Producer-screenwriter John Hughes and director Stephen Herek's take on the tale of the fur-loving DeVil, the spotted puppies from whose coats she wants to make herself a coat, and the married owners (Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson) of the dalmatian parents Pongo and Perdy is actually quite faithful to the original animated feature. Viewers familiar with that version will be pleased with how well some scenes survived the cartoon-to-live-action translation, such as Perdy's stressful delivery of her 15 puppies and the apparent stillbirth and ultimate revival of the pup Lucky. While the dogs and other animals do not talk this time around, the communication between the animals does come through and is easily understood. The "twilight bark," where Pongo barks into the night sky to summon other animals to search for his and Perdy's stolen puppies, still makes for a striking scene without the spoken exposition that frames it. And Close's Cruella matches her animated counterpart's nastiness and then some; her hilariously over-the-top turn is sure to influence drag queens everywhere.

Hughes and Herek's failure, however, lies in their incessant indulgence in broad slapstick, which comes off as labored and not especially funny. The scene where Daniels's Roger and Richardson's Anita first meet in the park is cheapened by too many pratfalls and dives into water. Also, the puppies' big escape from their barn prison has been needlessly punched up by Home Alone-type slapstick involving the two dognappers, Jasper (Hugh Laurie) and Horace (Mark Williams). Herek not only tries evoke that fluke Macaulay Culkin phenomenon through the cartoony violence, but also through the duo's appearance--Jasper sports a beard and curly hair a la Daniel Stern's bumbling burglar, and Horace is a shorter, heavier fellow wearing a hat not unlike Joe Pesci. Worst of all, the slapstick gives Close the short end of the stick, for in the end Cruella's campy edge takes a back seat to the physical punishment she takes from the animals--having a boar fall on her, being dumped in mud and molasses, etc.