When a movie's main selling point is its imaginative, energetic theatrical trailer and opening-credits sequence, that's probably good for the creative people involved but a bad sign for the movie.

And so it goes with "102 Dalmatians," a needless sequel to the surprising (and undeserved) 1996 live-action comedy hit that somehow manages to be even more bland and less funny than its predecessor.

In fact, as listless and lacking in energy as this film is, it would be easy to rip to shreds, if only it didn't rank so high on the "cuteness" scale (thanks to a whole new set of adorable dalmatian puppies).

But even the considerable charms of its animal co-stars can't make the film any better than mediocre — not that its target audience of young animal lovers will notice.

What plot there is, is pretty straightforward: Meanie Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close reprising her role in the first film) has just been released from prison after three years. She claims to be a changed woman, having received psychological treatment for her pathological hatred of animals.

Why, she even uses her millions to help bail out a struggling animal shelter run by kind-hearted Kevin Shepherd (Ioan Gruffudd). Still, Cruella's parole officer Chloe Simon (Brit Alice Evans) remains wary.

And it seems she may have reason — Cruella's "conditioning" quickly wears off, and she returns to her evil ways, with the help of equally evil French designer Jean Pierre Le Pelt (Gerard Depardieu).

By the way, she's still hoping to get that long-awaited, dalmatian-fur coat as well. And the crucial components may come from Chloe's beloved pets, which include the grandchildren of Pongo and Perdy (the dalmatian "parents" from the first film).

The flat, listless script (by a pair of married screenwriting teams) never explains exactly how Chloe came to have Pongo and Perdy's offspring, though as uninteresting as her character is, maybe that's for the best.

In fact, as the human heroes Evans and Gruffudd (from the made-for-cable-television "Hornblower" movies) barely register at all, which leaves only Close.

Consequently, Kevin Lima (a former Disney animator making his live-action directorial debut) is unable to keep her from going over the top at will. Nor can he coax anything even remotely resembling a performance from the other human performers. Depardieu looks uninterested in doing anything more than collecting a paycheck, and there's some completely unfunny voice work by Eric Idle as Kevin's confused parrot, who believes he's a canine.

"102 Dalmatians" is rated G, though it contains scenes of slapstick violence (some of it surprisingly mean-spirited), as well as some mildly vulgar humor and sight gags. Running time: 101 minutes.

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