Trivia / 101 Dalmatians (1996)

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• Actor-Inspired Element: Glenn Close felt that the script softened Cruella far too much, and took several quotes from the animated version to make her a Politically Incorrect Villain.
• Celebrity Voice Actor: The Japanese dub features actress/comedian/presenter Kuniko Yamada as Cruella, actor/director/musician Shirō Sano as Roger, actress/singer Yūko Asano as Anita, and film and stage actress Masako Isobe as Nanny.
• Defictionalization: Want an example from this movie? See here!
• Fake Brit: Glenn Close, an American, plays the Evil Brit Cruella de Vil.
• Follow the Leader: The appearance and behavior of Horace and Jasper is very obviously inspired by Marv and Harry in the Home Alone films - which were also produced and written by John Hughes.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Despite playing Cruella, Glenn Close insisted all the fur coats she wears in the film be fake. She's also allergic to tobacco, and smoked herbal cigarettes for when Cruella smokes on screen.
• Kids' Meal Toy: McDonald's released one hundred and one different toys in their Happy Meals. This promotion is considered one of the most expensive sets due to just how many toys there are. More info here.
• Missing Trailer Scene: A moment in the trailers where Jasper and Horace are looking shocked at something only to then fall through the floor is nowhere in the movie. From the looks of it, this was a deleted scene during the puppy escape from De Vil Mansion.
• Never Work with Children or Animals: This was a film with two hundred and thirty Dalmatian puppies, and twenty three adult Dalmatian dogs - and it took a major effort to both find and train all these animals to be used for production. For scenes where the dogs lick their owners' faces, the actors had to rub either steak juice or raw hot dogs on them to coax the animals to do so. The sets also had to be constructed with how the dogs would be filmed in mind.
• No Stunt Double: Glenn Close did her own stunts so that her face would be visible and kids would clearly see Cruella de Vil get her comeuppance.
• Pet Fad Starter: As was the case with the animated version, dalmatian sales shot up after this film came out. Unfortunately, Dalmatians are very tricky to care for, and many of the dogs ended up being euthanized in pounds.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Sigourney Weaver was originally considered to play Cruella. While Glenn Close was the first choice, she was busy on Broadway with Sunset Boulevard. Cathy Moriarty screen tested but was deemed too frightening for a children's film. By that time, Glenn Close had ended her run with Sunset Boulevard and was able to take the role.
  • Hugh Grant was offered the role of Roger.
  • For the scene where Horace and Jasper are electrocuted, they talked about having Horace's crotch catch fire. But that was decided to be too scary for children.

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