The first 101 Dalmatians is a great movie. The second movie however, is a fine film, but nothing like the first. In my opinion, Disney sequels based on films from Walt's era seemed to work much better because the stories were much better and thicker in those films (LATT2, Bambi 2). Here, the story is certainly a good part of the film, but the magic is not present in large amounts like in the predecessor.
As always, let's kick things off with the good aspects of the film. The dog characters are very well written characters, especially Patch and Thunderbolt. Patch is probably the best character in the film, and Bobby Lockwood does a very good job at giving a believable performance. The story, like I said, is also a well-written story, and flows very well.
But the one big flaw that ruins all the magic is the animation. The animation with the dogs is fine, but the rest of the animation is honestly terrible, especially on the people. Any moment in the film where it shows Jasper and Horace, it feels like a Saturday-morning cartoon. I know that most Disney sequels look like this, but not to the extent that this film does. At the end, when Cruella, Jasper, and Horace get knocked into the river, and are seen drowning, they flop around like they are Ed Edd and Eddy characters. This takes me completely out of the movie entirely, and it makes me think that this is catered to a four-year old rather than to people who like decent animation values, which this film barely has.
Overall, I think that this film is OK. The film has some good moments in it, but the animation here DEFINITELY feels more like a DTV release, and disrupts the story quality of the movie. I know I've been recommending this following movie too much in my reviews, but seriously, watch LATT2 instead if you want a film that works on all levels of quality, not just on some. If you're a fan of all things 101 Dalmatians, I suggest you take this in with caution.
As always, let's kick things off with the good aspects of the film. The dog characters are very well written characters, especially Patch and Thunderbolt. Patch is probably the best character in the film, and Bobby Lockwood does a very good job at giving a believable performance. The story, like I said, is also a well-written story, and flows very well.
But the one big flaw that ruins all the magic is the animation. The animation with the dogs is fine, but the rest of the animation is honestly terrible, especially on the people. Any moment in the film where it shows Jasper and Horace, it feels like a Saturday-morning cartoon. I know that most Disney sequels look like this, but not to the extent that this film does. At the end, when Cruella, Jasper, and Horace get knocked into the river, and are seen drowning, they flop around like they are Ed Edd and Eddy characters. This takes me completely out of the movie entirely, and it makes me think that this is catered to a four-year old rather than to people who like decent animation values, which this film barely has.
Overall, I think that this film is OK. The film has some good moments in it, but the animation here DEFINITELY feels more like a DTV release, and disrupts the story quality of the movie. I know I've been recommending this following movie too much in my reviews, but seriously, watch LATT2 instead if you want a film that works on all levels of quality, not just on some. If you're a fan of all things 101 Dalmatians, I suggest you take this in with caution.