Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmations remake; Now Glenn's knocking spots off those 101 Dalmatians.(Features)

The People (London, England); 6/16/1996; Stenson, Jules

You thought she was evil in Fatal Attraction when she made a stew of the family pet rabbit? Think again! Glenn Close is on the animal warpath once more.

Having boiled the bunny, she's now trying to skin cuddly dalmatian puppies!

No-one could accuse Hollywood superbitch Ms Close of being an animal lover.

So the Queen of Mean was the perfect choice to play villainous Cruella de Vil in Disney's live-action re-make of the children's classic 101 Dalmatians.

It's a role that knocks spots off her dreadful antics in Fatal Attraction.

And in these stunning pictures, she perfectly recreates poisonous cinema legend Cruella.

The blonde star, 49, has revamped the dog-snatcher into a modern hate figure.

In a studded collar and black PVC dress, she looks about as friendly as a snarling pit bull terrier.

Dogs may be a man's best friend. But they're certainly not this woman's. Goodness knows why the dalmatians look so trusting during this Close encounter with Cruella.

Because, as she strokes them in those black velvet gloves with sharp- taloned fingertips, she is plotting to turn them into fur coats.

And it's not just dogs she has in her sights.

Cruella never feels more comfortable than in a coat made from the skin of a rare white tiger.

But away from the cameras, Oscar-winning Glenn is actually a big softie.

She insisted on wearing only fake fur during filming at Shepperton Studios in West London.

And the fur really flew when she discovered the producers wanted to use real animal skins for a costume. In fact, the making of the pounds 20 million movie has been dogged by controversy. Many top breeders have voted not to recommend it.

They fear many people will buy cute puppies after seeing the film - and then abandon them when they grow into big, expensive adults.

Leading breeder Patches Silverstone - that's her real name - said: "It has taken 20 years for the breed to recover from the cartoon. Large numbers of unsuitable people rushed out to buy dogs then.

"When their children grew bored with them they were discarded."

In the film - due out at Christmas - Cruella hires a couple of thugs to steal 99 dalmatian puppies to be made into a fur coat.

It is based on a story by British author Dodie Smith - who died aged 94 in 1990 - who was mad about the breed.

Children so enjoyed her tales of Pongo and Missis - the doggie heroes - and how they rescued the puppies that Disney's 1961 cartoon version of 101 Dalmatians became one of its most successful films. The recent re-release alone netted pounds 66 million - and the studio has now decided to cash in again with a live action re-make.

Alongside Glenn Close in the expanded role of Cruella, Dumb And Dumber star Jeff Daniels is the pipe-smoking Mr Dearly and sexy Joely Richardson is his wife. TV funnyman Hugh Laurie plays one of the puppy snatchers.

It has been written and directed by John Hughes, who made Home Alone.

After Fatal Attraction, Glenn - currently in Australia filming Paradise Road, a women prisoner-of-war epic - had the perfect pedigree to play Cruella.

She said: "The character has always been one of my favourite villains.

"Cruella is the Devil. She's like the wind - she walks in and everyone's hair blows back."

The film is expected to be a massive hit for Disney, whose animated version of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame is out next month.

But expect the cute black and white pups to knock spots off the human stars.

Crufts say there has already been a big rise in the popularity of dalmatians.

But although the puppies are soppy and affectionate on screen, they can be one of the toughest breeds to handle in real life.

It was hard to

keep the pups still

There is, however, one canine star of the film who hasn't got a spot on his body.

Duey, a seven-year-old boxer, was on death row for causing pounds 3,500 worth of damage to his owner's home. But he was rescued by dog trainer Steve Vedmore.

"He's a natural," said Steve, 35. "The director was so impressed, he gave Duey extra scenes."

Predictably, filming turned out to be a nightmare.

Getting 101 eight-week-old puppies to sit still for some scenes was enough to drive any director barking mad. So their owners were on hand - to urge the pups to stay put!

