First things first, Cruella (2021) is not a live-action prequel to Disney's animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). Nor is it connected to the studio's previous two live-action incarnations, 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians (2000), that starred Glenn Close as the iconic villain (although she is an executive producer on this movie). Instead, it is an "inspired by" movie that takes an established character like Cruella de Vil and applies numerous creative liberties to the story, characters, and setting. Placing a younger de Vil (this time played by Emma Stone) in a 1970s period piece with a talented cast, Oscar-worthy production and costume design, a rocking soundtrack, and a tonal blend of films like The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Joker (2019), Birds of Prey (2020), and Ocean's Eleven (2001) is a fascinating approach, and I respect director Craig Gillespie's commitment to delivering a unique viewing experience. Cinematically, Cruella doesn't break new ground, but it's a bold-enough live-action project from the studio that gave us family-friendly animated fare like Frozen (2013) and Onward (2020).
Cruella follows the escapades of a young grifter and aspiring fashion designer named Estella, who works her way up into the fashion world of 1970s London, where she clashes with the ruthless and narcissistic Baroness von Hellman (played by Emma Thompson) before gradually transforming into the feared criminal, Cruella de Vil.
Much of the film is carried by the delightful performances from Stone and Thompson, who are having a ball as the clashing fashion divas. Stone manages to give a sense of emotional layers and pathos to a rather nasty character, which cements this incarnation of Cruella as the most complex interpretation of the character we have seen yet. She delivers a monologue in the third act, which, without giving away spoilers, is surprisingly heart-wrenching and appropriately rounds out her character arc from the beginning. Yet Thompson steals the show as the Baroness, with her effortless blend of callousness and campy wit, making for a better Cruella de Vil than Cruella de Vil herself. The supporting cast is strong, with Paul Walter Hauser and Joel Fry as Horace and Jasper, respectively providing the film with its most morally grounded characters, a significant departure from the bumbling henchmen in the earlier films. Initially, Mark Strong is wasted as the Baroness' faithful valet until he is given a little more to do in the story's second and third acts. Again, no spoilers here.
The movie's 1970s punk rock-era production design, costumes, makeup, hairstyling, and cinematography are all top-notch, and each deserves its own Oscar nominations. The soundtrack is a wide array of greatest hits of the 1960s and '70s, and they enhance the overall gritty and raucous atmosphere to a tee. Storywise, each act gets progressively better from the last. The first act is okay, for it relies too heavily on Cruella's narration for delivering exposition instead of letting the audience pick up the storytelling puzzle pieces for themselves. Nevertheless, the fast-paced direction and dynamic cinematography made it worth watching. The second act partially phases out the narration and allows the onscreen action and the character's decisions to convey the necessary emotional connections for the audience, with several enjoyable heists and car chases to boot. Finally, the third act is a solid "good" in my book, as it ties up most of the narrative loose ends and builds off of the previous two acts in terms of character depth.
Tonally and thematically, Cruella is as dark as the current Walt Disney Company will allow it to be without scaring off families and little children. As a member of the younger generation of film enthusiasts, I find this a little disappointing given that in the past, the studio has released numerous titles that attempted to branch off from its family-friendly image, specifically during Disney's "Dark Age" from the 1970s until the late 1980s immediately following Walt Disney's untimely passing in 1966. Such experiments included The Black Hole (1979), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), The Journey of Natty Gann (1985), and The Black Cauldron (1985).
As for this film's negatives, the film's CGI for some sequences was so apparent (The Call of the Wild (2020) levels of noticeable) that it made the visual blend between the in-camera sets, props, and locations look cartoonish. Also, while the movie runs at a relatively brisk pace, the amount of story crammed into this origin story can come across as overstuffed. With that said, I would much prefer a movie with many story details that I can understand than a movie with too few that don't add up.
Overall, Cruella managed to surprise me thematically and storytelling-wise. While this picture is certainly not for the little ones, this film has enough style and visual glamour to make this experience worthwhile. Despite A Quiet Place Part II (2020) kicking off the box office return to the movie theaters in grand fashion, Cruella is, regardless, a fun time that improves as the story progresses. Give this movie a shot even if you are skeptical about Disney's recent live-action adaptations. You may be surprised by this one.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
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