Cruella follows the story of Estella (Emma Stone), a young and talented fashion designer who wishes to success in a cruel world. When she gets the opportunity to work alongside one of the best designers in London, the Baroness (Emma Thompson), Estella discovers she is destined for greatness.
Even though at first Cruella may seem like the typical villain origin story, it is not. This Cruella is not the younger version of the 1961 animated antagonist: she is an alternate version of the character. And while she keeps some of the signature trades that made Cruella so iconic, like the black and white styles, this new version adds a lot of new material to the character and the story in general, making it a very new interesting take on the Disney villain. However, don’t panic. Cruella is still bad, or at least, very mean.
Cruella is the lost child of Joker and The Devil wears Prada. If you liked one of these movies, or both, you will definitely enjoy this film.
The story is really deep and dark, especially if you remember this is a Disney movie. Cruella is not the crazy lady who wants to kill puppies anymore. She is more complex: she has a tragic backstory, of course, one that makes you understand why she becomes Cruella.
A lot of people have been making fun of the movie because they’ve watched certain scene at the beginning of the film, so I want to make sure you understand this (spoilers): Cruella doesn’t want to kill dalmatians because they killed her mom. That’s absurd and far from the truth. In fact, as I said before, she is not interested in murdering dogs anymore. She has five at the end of movie! Including three dalmatians!
The actual reason why she becomes Cruella is more realistic and entertaining. They’ve made the character sympathetic, yes, but in a way where she’s still the villain. That’s where the comparisons with Joker come into play.
Two of the strongest elements in this film are the production and costume design. Fiona Crombie, Jenny Beavan and Tom Davies have created a world where “normal is the cruelest insult of them all”, as Artie would say.
Every set is perfectly structured and built, and if they added VFX in some of them, you can’t tell. I wish we could have seen more of the Hell Hall mansion, but I guess they’ll save that for the sequel. Hopefully.
The costumes are amazing. All of Cruella’s outfits are absolutely stunning, and again, I wish we could have seen even more! Jenny Beavan truly deserves the recognition for creating more than 40 different looks that still are special and unique.
The rest of the cast is also really good. Emma Thompson does an amazing job as the Baroness, an even meaner version of Miranda Priestley. She is actually the devil in this movie.
As for Joel Fry’s Jasper, Paul Walter Hauser’s Horace and John McCrea’s Artie, the new member of the gang, they are very funny and charismatic, and have the funniest scenes in the film, but also deeper storylines, which makes their characters more realistic. Also, the dogs are a great addition to the team.
Cruella is not a perfect movie. It’s a bit long and the CGI can sometimes take you out of the experience. However, I enjoyed it very, very much. It’s funny, entertaining, dark and visually stunning. Emma Stone shines in every single scene she’s in and the music is also amazing.
If you like Disney movies in general, you will definitely like this film. Just remember, this Cruella is her own character, and the story is NOT like the original animated film. Now go watch Cruella darling, and enjoy it!
THE MAKING OF MOVIES 