It’s time to get this one out of the way. To review: the 1996 version of 101 Dalmatians was a financial success, so sequel a’hoy. Since it no longer had any source material, Disney decided to make some changes, such as a new set of protagonists and a talking parrot. The biggest, of course, was to “Scrappy-Doo,” the greatest screen villainess of all time, with a chubby French dude. 

But the fake fur is slightly better. Well… Some of it.

And there is real fur in this movie. But not where some people will inevitably desire to argue it is.

102 Dalmatians – The Film

Based on some questionable therapy by “Dr Pavlov” (oh, the writer patted themselves on the back for that one), Cruella is cured and buys herself a dog shelter. Only she’s not really cured; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a movie. Cruella’s fur-adjacent-loving ways return, and she teams up with the aforementioned chubby French dude to make a new coat out of… one-hundred and two Dalmatians. 

102 Dalmatians – The Furs

Our first glimpse of Cruella’s (Glenn Close) collection is bookended a tad before and after her return to form. Hey, its well-known attraction to fur has a high recidivism rate. Some real furs are mixed in with more prominent fakes here, but only in the background. There’s an article on the Humane Hollywood website about how Disney stocked the room with some old furs from the costume department. 

Let’s this cavalcade of terrible out of the way. For your viewing (dis)pleasure, all the horrible uber fakes from Curella’s new soon-to-sidekick, LePelt’s, fashion show. I suppose the fact that most haute couture runway stuff with real fur is just as terrible brings a certain sense of authenticity to the proceedings. I particularly appreciate how the “big finish” outfit has the least fur.

Lady protagonist Chole (Alice Evans) is briefly trapped in the vault. How did this movie know I also like ladies with big spears?

Finally, we make it to the marquee fur, Cruella’s black and red coat. I will say it is a much more realistic fake than the one in the first movie.

While I pointed out things about the movie that are different than the 1996 entry, this is where we start talking about the similarities… most of them are bad.  While somewhat improved, this coat is not given much screen time and is not well-shot when it is. 

Disney boldly decided to end this film in *checks notes* exactly the same way as the first one. Cruella puruses puppies at night through a dimly lit factory. Shockingly, it is a bakery. What a twist! 

All leading up to the same ending: another love letter to WAM enthusiasts. 

I will briefly take a moment to show off the very real, not “from the Disney costume vault” pelts shown in LePelt’s workshop at various points throughout the 3rd Act. I find it interesting that they are all just set dressing and, if absent, would not have been notable. But someone managed to get a whole bunch of real fur into a “fur is bad” movie. I salute you, whoever you are.

So, what does it all add up to? All that talk about sequels being bigger does not apply to fur fashion in Disney movies because you get less fur and a lower ratio than the first one. I suppose the “quality” improvement helps make up for it. I love the hero coat’s design, and it would be spectacular if rendered in real fox. The faux version looks good enough on screen. Granted, it helps that the movie is shot to minimize its screen presence.

• Fur Runtime: 7:45 minutes
• Film Runtime: 100 minutes
• On-Screen Ratio: 7.75%

Find-a-Fur: 102 Dalmatians, 2000

(All times are approximate and are affected by the cut of the film.)

• 14:00 – fur throwing
• 29:30 – 32:00 – furs back to show
• 58:00 – fur vault
• 1:04:00 – ”
• 1:06:20 – red/black full-length coat
• 1:08:08 – ”
• 1:15:10 – 1:25:00 – ”

Fur Fashion Gallery – 102 Dalmatians, 2000