Unleashing `101 Dalmatians' -- Real Dogs Are The True Stars Of A New Version Of Disney's Animated Classic

While he's promoting Disney's live-action remake of "101 Dalmatians," writer-producer John Hughes is tangled up in two other projects: a new Robin Williams version of "The Absent-Minded Professor," now filming in San Francisco, and the next "Home Alone" sequel, which begins shooting Dec. 2 in Chicago.

"You rely a lot on phones and fax machines, and you don't sleep," said Hughes by phone from Chicago.

"But `Home Alone 3' is a lot more intensive than `Absent-Minded Professor,' because Robin is a brilliant actor and you just stay out of his way. With a young man working as your lead, it's a little more difficult." As we spoke, he still hadn't found his new Macaulay Culkin. (Culkin is too old for "Home Alone 3," and a nationwide search, which stopped last month in Seattle, still hadn't produced a replacement. Just before press time, Hughes picked Alex D. Linz, a 7-year-old veteran of "Lois and Clark" and "Cybill" who appeared last summer in "The Cable Guy.")

"101 Dalmatians," which he finished several weeks ago (it goes into national release Wednesday), is regarded as such a sure-fire blockbuster that no other studio is daring to compete with it. Usually four or five movies open the day before Thanksgiving, but this one is going into the market alone.

Disney's original 1961 cartoon version has been one of the studio's most consistent moneymakers, grossing $60 million during its 1991 reissue alone. It's based on a novel by Dodie Smith that Hughes wanted to approach differently.

"I thought we should do it live," he said. "If Walt (Disney) handed it to me today, that's how I'd do it, mainly because I can't draw."

He hopes audiences will approach the movie as if it were something completely different. He tried not to repeat favorite moments from the cartoon.

"I didn't want to lift scenes from the original," he said. "I didn't think people would be particularly amused. If you saw those scenes all you'd be doing would be comparing it to the animation. We wanted to engage you in a new version of the original story. This one doesn't cancel the first film; they can co-exist."

The two "Dalmatians" do share a villain, Cruella De Vil, now played by Glenn Close (Hughes' first and only choice for the role), and a young couple, Anita and Roger (Joely Richardson and Jeff Daniels), whose Dalmatian puppies De Vil covets. She wants to make a fur coat out of them and recruits a couple of klutzes (Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams) to help her out.

"There were some things I had to fill in, especially the back story on Cruella," said Hughes. "She's a school chum of Anita's in the original, and that always bothered me because she's a lot older. She has a passion for fur and a fashion sense, so that gave us a direction to go in."

Cruella's flamboyant wardrobe is the creation of Oscar-winning costume designer Anthony Powell, who also did Close's clothes for the stage version of "Sunset Boulevard."

"He had a close relationship with Glenn; we were lucky to get him," said Hughes. "Because of the way the studio system now works, you just don't get the opportunity to completely create a wardrobe like you used to. But with something like `Batman' or `The Addams Family' or this, magnificent costumes are part of the character. Every time you see her she's wearing something outrageous."

Like the costumes Close wore in "Sunset Boulevard," Cruella's outfits are heavy.

"Her costumes were not built for mobility," he said. "They're very ornate and they limit movement. It's a trick to be graceful when you're wearing that much."

Roger, who meets and falls for Anita in the opening scenes, is a songwriter in the original "101 Dalmatians." In the remake, he designs video games.

"The Tin Pan Alley thing doesn't work today," said Hughes. "Roger would be a very different kind of guy. I had to wonder: Why would an American be living in London at home with time enough during the day to run into this lovely woman? What would be the sort of equivalent of a free-lance songwriter today?

"The choice was a practical one: an approximation of a songwriter's job, and then you could involve Cruella, because she inspires the song that creates the (game) hit for him. Over the course of the film, he finds the perfect villain for his game."

Early on, Hughes decided to establish different viewpoints for the humans and the animals in the story.

"The movie at its core is about these parallel worlds, humans and animals, who co-exist but don't necessarily mingle," he said. "I excluded the humans from the rescue scene at the end. They were there after the problem had been solved, but they didn't burst in at the last minute to save the day. The animals had to do that.

"The idea here is that these animals, from all different species, are all unified against this threat to the animal kingdom." He wanted no "Babe"-like abilities: "They're given only the ability to think. To have them talk would just be too easy."

Although Jim Henson's Creature Shop and Industrial Light and Magic made their contributions, Hughes tried to avoid special effects in the dogs' scenes: "We did not rely heavily on that. I don't care how good it is, they don't have volume and weight. Now if you're doing dinosaurs, you don't know what they look like, you don't know how they move, but with puppies it's very hard to create that in a computer."

Handling real Dalmatians was a major concern, so much so that the production established a separate unit, headed by animal trainer Gary Gero, just to handle the dogs.

"They're a smart breed to begin with," said Hughes. "They do respond well to training, but what we were surprised by was that the puppies could be trained."

At the same time, Hughes understands the concerns of Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who claims that "while its anti-fur message is terrific, this film is expected to have a devastating effect on homeless animals." She worries that "puppy mills" are breeding extra Dalmatians to meet the demand generated by the movie, and that each Dalmatian "bred and sold takes a place in a home needed by a homeless animal." Hughes admitted there's another problem with this potential Dalmatian overpopulation.

"There are particular things about the breed that may not be suitable for the average family," said Hughes. "They like to run, they're energetic and you forget they're not puppies for very long. We had these puppies at their cutest point, just for a few weeks. Very quickly they have specific needs, like running for hours every day. If you're not equipped for that, it could be a problem."

None of the puppies in the movie was bred specifically for the film. As for Cruella's fur, Hughes insisted that only imitations be used: "That was an enormous problem, because you don't get the sheen with artificial fibers. But we were not going to be hypocritical about this."

Hughes claims he was never tempted to turn "101 Dalmatians" into a musical, though he does include one song, "Cruella De Vil," from the 1961 cartoon.

"The animated film really has only that one song," he said. "At the time it was the most realistic (cartoon) movie that Disney had made."

The new "101 Dalmatians" was directed by Stephen Herek, who made "The Mighty Ducks" and "Mr. Holland's Opus." While Hughes directed his own early films ("The Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles"), he has backed off from directing because of an unfortunate experience with "Curly Sue" six years ago.

"That was so forgettable I thought I'd better not do that again," he said. "I didn't do a very good job. I kind of embarrassed myself.

"Also, my kids were growing up, and it's very hard to be an involved father when you're gone 16 hours a day. Children need a lot of your time. Now they're 17 and 20, and once my youngest goes off to school, I can do it again." Hughes, who is 46, said he will direct again next year, though writing remains his first love.

"It's my favorite thing. I like the solitude of it. With directing, you're always facing a million questions. It's a much more social experience."