SPOTLIGHT ON 101 (REAL) DOGS

Deborah Peterson; Of The Post-Dispatch Staff

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"101 DALMATIANS"
Rating: G, Running Time: 1:43.

101 Dalmations. (movie reviews)

Newsweek; 12/2/1996; Ansen, David

Remaking the animated classic with real pooches

ACCORDING TO VARIETY, THE 1961, ANIMATED "101 Dalmatians" is the sixth most popular movie of all time, judged by the number of tickets sold. If ticket prices then were what they are now, it would have made twice as much money as the blockbuster "The Lion King."

There's gold in them that hounds, which explains why Disney has ordered up a live-action remake. It doesn't explain what writer-producer John Hughes's 101 Dalmations offers that the original didn't. One thing alone: real pooches. Is there a dog lover who'll be able to resist the sight of 99 Dalmatian puppies? Who won't coo as the grown-up Pongo kicks off the movie by starting his master's shower and pulling down his bedcovers with his teeth? Is there a Dalmatian breeder alive who can supply enough pups to meet the upcoming demand for black-and-white spotted things?

While the adorableness quotient of the new "101" is never in doubt, fans of the original may feel that its wit and charm have been diminished. The plot remains intact--the wicked Cruella DeVil (Glenn Close), with visions of a divine fur coat in her head, kidnaps Pongo and Perdy's 15 pups, and the parents join up with some barnyard beasts to rescue them from the taxidermist's knife. But this sturdy tale has been squeezed to fit the John Hughes mold, which for long stretches makes it feel as much like the third "Home Alone" as the second "Dalmatians." Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams, playing Cruella's two inept henchmen, take Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci's place as the brunt of one slapstick humiliation after another. Kids won't mind, but a little of this goes a long way.

The grown-ups will be pinning their hopes on Close's flamboyant Cruella. Encased in Anthony Powell's wittily S&M high fashions, her hair screaming in all directions, she certainly cuts a striking figure. But this witch, I'm sorry to say, doesn't fly. Close gives it her all, belting out vitriol with Broadway bravado, gamely enduring every retributive vat of dung and pool of glue director Stephen Herek puts in her way. If only her lines were as sharp as her stiletto heels. Close's camp tigress is too unleashed: the purr of pent-up aggression is sacrificed for big-bite bellicosity.

Perhaps because these are real dogs (though sometimes digitally augmented), and equally real are the taxidermist's tools, Hughes and Herek have played down the sense of jeopardy: not for a moment do you believe that any harm will befall the pups. If that makes the movie a less than heart-racing experience for grown-ups, kids will doubtless have tim. Cute and broad, this remake's OK. What I miss--what I'd hoped for--was a tad more sophistication. Silly me. I forgot it was the '90s.

COPYRIGHT 1996 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com

CLOSE TO EVIL AWARD WINNING ACTRESS COULDN'T RESIST ROLE OF THE OH-SO-WICKED CRUELLA DEVIL IN DISNEY'S NEW "101 DALMATIONS".(DAILY BREAK)

The Virginian Pilot; 11/27/1996

Byline: MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

GLENN CLOSE isn't spending much time worrying about whether children will boo and hiss at her for the rest of her life.

``Well, I don't think they'll recognize me,'' she reasoned. ``Do you? I think I'm fairly safe.''

On several thousand screens across the land, she opens today as the most evil woman of all time, the inimitable Cruella DeVil in a live-action version of the classic Disney animated feature ``101 Dalmatians.''

In it, Close preens in elbow-length gloves and out-to-there cigarette holder, plotting the kidnapping of 99 Dalmatian pups.

Some have said that she will inspire a new generation of drag queens. Others say that the five-time Oscar nominee and three-time Tony winner has literally gone to the dogs - sold out to the lure of Disney commercialism for a role that is beneath her.

