John Hughes has a very distinctive stamp these days. Everything he touches turns to ``Home Alone.''

And that's certainly true of ``101 Dalmatians,'' the live-action version of the Disney cartoon classic, which Hughes has scripted and co-produced. (Stephen Herek, of ``The Mighty Ducks'' and ``Mr. Holland's Opus,'' directed.)

Hughes is something of a cinematic cottage industry, churning out scripts, frequently producing and occasionally directing movie after movie - ranging from the "National Lampoon's Vacation" pictures to "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink," and "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" to "Dennis the Menace" and "Baby's Day Out."

But when he came up with "Home Alone," and later its sequel, he stumbled onto what appears to be his favorite formula.

Unfortunately, as grafted onto "101 Dalmatians," it seems wildly out of place - especially when it begins to undercut the film's star turn, Cruella DeVil, as outlandishly and superbly played by Glenn Close (complete with black and white hair).

The story, set in London, begins with a pair of Dalmatians, Pongo and Perdy, contriving to bring their humans, Roger (Jeff Daniels) and Anita (Joely Richardson), together.

Eventually, the dogs have 15 pups, and Anita's boss, superstar designer Cruella DeVil, wants to buy them. But they aren't for sale, of course, so she hires a pair of low-life idiots (Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams) to kidnap the puppies for her.

The dogs are taken to a remote farm, where another 84 Dalmatian puppies are being held. Cruella's plan? To kill the little dogs and turn their skins into a one-of-a-kind fur coat for her "endangered species" collection (which already includes a white Siberian tiger).

Roger and Anita call the police, but when they prove ineffective, it's up to dogs all over London to put out the alarm, and soon all sorts of other animals across England have joined in to try to locate the puppies, then work out an escape plan.

It's silly to quibble about plot differences between this live-action venture and the original animated feature. In fact, some of them actually work to the film's advantage . . . although since Daniels' character isn't a songwriter, I found myself missing the "Cruella DeVil"' number. (The song does show up under the end credits . . . mutilated by Dr. John.)

But when the action shifts to the farm, where Cruella's henchmen are going to kill the puppies, the film quickly sinks into cruel, violent "Home Alone"-style slapstick. (In fact, it's so similar in places that you may wonder why Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern weren't cast instead of Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams).