Reel Critics

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Reel Critics

'102 Dalmatians' has some blemishes

 

Cute moments, but lacked plot flow

Ronnie Insalaco, 13, of Glendale, is an eighth-grader at St. Bede The Venerable school in La Canada Flintridge.

Overall, I was not impressed with the movie "102 Dalmatians." While there were some cute moments and excellent acting by Glenn Close, the movie lacked in plot flow and realism.

Close did a marvelous job as the lead character. However, this was overshadowed by the plot, which was too simplistic and unrealistic to maintain the interest of teenagers and adults.

The scenes involving the dogs performing human-like activities were well recognized and maintained the interest of the younger audience. But overall, the film was marginal, lacking the impact of any audience group.

On a scale 1 to 10 I would give the movie a 3. After interviewing 10 adults and 10 children under 13 after the movie, I concluded that all of the children liked it because of the dogs. All of the adults were disappointed and would definitely not recommend it to anyone.

Recommended for ages 5 to 11

Sareen Kilissian of Glendale is a seventh-grader at Armenian Sisters Academy in Montrose.

Cruella and the dogs are back in "102 Dalmatians," the sequel to "101 Dalmatians." The new movie has new characters, which add a lot of humor to the very repetitive plot. The movie goes by slowly, but it's livened up by Waddlesworth, the crazy parrot who thinks he's a dog.

Cruella has the same motive that she had in the first film, but with two very unusual sidekicks. Although the outcome is quite obvious, the buildup of suspense and the humorous ending is good.

I recommend "102 Dalmatians" for children between the ages of 5 and 11. It may be too scary for children younger than 5 due to some mildly violent scenes, and boring for kids over 11.