Films to see

101 Dalmatians is a slapstick-comedy-meets-classic-horror-film-meets-prison-break-meets-nature-documentary type of family film, which effectively makes it unique. The high score mainly reflects the fact that the film manages everything it sets to achieve. Although most of it is a composition of shots of dogs barking at the camera, this seems to convey the plot in a clear enough way and drive the story forward.

Everything about this film is absurd - from the main premise to every single one of the characters - but this creates a delightfully humorous atmosphere, meaning that it all somehow makes sense and feels right.

The way the film is shot is quite clever. As the vast majority of it is scenes featuring only animals, this could have been a dog trainer's nightmare. Instead, each scene is shot in a relatively easy and hard-to-get-wrong way (for example, with only one animal on camera at a time), and they are put together in such a way that only the most astute viewers won't be amazed by what they got those animals to do. Simply put: This film uses the good old tricks of traditional cinematography well. There is a little bit of CGI in at least one scene, which wasn't unavoidable; however, that scene doesn't spoil the enjoyment of the rest of the film.

Despite the incredible achievements and originality in terms of execution of this film, it is mainly intended for younger viewers, and although adults will probably thoroughly enjoy watching it too (albeit for completely different reasons - kids will probably like the fact it's about dogs and it features a lot of clever slapstick), if you're over 12, you're not likely to feel the urge to re-watch 101 Dalmatians any time soon after the first time.