There are four words that, when said in succession, can invoke the deepest feelings of hatred, sadness and tiredness in any animation fan, "Disney Live Action Remake". The reason these words make animation fans upset is because Disney is synonymous with animation. Disney was a lot of peoples introduction to the medium, and they have done so much for it, from popularizing technologies and techniques, to innovating television animation, to producing the first Computer Generated animated feature film, it really is saddening to see THE animation company remake so many of their movies into a medium that is not fit to tell certain stories. That being said, I've not actually watched that many of them, so I can't actually judge them. Are they all actually soulless attempts to make easy money without putting in much risk or effort? Or are there some movies in there that are genuinely good? Keep in mind, this is not going to be me comparing the animated originals to the live action remakes, this is predominately going to be me looking at these movies on their own, though there may be some comparisons here and there. So, let's begin my trudge through Disney's Live Action remakes... pray for me.
Okay, so I wanted to start this in February with the 1994 movie "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book", which wasn't really a remake, but still a retelling of a story Disney already told. Unfortunately, that is not available on Disney+ for me as of yet, so I'll be starting with the next movie in the line-up, 1996's 101 Dalmatians, the first proper remake in the line-up. Immediately, there are somethings that just don't sit right with the idea of remaking 101 Dalmatians into a live-action movie, first off, that was a lot of dogs to animate, so imagine how many that would be to find and train. Secondly, the dogs talked in the original movie, which does seem like a non-issue, but then you remember that movies like Babe are actually the exception to the rule that talking animals in live action movies always look fake. So, barring those two, teeny tiny blue whale sized hurdles, how does the live-action 101 Dalmatians movie stand?
Admittedly, this movie does begin a bit slow, not that there isn't some good comedy and goofy acting, but it's mostly there to set up Roger and Anita's relationship, Roger's storyline about trying to design a video game, Anita's relationship with Cruella and where Cruella gets the idea to make a Dalmatian fur coat. It is all necessary, mostly, and I do like the idea of Anita being an employee of Cruella's, it can be a bit slow and unengaging though. Honestly, I'm quite impressed with how loyal they were in recreating scenes from the original, the midnight bark, Roger and Anita falling into the pond, those scenes are here, but they are different in their own ways.
The casting in this movie is quite excellent, Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson do a good job as the everyfolk Roger and Anita, and Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams are superb as Jasper and Horace, I probably should have guessed Hugh Laurie was good at physical acting since his most iconic role has him limping, then again that isn't really the same as slapstick. However, the show stealer really is Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil, she just chews the scenery, she really is just the fashionable lunatic and I loved every demented minute of her on screen. My favourite scene with her was when she was just screaming at a bunch of farm animals, like at this point you can tell she's lost her mind, or what was left of it. I think she's a bit more entertaining than she is in the original movie, mostly because in the original movie she just kind of comes off as... a Karen, she's a total Karen. She's bitchy and whines about not getting her way, acting as if not getting what she wants is a personal attack, original movie Cruella is totally the kind of woman who shouted to employees and threatened having them fired. The only difference is Cruella has more fashion sense. This movie's Cruella is just a crazy lunatic and that is much more enjoyable to watch.
I also do like some of the little details this movie incorporates, like the video game Roger is making with graphics that look like the original movie's animation, I actually think there was an actual PC game that, if not based on this bit from the movie, then the bit from the movie was based around. I also always find it amusing when Disney has their characters watching their own stuff, so having the Dalmatians switch the channel from AristoCats to Homeward Bound, it made me chuckle. Speaking of which, this movie has John Hughes as a writer and producer, knowing his work on movies like National Lampoon's Vacation, Home Alone and like... dozens of classic 80s comedies, you can probably tell this movie is going for a more comedic tone, and whether or not you find this funny, will probably depend on how much you like slapstick comedy, there were bits I found funny, like Jasper and Horace over the electric fence, and Cruella in the molasses, though there are some pretty lame jokes too. At points, it does also feel like a weaker Home Alone, Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams even kinda look like Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci as Harry and Marv at points.
So, how does this movie stand up? It's not awful, in fact if you're in the mood for a dumb comedy, I'd say give this one a shot. As a movie on its own, it's watchable, and I think your enjoyment of it is really going to depend on how much you like John Hughes style of comedy, and especially slapstick comedy. If you're a big fan of the original, I can see you having some strong opinions, but if you keep in mind that these are two separate movies going for two separate ways of telling the story, I think you can find some enjoyment. It's like comparing the two versions of DuckTales, they very much are their own entities. All in all, this movie is fine, was it worth being made, eh, but I can't imagine this movie causing any harm or really upsetting anyone by existing. It has it's moments, it's a solid movie, it ain't bad.
Normally this is where I'd give this movie a recommendation rating, but since that isn't really the point of this side blog, I'll just leave it as is. Next on my list is 2010's Alice in Wonderland, not officially counted as a Live Action Remake, but still worth talking about. I will get to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book at another time, if I find a copy or it comes out on Disney+, I will get to it then.
No comments:
Post a Comment