apocalypse. Zissis was series co-creator, co-writer, and co-star of Togetherness, and Karakatsanis shot I, Tonya for Gillespie.
Rotten Tomatoes' audiences agree with us, averaging 97%, while its critics aren't as nice at 73. Disney can afford the music rights and production values––this cost $30 to rent for 30 days above and beyond a Disney+ subscription. But I couldn't wait to watch it and we did so on May 28, its opening day.
Don't skip the credits. Two minutes after they begin, there's another sequence that sets us up for the Roger-Anita-Pongo-Perdita story. After which, if you're watching at home, the screen will shrink to urge you to watch something else, a common streaming practice that always has me cursing and fumbling for the remote.
Song list (I took pictures of the screen during the credits and added to a web-published list)
Bloody Well Right – Supertramp
I Am Woman – Helen ReddyInside - Looking Out – The Animals
Whisper Whisper – Bee Gees
She’s A Rainbow – The Rolling Stones
Watch the Dog that Brings the Bone – Sandy Gaye
Time of the Season – The Zombies
I Gotcha – Joe Tex
Five to One – The Doors
These Boots are Made for Walking – Nancy Sinatra
Feeling Good – Nina Simone
Fire – Ohio Players
Whole Lotta Love – Ike and Tina Turner
The Wild One – Suzi Quatro
Hush – Deep Purple
Livin’ Thing – Electric Light Orchestra
Stone Cold Crazy – Queen
Car Wash – Rose Royce
Boys Keep Swinging – David Bowie
One Way or Another – Blondie
I Get Ideas (When We Are Dancing) – Tony Martin
Should I Stay or Should I Go – The Clash
I Love Paris – Georgia Gibbs
Love is Like a Violin – Ken Dodd
Theme from a Summer Place – Norrie Paramour and His Orchestra
Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps – Doris Day
You’re Such A Good Looking Woman – Joe Dolan
I Wanna Be Your Dog – John McCrea
Smile – Judy Garland
Nightmares – The J. Geils Band
Eternelle – Brigitte Fontaine
Come Together – Ike and Tina Turner
The Wizard – Black Sabbath
Sympathy for the Devil – The Rolling Stones
Gettin' Out – J. Geils Band
Cruella De Vil – Mel Leven
Call Me Cruella – Florence + The Machine
Call Me Cruella – Florence + The Machine
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