``It was simply a character I couldn't resist,'' the College of William and Mary graduate said as she sat in the Righa Royal Hotel in New York a few days before the film's premiere. ``She is quite different from anything I've played before. I don't really think there is such a thing as going too far with her.

``When offered the role, I hesitated. I didn't think she was evil enough in the original script. The meaner she is, the funnier she is, and, of course, the audience just waits, with anticipation, to see her get her comeuppance.''

Not since the heyday of Bette Davis has any actress had such a run of super-evil characters. As Alex Forrest, the frizzy-haired harridan in ``Fatal Attraction,'' she played a woman who ``refuses to be ignored'' by her married lover. As Marquise de Merteuil in ``Dangerous Liaisons,'' she played a scheming, powerful woman who used sex, and sexual manipulations, as her ultimate weapon against men.

``I don't think either woman was truly evil,'' she said. ``I really thought the world would have more sympathy for Alex. After all, she was the wronged one, in a way. As for the Marquise, she did what she had to do. She lived in a world in which a woman's only weapon was sex.''

Cruella is a little different.

``She is the devil personified. She's almost not human. I went back to the animated film and stole things. Since Disney owns it, they told me I could use anything I wanted.''

Close, 48, became a star in Hollywood, but she learned to act in Williamsburg.

The daughter of a noted Connecticut surgeon, Close attended boarding schools during the 16 years her parents spent running a clinic in the Congo. She traveled with the ``Up With People'' musical troupe. (For some reason, she bristles whenever it's brought up).

She came to William and Mary in 1970 to major in anthropology and theater.

She credits Howard Scammon, former head of William and Mary's drama department, as ``teaching me much of what I know about acting. He was the first to take me seriously, and I frequently call him now, to seek advice.''

There was a college romance and marriage in Williamsburg which ended when she won a coveted theater scholarship in New York. She received her first Tony nomination for the musical ``Barnum'' and made her movie debut, at age 35, in ``The World According to Garp.''

Five Oscar nominations followed - ``Garp,'' ``The Big Chill,'' ``The Natural,'' ``Fatal Attraction,'' and ``Dangerous Liaisons'' - with no wins.

``I deserved to win for `Garp' and for `Fatal Attraction,' although I think `Dangerous Liaisons' is my favorite role,'' she said. ``It was the most difficult because that woman hid her emotions.''

She won three Tony Awards, for ``The Real Thing,'' ``Death and the Maiden'' and as faded movie star Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ``Sunset Boulevard.''

``People keep asking me about similarities between Norma Desmond and Cruella DeVil,'' she said. ``They aren't alike at all. Norma was a gentle, fragile victim. Cruella is quite different.''

Close went on an extensive diet and training program to get in shape to play Cruella DeVil. ``She looked six feet tall and very bony in the cartoon film,'' she said. ``I was determined to get that look but I almost crippled myself wearing those four and a half inch heels. I had to learn to breath with the corset, too. I almost fainted once.''

There were other rigors.

``The wig was disgusting. They put an egg in it to make the hair look sticky and they'd keep the wig in a refrigerator overnight.''

She took her 8-year-old daughter, Annie Maude, (by producer John Starko, whom she never married), with her to England for the filming.

``One of our favorite things was to go in and see the 200 puppies that were on the set,'' she said. ``They were treated so carefully, that we had to go through disinfectant to see them. I'm afraid I scared some of the animals - the horses and the sheep - when I screamed in the scenes, but, strangely, I felt the dogs knew I was acting

The Cruella truth: dalmations are sleek, nice to pet and very pretty; don't get one.

U.S. News & World Report; 12/2/1996; Cook, William J.

Disney's '101 Dalmatians' movie is likely to boost the popularity of dalmatians as pets, which would be a mistake. The breed tends to be rambunctious and unintelligent. They often snap at children, and they shed.

