FilmSnobReviews

Title: Cruella
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
Runtime: 2 hr 14 mins

What It Is: Estella (Stone) is a strange young girl. Her mother Catherine (Emily Beecham) is killed under mysterious circumstances. Estella is now an orphan on the mean streets of London. When she teams up with two other orphans Jaspar (Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) they become the greatest of thieves that London has to offer. Estella still dreams of being a world-famous fashion designer though. It’s that ambition that’ll lead her to transform into Cruell De Vil.

What We Think: Emma Stone is a killer in this. Not only is she very good at being very bad but she makes Cruella such an unexpected anti-hero. You sort of get why she despises dalmatians so much. Gillespie adds a very 70’s punk vibe to the entire affair. That works so well and the classic song by The Clash is perfectly used. This is a villain’s origin done right, finally, by Disney. Maleficent and its sequel didn’t get the job done. Disney allowed Craig Gillespie to just throw stuff at the wall and what we got was a fantastic and refreshing take on this already tired and rehashed genre.

Our Grade: B-, This is something you should certainly check out. It launches for free on Disney+ tomorrow and I recommend you wait until then to see it if you haven’t yet. Emma Stone looks and acts the part. It’s her personification of De Vil that gets you rooting for her character despite their flaws. They’ve made it incredibly easy to check this out, and it’s ending seems to dictate a sequel may be in the works as we’re introduced to Anita and Roger. Not sure how well that’s going to go if I’m being honest.