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May 28, 2021 · 75% Tomatometer 413 Reviews 97% Audience Score 5,000+ Verified Ratings Academy Award (R) winner Emma Stone ("La La Land") stars in Disney's "Cruella," an all-new live-action feature film...
- (413)
- Craig Gillespie
- PG-13
- Emma Stone
May 28, 2021 · Roger Ebert criticizes the film for its cynical and convoluted plot, its lack of sympathy for Cruella, and its disconnection from the original \"101 Dalmatians\". He compares it to other origin stories of evil characters and finds it lacking in artistry and originality.
May 27, 2021 · ‘Cruella’ review: Emma Stone and Emma Thompson steal the show in Disney’s supervillain origin story | CNN. ‘Cruella’ is an unexpected treat, with Emma Stone’s dark spin on the Disney...
- 1 min
- Review Brian Lowry
May 26, 2021 · Disney. Cruella’s swaggering, eclectic spirit aligns with the film’s idea of London in the 1970s, its alleged setting. The aesthetic is raffish, glammish and also punkish, and the musical ...
- Craig Gillespie
- A.O. Scott
- 134 min
- Emma Stone delivers in this wild and wonky origin story about 101 Dalmatians’ villainous diva.
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- Verdict
By Kristy Puchko
Updated: Mar 21, 2022 6:40 pm
Posted: May 26, 2021 1:00 pm
By “re-imagining” their animated classics as live-action films, Disney has churned out a string of blockbusters. So perhaps it was inevitable that the iconic villainess of 1961’s One Hundred And One Dalmatians would get her due…again. 21 years after Glenn Close headlined two live-action adventures as the cackling fashionista Cruella de Vil, Emma Stone slips into a two-tone wig and a devilish grin for the inventive origin story Cruella.
Not a prequel but rather a Wicked-style retelling, Cruella forges a new path that begins in 1964. There, a snarling school girl named Estella battles back against bullies and earns a permanent record full of black marks. (Like Dalmatian spots!) However, neither schoolyard brats nor a horrific tragedy that pitches her into a hard-knock life on the streets of London will get in the way of her big dreams to become a major fashion designer.
Smash-cut to 10 years later, where Estella (Emma Stone) crafts stitch-perfect disguises for her thieving crew. Through pickpocketing and more elaborate heists, she, the clever Jasper (Joel Fry), the dopey Horace (Paul Walter Hauser), and two scruffy pups, Buddy and one-eyed Wink, scrape by in an abandoned warehouse. That is until Estella’s genius for design — and troublemaking — catches the eye of London’s top designer, the ever-chic, ever-merciless Baroness (Emma Thompson). Working under this haute couture heiress seems like a dream job, but things swiftly turn dog-eat-dog when a horrid revelation comes to light. So, Estella embraces her dark side, creating an alter ego named Cruella, who audaciously crashes every Baroness event to steal the spotlight. Through the battle of these stylish titans, we are not only gifted the birth of Cruella, but also two deliciously thrilling Disney villainesses for the price of one.
Mulan (2020)
The Lion King (2019)
Aladdin (2019)
Dumbo (2019)
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
The Jungle Book (2016)
Clocking in over two hours, the runtime will likely prove a challenge to kids and parents alike. The pacing would be smoother without the many, many, scenes where Estella explains what just happened to her cohorts or in excessive voiceover. Of course, this is done to make sure kids are keeping up with the plot. But how will a movie this long — which is often about pretty grown-up stuff — keep their attention anyhow?
Not every detail needs to be doggedly explained!
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The pandering to parents is just as bad, as evidenced by a comically long list of nostalgia-driven needle drops. Props to the soundtrack team for pulling together truly epic songs from Nina Simone, The Zombies, Deep Purple, The Clash, and The Rolling Stones. However, the editing team should have offered some restraint. The lyrics and song choices become so on-the-nose it’s hilariously predictable, like when a Cruella de Vil victory is celebrated by blasting “Sympathy for the Devil.” Nonetheless, the use of John McCrea’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog” is fantastic, hitting hard with a punk-rock fashion show performance that is edgy and astounding.
Fashion is almost a character in Cruella, and her co-stars do not disappoint. Whether racing through back alleys, eye-rolling over idiots, or cracking a smile wide and blood-red, Emma Stone is living for this moment, and it shows. The quipping misfits of her teen movie years prove the perfect place to cut her teeth, allowing her to bite hard into withering one-liners and howls of rebellion. However, this is about the evolution from Estella to Cruella, so there are pockets where this grandiosity feels like a façade, as it should. Stone is playing a woman finding her inner diva. Emma Thompson’s Baroness is the fully formed villainess here, and she is a vision of viciousness and glamor. No need for cackles or shouts. The Baroness is an ice queen, who might make you cry, bleed, or worse. But she need not raise her voice to make your spine quiver. The script gives Thompson a wealth of punchlines. Yet because of her savage yet sophisticated delivery, the funniest one becomes a simple “Uh-huh.” The Baroness is very rich, yet has no flips to give.
For their part, the supporting cast adds oomph. Hauser, who worked with Gillespie in I, Tonya, plays Horace with unexpected warmth, making him the perfect scene partner to a teeny pup with an eyepatch. John McCrea brings shade and flair as a vintage seller with an eye for opportunity. Jamie Demetriou leans hard into a caricature to establish what kind of fool would dare doubt Estella. Mark Strong gives steeliness in a small but pivotal role. Yet the standout in supporting goes to Joel Fry, who turns Jasper into much more than a lackey. With a twinkle in his eye and a sparkling tenderness, he hints there might be more between Cruella and her partner in crime. Yet, it’s never pushed to the point of subplot or distraction. Instead, this seeming intimacy gives a grander context to why he would put up with some of Cruella’s crueler antics. It also brings a little bit of spice.
Director Craig Gillespie and his screenwriters (Dana Fox, Tony McNamara, Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis) had a tricky needle to thread. They were tasked with creating a re-imagining fresh enough to thrill general audiences, but familiar enough to appease 101 Dalmatians fans. With a PG-13 film, mature content is allowed, but its...
Cruella Reviews. All Critics. Top Critics. All Audience. Verified Audience. Jillian Chilingerian Offscreen With Jillian. Set in the emerging punk scene of 1970s London, the Craig...
8/10. The best live action Disney film in years. willcrabbe 15 June 2021. This is a film I did not see myself enjoying as much as I did. Serving as a (sort of) prequel to 101 Dalmations, Cruella is set in 1970s London during the punk rock movement and follows the character Estella (Emma Stone) as she attempts to make it in the fashion industry.
