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'Dalmatians': Puppy Ciao

Let's cut to the chase: "101 Dalmatians" the movie isn't as good as "101 Dalmatians" the cartoon. It's not that it's bad, just that this live-action feature isn't as captivating as the terrific animated features we've come to expect from Disney, from "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin" to "James and the Giant Peach" and "Toy Story."

Directed by Stephen Herek ("Mr. Holland's Opus") and written and produced by "Home Alone" magnate John Hughes, the new "Dalmatians" is relatively faithful to the spirit of the 1961 original (though the animals don't talk -- unusual, and rather refreshing, in this post-"Babe" era). Roger (Jeff Daniels) lives alone in London with Pongo, his noble Dalmatian. The similarly single Anita (Joely Richardson) has as her only companion Perdy. Roger pecks away at a computer keyboard, hoping to design a killer computer game. (You'll remember that in the original he was a songwriter, an occupation evidently not cool enough for the '90s. Sigh.) Anita is a clothing designer, toiling away for Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close as a cross between Phyllis Diller and Norma Desmond), a fur-loving harridan who just may be connected to the disappearence of a rare white Siberian tiger from the London Zoo.

Roger and Anita's pooches fall in love at the park and conspire to bring their humans together. Before long, there's the pitter patter of little paws: 60 little paws to be exact. Cruella wants them (for a coat), but Roger and Anita refuse to sell.

But nothing gets between Cruella and her furs, so she dispatches a pair of ne'er-do-wells (Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams) who dognap not only Pongo and Perdy's 15 offspring, but 84 others from across London. They're all in a derelict mansion, awaiting the arrival of Cruella and Skinner (John Shrapnel), the scar-faced taxidermist she's hired to turn the pups into pelts.

At this point, disparate members of the animal kingdom join forces to rescue the puppies and "101 Dalmatians" becomes "Home Alone," with an Airedale in the Macaulay Culkin role.

Annoyingly, the movie is marred by anemic connecting scenes and a seeming disdain for something as simple as logic. Any 4-year-old who's seen Disney's own "Pocahontas" knows there aren't any raccoons in Great Britain, and yet the little varmints feature prominently in "Dalmatians." So does a skunk, another creature unique to the New World. (Hey, why didn't the filmmakers have a giraffe and a wallaby join the fun? Or a pterodactyl? That would be cool!)

Much of the movie is agreeable enough. The famed "twilight bark" is well choreographed, as various canines communicate across the frozen expanses of south England. And it's hard to resist saying "Awwwww" when dozens of pups pour down staircases like spotted Slinkies or gambol about like furry balls of mercury. A computer-generated scene of them zipping down a rain spout will make your stomach flip.

Children will no doubt beg to see the movie and will probably enjoy it (though there was a fair amount of fidgeting at the screening I attended). It isn't too scary. Skinner and his bag of nasty implements are a little disturbing and Cruella seems very serious when she screams, "Get . . . the . . . puppies!"

In the end, though, "101 Dalmatians" comes across as one of those second-tier mid-'60s Disney offerings, which makes Jeff Daniels the Dean Jones of the '90s. Here's hoping there isn't a live action version of "The Aristocats" in pre-production somewhere.

101 DALMATIANS (PG) -- Contains scenes of slapstick violence and people who intend to do harm to animals.