OK, so they're cute. Adorable, even. And after seeing Disney's new movie, 101 Dalmatians, millions of spots-crazy families will be tempted to buy one for their very own. But as a service to you--the vulnerable, well- meaning and fundamentally mushy-hearted consumer--here is the truth about Dalmatians: Get apoodle.

Pretty they may be. But Dalmatians are also hazardous to your house, your lawn and your wardrobe, not to mention your mental health. In addition, many owners believe the spotted dogs have intellectual capacities only slightly higher than a potato's. Disney's original 1961 animated film, rereleased in 1985 and 1991, caused a surge in the Dalmatian population. In the eight years ending in 1993, the once obscure breed vaulted in popularity from 33rd to ninth.

This time around, the Hollywood hype is even greater. A Dalmatian puppy, however, is more likely to grow up to be unacceptably rambunctious and destructive than to be mature and responsible, like Pongo and Perdy. Even Dalmatian aficionados concede the dogs can be difficult. Says Julie Lux, a Dalmatian Club of America official: "I'm a masochist. I like a challenge, and Dalmatians are certainly that."

I sympathize. For 15 years, our family shared life with Dinah, the most beautiful animal I've ever seen. Pure white, dotted with quarter-size black spots and sporting a long, curving tail, she'd draw a crowd wherever we went. Everyone wanted to ask about her, touch her, pet her. Disney picked the right dog, all right.

But dazzling good looks pretty well summed up Dinah's charms. She shed such blizzards of white hair that for a decade and a half my wife and I stopped wearing dark clothing. Long after becoming a full-grown, 50-pound adult, Dinah still chewed through anything lying around the house, including a neighbor child's orthopedic shoes and my sister's prized leather coat. Once, she brought home a workman's steel-toed boot--we decided not to search for its owner.

Dalmatians, also called coach dogs, historically were bred to run long distances under the front axle of horse-drawn carriages as protection for passengers and their property--hence, the breed is ill-suited to being cooped up in a house all day without exercise. The dogs' affinity for the equine led them to be adopted by firefighters in the days of horse-drawn fire engines. Many Dalmatians are still attracted to horses: Ours barked excitedly whenever she saw one.

Big and boisterous. Though Dinah coexisted with our two sons, the breed is simply not appropriate for most families with small children. The dogs are big and boisterous, likely when playing to knock down a child. Far worse, according to research by Benjamin Hart, a University of California- -Davis animal behavior specialist, they have a greater proclivity than most breeds to snap. "If someone said I could only have a Dalmatian or a Doberman around my grandchildren," he says, "I would get the Doberman."

The breed doesn't score well in other respects, either. In a study by Hart of the traits of 56 breeds, Dalmatians ranked close to the bottom in house-training ease. They are among the most destructive of dogs, in some cases even ripping up linoleum floors. And they are more apt than most breeds to try to dominate their owners with aggression--growling, for example, when you try to dislodge them from your Chippendale couch.

Nor do most Dalmatians have brains to match their beauty. On common measures of canine intelligence, they rank about in the middle. But many owners find this assessment dubious. On two occasions, I drove into service stations with Dinah sitting in the back seat, looking as regal as the queen mother. Both times, the station operator said, "I've got a Dalmatian, too. Tell me, is yours dumb?" "Yours can't be as dumb as mine," I'd reply. Then I'd recite the time Dinah couldn't find her way into our carport even though the gate was open.

Serious physical defects are common. One in 12 Dalmatians is born deaf; 1 in 4 is deaf in one ear, like Dinah, who sometimes ran in circles to detect where a sound was coming from. And Dalmatian plumbing is unique. It produces a strong uric acid that makes the dogs susceptible to kidney and bladder stones, and their urine kills grass quicker than Roundup. For years, we had big blotches of brown turf near our front door.

Would I ever own another Dalmatian? Experts recommend a puppy that comes from a reputable breeder and has been tested for deafness. The cost: at least $400. But I'd probably pick an easier breed to live with. A pit bull, maybe.

COPYRIGHT 1996 All rights reserved.