Cruella: Movie Review

With another Disney live action after making its appearance on Disney+, we learn the origins of one of the worst Disney villains. We see how young and unique Estella becomes the fashion obsessed and more than slightly demented Cruella but is this another Disney cash grab or is it actually worth the watch? We’ll have a chat about that, with some spoilers, after you’ve enjoyed the trailer below.

Cruella is the 2021 crime/comedy live action origin story of one Cruella DeVil. Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Dana Fox, Tony McNamara and Aline Brosh McKenna, the story follows Estella, a clever and gifted child, who really wants to make it in the world of fashion but has a notorious cruel streak that is given the nickname Cruella by Estella’s mother. After finding her way to London, Estella then meets two thieves, Jasper and Horace, and earns herself a coveted job with the haute couture designer, the Baroness. The cast includes Emma Stone as the title character, Emma Thompson as the authoritative, demanding Baroness and Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser as Jasper and Horace. The cast were highly praised for their exceptional performances by critics and there is already a sequel in the making.

So, for anyone who adored the 101 Dalmatians movies, Cruella was bound to be a must see movie. Of course, there was always the possibility that it turns into another Disney live action that sucks all the life out of the story. Thankfully that wasn’t the case this time around. Emma Stone makes bad look spectacularly good and it’s entertaining to watch her switch between her demure persona as Estella and her more extravagant self as Cruella while all the time she is scheming and plot how to upstage the Baroness next. The film could use a little trimming at points but overall it gives us a marvellous introduction to the insanity that is Cruella. There are also some wonderful call backs to the original movies, including a nod to Perdita and Pongo, and how the name Hell Hall and the DeVil surname came about. This film is fronted by some strong and intimidating women and screams girl power which is fantastic and just so wonderfully entertaining to watch. Do you feel sorry for Estella because of this film? Yes BUT Cruella is and always will be evil, sometimes to an excessive degree. You feel sympathy for Cruella but not nearly enough to excuse her actions. The film even cements Cruella’s villain status with the quote: “They say there are five stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Well I’d like to add one more… revenge.”

Some ask if Emma Stone match up to Glenn Close though and, in this situation, I feel the comparison isn’t necessary. Stone and Close portray Cruella at very different points in her life and a lot can change in a person’s life and influence who they become plus some details were taken from Glenn Close’s portrayal and included in Emma Stone’s. Plus it helps that the original Cruella herself appears in the credits as a producer as well. Can you say studying the original source material any better than having OG Cruella to help bring out your inner crazy? This portrayal of Cruella is dark. There is no doubt about that. There are plot twists aplenty and the storyline is spectacularly revenge driven. And if you’re a Disney villain, you get revenge by ruining someone’s whole career!

A while back, in our New Music Weekend posts, we mentioned the soundtrack to this movie. The sound track is phenomenal and it’s definitely worth mentioning again and again and again. It is stunning. It grabs your attention and really is a who’s who of 70s best music. Also a huge congratulations to the wardrobe and costume design department who really pulled out all the stops to create some incredible fashion for this film. The dresses and outfits of this film were to die for and, personally, I hope they had as much fun planning and creating those looks as I did as a viewer watching those looks on screen. This movie is essentially a high end fashion show set to fantastic music and definitely worth a watch just to see Emma Stone chewing up the scenery as one of Disney’s most identifiable villains.

Most importantly, a life lesson from this film and perhaps my favourite quote: “A well cut skirt is a life-saver, girls” and with that I’ll leave you to enjoy the fantastic soundtrack of a fantastic movie.