Even the most despised and notorious of classic cinematic villains have a history behind their wrongdoing, which can make them come across as being sympathetic to audiences. That certainly appears to be the case drawn with Disney's newest feature Cruella, the studio's latest attempt at presenting a live-action origin story/prequel behind the iconic villain from the 1961 Disney classic 101 Dalmatians, which was later transformed into a fairly decent live-action version released in 1996 starring Glenn Close in the main role. With Cruella, the film aspires to give audiences the backstory behind the infamous socialite who favored kidnapping as well as skinning puppies solely due to their fur selling well in the fashion industry. To audiences, Cruella De Vil is a despicable character who doesn't warrant any form of empathy mainly due to her desire to harm 99 puppies. The filmmakers behind the newest film aim to deliver a different perspective of the character, which makes her motives more understandable to fans of the series once they see her upbringing. Disney's Cruella presents itself as being a more hip and modernized version of the classic story despite its setting taking place in 1970's London. Replacing Glenn Close in the main role is Emma Stone with a performance that's both scene-stealing and ultimately worthy of carrying the mantle in terms of playing one of Disney's most formidable villains. Although the film struggles to answer the question of whether its main character needed an origin story told, Cruella manages to be a thoroughly fun experience that's well-crafted and carries a strong visual flare with much of the films excitement coming from the commanding performances of both Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. In an era that's dominated by a stream of live-action adaptations of classic Disney stories which have proven to be hit-and-misses, Cruella surprisingly proves to be more satisfying than most despite presenting its main character as being a little too sympathetic.
Serving as a live-action prequel to 101 Dalmatians, the plot for Cruella focuses on a young aspiring fashion designer named Estella Miller with her exploring a path that will lead her to become the notorious fashion designer known as Cruella de Vil. The plot for Cruella draws comparisons to Todd Philip's Joker in the sense that the filmmakers attempt to provide its well-known figure with a backstory that shows who they were before ultimately turning into their villainous counterparts. In the case of Cruella, the film begins with Estella's birth and shows the family tragedy she witnessed as a child that shaped her into the person she later becomes, as well as fashioning her fixation on the Dalmatians. Not only does the story explore the backstory behind Cruella De Vil, but also that of her henchmen Jasper and Horace. The plot for Cruella aims to provide twists and turns to the original storyline with the script providing audiences with a deeper insight into De Vil's past, as well as the woman who inspired her persona, the Baroness played by Emma Thompson. The clash between the characters of De Vil and Baroness Von Hellman stand as being the films most thrilling scenes with their relationship serving as being the pulse of the story. It can also be said that in addition to the filmmakers taking the whole Joker approach with exploring the origins of De Vil, the film also attempts to duplicate the same formula that was utilized in Disney's Malificent which started Angelina Jolie. Cruella is a film that no one was asking for prior and feels very much like Disney's attempt to capitalize on the success of Todd Philip's Joker, but that isn't a condemnation of the films overall quality. Despite audiences questioning whether we really needed a prequel story behind 101 Dalmations, its quality makes it stand as being a charmingly solid film on its own right without it doing a disservice to the classic animated films storyline it boldly expands.
