My Review of Cruella (2021)

Written by Dana Fox And Tony McNamara And Aline Brian McKenna And Kelly Marcel And Steve Zissis

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Cruella: "How does the saying go? I am woman. Hear me roar."

Of all the classic Disney villains to try and retool as a charming antihero type, Cruella De Vil would've been the last one I'd ever consider to do this with. Even Once Upon A Time didn't dare to attempt such a thing but this punk era movie decided to give the most evil of Disney villains a modern makeover.

We open with a younger version of Cruella being given away by her birth mother, only to be adopted by a maid named Catherine (Emily Beecham). Named Estella, our unlikely antihero grows up in a loving home but struggles to fit in with her peers at school.

Still though she has an adorable dog named Buddy and when her adopted mother tragically dies, Estella finds herself an orphan before forging a new family with Jasper and Horace and their adorable pooch Wink.

Jumping into a decade later, the grown up Estella (Emma Stone) along with Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) are getting by as petty thieves but things take a more ambitious turn when Estella finds herself getting hired by the fearsome Baroness (Emma Thompson) to work at her fashion.

It's here where Estella soon realised there's a connection to the Baroness and Catherine and a mysterious necklace holds the key to Estella's true legacy. The Baroness's unhinged behaviour towards everyone in sight also reawakens a dark side in Estella.

Simply put, Estella adopts the persona of Cruella and along with the help of Jasper, Horace, shop owner Artie (John McCrea) and journalist Anita Darling (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Cruella doesn't waste time in upstaging the Baroness at every turn and in gloriously camp ways.

In a lot of ways the Baroness feels more like the classic Cruella than Estella herself, though the latter definitely has her dark moments here. While Estella harms no animals in this movie, she definitely had no problem stealing the Baroness's Dalmatians and letting the latter believe they had become a coat.

The reveal of the Baroness being Estella's biological mother however won't shock anyone. It's heavily telegraphed throughout the movie but it works and every scene that both Stone and Thompson share delights in so many ways.

Somewhat more surprising though was the heel turn of the Baroness's henchman, John (Mark Strong) whose switching of sides helped Estella bring about the downfall of her mother as well as the proper rebirth of Cruella De Vil. Cruella's here to stay but will this be a bad thing for the canine population? Only time will tell.

- The mid credit scene had Cruella gifting both Anita and former lawyer Roger (Kayvan Novak) with two Dalmatians that she named Perdita and Pongo.

- Artie is the first prominent gay character in a live action Disney movie, though his sexuality is briefly alluded to. There were hints that Jasper has feelings for Cruella as well.

- Standout music: Florence And The Machine's Cruella De Vil and Doris Day's Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.

- Chronology: Mostly set in the 1970s and this movie had fun with it's setting.

Cruella might have changed the infamous baddie more than expected but don't expect all sweetness and light either, she's still bad though. Emma Stone has managed to equal Glenn Close (a producer on this movie too) as the legendary villain and with plenty set up to explore in a sequel, one can hope Disney give a second helping.

Rating: 9 out of 10