CRUELLA REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Cruella De Vil is one of the most memorable villains from a Disney animated film. She made her first appearance in One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which was released in 1961. She was evil because she wanted to make a coat out of puppies’ fur. In Disney’s 1996 live action remake, 101 Dalmatians, Cruella was portrayed by Glenn Close. Close captured Cruella’s fierce and eccentric personality and returned to the role in the 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians. Because Cruella is one of the most memorable villains, it’s easy to understand why a new live action film has recently been released that explores her life before she became obsessed with dalmatian fur.

Set during the 1970s punk rock revolution in London, the story follows a clever and creative young grifter named Estella (Emma Stone), who is determined to become a successful designer. After Estella befriends a pair of young thieves, Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser), who appreciate her appetite for mischief, the three build a life for themselves on the London streets. Before long, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute fashion legend (Emma Thompson). But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

The strength of Cruella lies in the amusing performances delivered by both Stone and Thompson. The former delivers a fresh portrayal of Cruella. She captures both Estella’s kind and friendly personality and the wicked side of her alter ego, Cruella. Because Cruella is a villain, I think that a lot of people were worried that the film would redeem her and try and make her sympathetic. However, this isn’t the case with Cruella which shows both the dark and light sides of the eponymous character who is seen as a flawed individual. Although Cruella isn’t the most likeable of characters, she’s, by far, one of the most interesting villains and is brought to life through Stone’s performance. Another standout performance is delivered by Thompson who is a scene stealer as Cruella’s rival, the Baronness. Both Stone and Thompson are having a lot of fun portraying their characters and, as a result, I had a lot of fun watching them. Fry and Hauser are funny as Cruella’s side kicks, Jasper and Horace, who help her with her devious plans. Although Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Cruella’s childhood friend, Anita, and Mark Strong as the Baronness’ valet, John, deliver solid supporting roles, they are underused. I would have liked to seen more of the friendship between Cruella and Anita, who is a journalist and reports on Cruella’s increasing fame. The entirety of Cruella is worth watching just for Stone and Thompson’s performances.

Most of Disney’s recent live action films, including last year’s Mulan, Aladdin and The Lion King, have been been straightforward but unimaginative remakes of the original animated features. Fortunately, the same can’t be said about Cruella, which explores the background of one of the most memorable and interesting characters in all of Disney’s animated films. The screenplay is written by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara and is based on a story by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel and Steve Zissis and is filled with entertaining rivalry and fun twists. The majority of Cruella focuses on the back and forth rivalry between Cruella and the Baronness. The latter is the most famous fashion designer whose personality is very similar to that of Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly in the 2006 romantic comedy The Devil Wears Prada and is narcissistic and is rude to her staff. It’s easy to see how Estella becomes Cruella after she works for the Baronness. Estella wants more than anything to be a famous fashion designer and, after working for the Baronness, she quickly becomes Cruella and is soon stealing all of the attention with her outrageous and over the top costumes. What I liked most about Cruella’s story was that it features a clever twist involving both Cruella and the Baronness that I didn’t see coming. Because of this, it made the film all the more interesting. Although I’m one of the few people who enjoy Disney’s live action remakes, I can understand why a lot of people think they’re unnecessary. However, Cruella is one of their best live action films as it tells an original story.

Craig Gillespie previously directed I, Tonya which starred Margot Robbie as figure skater Tonya Harding who became involved in a controversial scandal. It was a highly entertaining film that showed another side to Tonya that a lot of people might not be familiar with. Harding wasn’t perfect by any means but she wasn’t as villainous as the media made her out to be. A similar comment can be made regarding Cruella who is seen as an antagonist in both the animated film and the live action feature. However, Cruella shows her early life and how she became the famous villain everyone knows her as. Gillespie is an ideal choice to direct and, with Cruella, he has created a widely entertaining film. 

Because Cruella is known for wanting to make a coat out of Dalmatian fur, a lot of people were concerned that Cruella would try and excuse her actions. However, the majority of the film focuses on the rivalry between Cruella and the Baronness. The former does briefly kidnap the latter’s three pet Dalmatians after one of them swallows a luxurious necklace that was lost by Cruella when she was a child and found by the Baronness. For those worried about what happens to the Dalmatians needn’t be as nothing bad happens to them. Cruella is a family friendly film so it’s highly unlikely that Disney would want to create a film where dogs are harmed. Cruella even has a pet dog of her own named Buddy, as does Horace whose dog is small and half blind and is named Winky. 

Because Cruella and the Baroness are talented and creative fashion designers, the costumes and clothes worn by them had to match their creativity. Fortunately, the costumes designed by Kelly Beavan are iconic. From Cruella’s white cape that transforms into a red dress after she lights it to the Baroness’ luxurious dresses, the costumes are the most impressive aspect of Cruella. I’ll be surprised if Beavan, who won an Oscar for her work on Mad Max: Fury Road, doesn’t receive a nomination for Best Costume at next year’s Academy Awards.

Cruella has been released in cinemas and also on the streaming service, Disney+, for an extra premier access fee of £20 ($30 in the United States). However, because I saw it at the cinema, I actually saved a lot of money. I think that Disney+'s premier access fee is quite expensive as most cinema tickets are about £10-12. Although I enjoyed Cruella, I don’t think it’s worth paying the access fee unless you really want to watch it and don't want to see it at the cinema.

Although I enjoyed Cruella, including the performances by Stone and Thompson and the rivalry between their characters, it’s not without its flaws. The soundtrack is filled with famous and catchy pop songs from the 1970s, including Blondie's One Way or Another, Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash and Nin Simone's Feeling Good, however, I found them too distracting from certain scenes. The opening scene, which focuses on Estella’s childhood and rebellious behaviour in school, is overlong. Fortunately, these flaws didn’t prevent me from finding Cruella to be entertaining and an interesting exploration of the story behind one of Disney’s most famous villains.

7/10