Outside of the films stunning costume design and set decoration, one of the main elements that makes it work as well as it does are the top notch performances of its main cast who bring a welcomed sense of energy and enthusiasm in bringing this story to life. The best work comes from Emma Stone and Emma Thompson with both delivering near flawless performances in addition to working brilliantly off each other. Stone shows audiences that she's perfectly cast in the role of Estella with her brilliantly playing an ambitious grifter with her slow transformation into Cruella being absolutely convincing, along with keeping the audience in suspense as she begins to show glimpses of the dangerous obsessed criminal fans know Estella to later become. She doesn't just portray De Vil as being the cold-hearted and selfish socialite that Disney fans know her to be, but shows a different side of Cruella that allows audiences to witness a more vulnerable side of her that gives insight into Estella's way of thinking. Stone crafts a version of Cruella whose been molded by tragedy early on in her life, along with wanting to pursue a career in fashion. She does a fantastic job of showing Estella's rise in stature while presenting moments that are meant to be a foreshadowing of her identity as De Vil. Along with Stone's performance, Emma Thompson commands the screen in her role as Estella's main rival and narcissistic head of a prestigious London fashion house named Baroness von Hellman. Thompson is not only terrific in her role but her character plays a pivotal role in Estella's transformation into Cruella with key secrets being unlocked in the story regarding the Baronesses ties to Estella's family. Both Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser prove to be a blast to watch as Cruella's henchmen Jasper and Horace Badun with the latter giving audiences flashbacks to Bob Hopkins Smee from Steven Spielberg's Hook. Both do exceptionally well at playing the young thieves who grew up with Estella after the death of her adoptive mother, along with adding a significant amount of energy to the film with their charismatic performances as De Vil's bumbling sidekicks. Kirby Howell-Baptiste impresses as Estella's childhood friend Anita, who works as a gossip columnist with Kayvan Novak doing equally well as Roger Dearly, a lawyer working for the Baroness who later becomes Anita's husband and songwriter after he's fired. Other noteworthy performances from the supporting cast include Emily Beecham in a small yet effective role as Estella's adoptive mother Catherine, Mark Strong as The Baroness valet John, John McCrea in a scene-stealing performance as Artie, a member of Cruella's entourage and owner of a vintage fashion shop, and Jamie Demetriou as Estella's initial boss. The cast for Cruella play a significant role in why the film works as well as it does in terms of being a generally fun and bizarre spin-off of the classic Disney story. The film thrives off the effort its main cast puts into making the film engaging to watch, and ultimately wouldn't be what it is without it. The performances of Stone is what elevates the film into being something genuinely exciting to watch with fans getting a kick out of key moments such as her delivery of the line "Cruella" in the film. Given that she went into the role knowing that her performance would face the inevitable comparison of being paired up against Glenn Close's work in the 1996 live-action movie, Stone doesn't attempt to replicate any of Close's work and gives her own interpretation of the character with the result being hugely effective. The best thing about the acting in Cruella is the filmmakers allow Stone complete freedom to be bad and for those watching the film, its delightfully fun to experience.
Taking the helm of director for Cruella's story is Craig Gillespie, who previously helmed I Tonya. Gillespie brings the story of Cruella to life in a style that's visually dazzling with him giving the 1970's atmosphere of London a punk rock vibe to it. The films costume and set-designs are breathtaking with both certain to receive some well-deserved nominations at next year's Oscar ceremony. Through the use of both, Gillespie effectively places audiences in the 1970's during its punk rock movement with the elegant costumes representing the whole fashion element of the plot. The films cinematography can best be summed up as stunning with its overall look being simply gorgeous to look at from start to finish. The score by Nicholas Britell does much in adding to the films wild energy, as well as the bizarreness of its story. The soundtrack carries numerous songs that were popular during the 1970's including a wide-variety of picks ranging from Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" to Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy", and the Door's "Five to One" with an original song "Call Me Cruella", performed by Florence and the Machine, being played during the end credits. The films use of CGI is handled impressively with the appropriate amount of restraint with the use of real puppies in the film blending seamlessly together with the shots of CGI, making the audience try to figure out which is reality and what is done by computer. With the film boasting a running time of 133 minutes, Cruella's pace is one that's slow but allows the story to gradually unfold with Gillespie heavily utilizing Emma Stone's voice as narrator for the story along with it being broken up into several different acts representing the different stages of Cruella's life. As far as the films directing goes, Gillespie does a stellar job of handling the story, as well as creating an atmosphere that serves as being a darkly twisted visual feast with him being able to generate the best performances out of his talented cast.
The screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, from a story by Aline Bridge McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis delivers a strong effort in providing fans with the questions they may have regarding Cruella's past, how she got to her position of power, and her obsession with wanting to kidnap the puppies in order to make a fur coat. The script for Cruella is full of twists and surprises that are intended to further explore the mythology of De Vil with her being revealed to be an orphan that desired to become a fashion designer, while setting up a potential sequel that's best summed up as being a remake of 101 Dalmatians in live-action form. The most interesting choices that the writers take in regards to telling Cruella's story is showing how Cruella, Jasper, and Horace met along with Cruella's childhood being a traumatic experience that left her permanently scarred as well as being vengeful. Some of the key themes that the script for Cruella explores involve grief, the death of a parent, fashion, being different, wealth, revenge, power, and greed. The most interesting approach that the story for Cruella takes is how the film essentially takes someone whose viewed as being a unredeemable villain and make them into a misunderstood tragic type figure. That's the angle that the writers take with Stone's version of Cruella and is one that's done effectively well, though will unquestionably leave fans divided on whether they accept the backstory being given on the character of De Vil or treat it as a thrilling piece of fan-fiction. With Cruella, Disney appears to use the same type of formulaic structure with its main character that was done with Angelina Jolie's Malificent films, as well as Todd Philip's Joker in which the main characters are presented as being misunderstood outcasts, who end up being a product of a cold and heartless world that surrounds them as they struggle to survive in it. Although their criminal actions make them appear as being dislikeable figures, they are shown to be carrying a significant amount of pain and trauma in their lives that are what ultimately pushed them over the edge. The character of Cruella is shown as still being haunted by the death of her adoptive mother, and attempts to put the past behind her until a big reveal in the story brings her past railing back, along with fully powering her desire for revenge. When the switch begins to settle in with Estella's character transforming into the familiar persona of De Vil, the story becomes even more thrilling and devilishly fun with Stone's performance. The small moments in the film that add to the character of Estella are the ones in which she remains in traditional Cruella mode with her directing insults towards Horace and Jasper along with her later realizing that her mistreatment of them is wrong and refrains from doing so. The rivalry between Estella and Baroness is well-handled and entertaining to watch with audiences finding themselves enjoying Estella's scheme of plotting revenge against the latter. The strongest trait that the script for Cruella carries is that its both thoughtful and clever in how it aspires to expand on the mythology of Cruella De Vil without tarnishing the legacy of the original story. The audience finds themselves becoming invested in the characters here, and manage to walk away with a different kind of perception regarding Cruella. With the film serving as being a prequel to 101 Dalmatians, the filmmakers knew that the only way the film could work is if they took the character of De Vil and presented her in a form that audiences had never seen before prior. The end result is a more humanized version of Estella, that provides insight into Cruella's up and coming days as a rebellious thief turned fashion designer.
As well done and told as the story for Disney's Cruella comes across as being, the question still remains after the film ends regarding whether an origin story based on De Vil was needed. While the film itself is wonderfully acted and visually stunning to watch, one can't help but feel that the current trend of taking some of the most famous villains in Cinema and humanizing them is not a necessary trend that needs to be extended to every classic antagonist, particularly in Disney's long catalogue of films. Sometimes it's not having all the answers regarding the motives and pasts of the characters in question that make them more effective. The backstory that Gillespie and the writers provide for Cruella is strong enough to where the most ardent of 101 Dalmations fans can embrace it as a worthy prequel. As well told as the story is, it's by no means perfect as it has moments where the story feels a bit slow moving in the middle with some of the CGI shots of the puppies appearing as being spotty. Although those are issues that are visible in the surface when watches the film along with the soundtrack feeling a bit over-the-top as it tries excessively hard in pushing the whole punk rock aspect of the story, these are minor faults that are greatly overshadowed by the films rich elements such as the fantastic performance of both Stone and the cast as a whole, along with the gorgeous look of the film. Disney's Cruella never answers the question of why we needed a prequel to 101 Dalmations, but it surely goes above and beyond with the efforts of the cast and crew to make it an honorably charming yet bizarre tale of an anti-heroine who is shown to be a little less cruel and heartless than what audiences previously thought of her. The soul of the film lies within the performances of Stone and Thompson with the scenes showing their characters locking horns being its strongest moments with the dazzling visual appearance of the film complimenting the story. Combined with an effective soundtrack, breathtaking costume design, and steady directing that carries passion for both the main character and overall story, Disney's Cruella succeeds in taking a well-known villainous and showing her in a different light, even if its choice of doing so wasn't insisted upon by fans. It's a much better film than what one expects it to be and ultimately be pretty fun to watch if fans can overlook the fact that its existence is basically pointless.
Final Verdict: See it either in theaters or when it lands on Disney Plus for free.
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Images Courtesy of Disney
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