 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
101 Dalmatians Christmas
- Review Date: April 6, 2005
- NR
- Genre: Family and Kids
- 1998
Common Sense Media says
Not very Christmas-y cartoons.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there's no objectionable content here.
What's the story?
In the first story, a parody of A Christmas Carol, a limping Dalmatian substitutes for Tiny Tim, and Cruella De Vil is visited by cuddly puppy ghosts. In the second episode, "Coup De Vil," Cruella's relatives all use peculiar means, including a Seismic Mayhemitron, to try to wrestle Malevola De Vil's land back from its owners, Roger and Anita, thereby gaining the elder De Vil's favor and claiming her inheritance.
Is it any good?
How bad are these two 101 Dalmatians cartoon episodes, falsely packaged as Christmas fun? They're bad even by current Saturday morning TV standards, the stagnant pond from which they were skimmed.
Unlike Arthur and Doug, two series that entertain while leaving young minds with ethical lessons to ponder, the 101 Dalmatians series as represented here shows no sense of moral responsibility, and no purpose other than to mesmerize kids with slick, fast-paced nonsense.
The first story sacrifices everything good Dickens' classic Christmas Carol stands for, not for comedy's sake (kids would get more laughs watching a real dog eat a cracker), but simply because the creative minds at work didn't know what to do with worthwhile material. "Coup De Vil" has nothing to do with Christmas, and is perplexing on its own.The puppies aren't integral to the stories; they could just as easily be robots or fish, they have so little to do with what's going on. They're just slapped on the box for their recognizable name, a means for the Disney sausage works to sell inferior meat. Let your kids watch the far better Mickey's Christmas Carol instead.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about which characters are their favorite and why.
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AGE
??
I haven't seen this Dalmation caper, but common sense's review has me shying away. It makes me wonder if there isn't anything good about them??
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AGE
Great for the kids!
How could this get such a bad review? I watch it with the kids I babysit, anf it's great. It has a great Christmas message to it, too.
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AGE
Dissapointing
I had high hopes because I love the Dalmation movies, but this just fell short. One to skip unless you want something mindless for your kids to watch....
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| Topics: | holidays |
| Studio: | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Director: | Clyde Geronimi |
| Cast: | Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson |
| Genre: | Family and Kids |
| Run time: | 44 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 1, 1998 |
| DVD release date: | November 2, 1999 |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
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