Cruella

2021 • 133 minutes
4.3
473 reviews
75%
Tomatometer
PG-13
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Emma Stone (LA LA LAND) stars in Disney's CRUELLA, an all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinema's most notorious – and notoriously fashionable – villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil. Set during the 1970s punk rock revolution in London, the story follows a clever and creative young grifter named Estella, who is determined to become a successful designer. After Estella befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, the three build a life for themselves on the London streets. Before long, Estella's flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute fashion legend, played by Emma Thompson (HOWARDS END, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY). But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent "Cruella." CRUELLA is directed by Craig Gillespie (I, TONYA) from a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, story by Aline Brosh McKenna and Kelly Marcel & Steve Zissis. It was produced by Andrew Gunn (FREAKY FRIDAY), Marc Platt (MARY POPPINS RETURNS) and Kristin Burr (CHRISTOPHER ROBIN), with Emma Stone, Michelle Wright, Jared LeBoff and Glenn Close serving as executive producers. Spectacular costume designer Jenny Beavan (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, A ROOM WITH A VIEW) creates the dazzling and imaginative costumes, which take on a life of their own. WARNING: Some flashing lights scenes in this film may affect photosensitive viewers.
Rating
PG-13

Ratings and reviews

4.3
473 reviews
phyzzx
September 15, 2021
Not only does the film take quite a while to get on with it but it is also an origin story. There are many slow parts that the director will tell you are necessary and few that are not causing an unavoidable length. Arty is the only truly interesting character. Cruella's treatment of friends that literally picked her up off the street is just bad form. Why are they even sticking around, what could they possibly get out of that relationship? There are two parts that slapped together well which were the music and the period. As the film wanes, an utterly unnecssary plot twist is thrown into the mix. The purpose was not needed as you already hate the character you are needed to hate. The good part of it was that it was really said and done in two minutes and if you nodded off it wouldn't make too much of a difference in A) understanding the plot and B) your entertainment. Nobody will be talking about this movie. That Mark Strong's talent was completely wasted is about all you need to know.
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Kyle Vansteelandt
May 22, 2022
The original 1961 animated classic "101 Dalmatians" has been one of my favorite childhood films growing up. This animated classic spreads awareness to animal lovers about animal cruelty and has an unforgettably wicked witch of a lady, Cruella De Vil, she is a menacing woman with an outrageous temper. Now, after the first origin story involving Maleficent, Craig Gillespie (director) and his crew decided to make another origin story about a sympathetic antagonist. Unlike "Maleficent," "Cruella" is a lot less entertaining and a lot more disenchanting in a way that is quite aggressive. There is almost nothing special about the craftsmanship that the filmmakers constructed; There isn't anything that is sharply executed to make this film eye-popping and fun, like "Maleficent (2014)." But, there are only two moments where men yelped with a sharp result that only made me chuckle quietly; nothing about the comedy is actually funny. There is hardly any surprise in the this entire film. Craig Gillespie must've struggled to find a way to surprise me with shocking results that are sharply executed. The latter is one of the worst ways to end a movie I have ever seen; it is muddled involving the death of our main character and the filmmakers decided to stretch out the film even more with an extra scene that should not be used. Nicholas Britell (composer) did a decent job making his score suspenseful during the second half of the film, but when it comes to the somber elements of the score, It does not succeed to make me feel bad for anyone (although that does not mean that the somber elements sound depressing). The big issue with the music is that there is a redundant soundtrack that is overstuffed with an absurd amount of 70s punk rock songs and other colorful songs that did not support the movie's narrative and the emotional value at all. As for the production design, there are some striking costume designs, but that is not what makes the movie worthwhile. Here is another calamity: Unlike Maleficent, the origin story of Cruella (Emma Stone) is surprisingly unsympathetic. Yes, there are some relatable moments of Cruella's past, and she does have an understandable backstory, but I could not help but denying the sympathy for the title character, as I have noticed that it has been poorly-executed. Let me explain: first off: The main antagonist named "Baroness" (Emma Thompson) does have some motivations, but the real questions are "how and why did she become so evil?" "How did her Dalmatians ended up being very aggressive guard dogs?" (did she mistreated the Dalmatians? or did she trained them to be so vicious?) "What is her real destiny?" These questions remain unknown. At least Cruella is nice to her dog "Buddy," and her sidekicks (Horace and Jasper) are nice to their dog "Wink." But when Cruella says "I'm gonna kill you, and your dogs" to Baroness, I was disgusted. There are some lines of dialogue that forces us to be on the cruel dark side of individuals which is highly unnecessary. The big drawback is that Dalmatians are not truly aggressive. They are more energetic and sensitive dogs. And if unhappy, they become high-strung when meeting strangers. As for the acting, The acting from some of the men on set were exaggerating their portrayals of British-men with twitching and barking. And the women are obviously classy. Emma Stone does a decent job portraying the old Cruella De Vil from the classic cartoon. In conclusion: The origin story of Cruella De Vil is reckless, dull, and unsympathetic, not to mention that makes us not want to root for the lovable canines, and strongly aspires cruelty and compassion for the dark side. Not Recommended!
36 people found this review helpful
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Denilson Valenzuela
July 14, 2021
It takes a while to get going. Interesting soundtrack and the two actress saved this film although I should say it didn't feel like a cruella film and quite frankly didn't need to be, could of been the plot of quite two fashion designers going up against each other. Still it sets up a sequel that will hopefully dive into Cruella's villainous story.
138 people found this review helpful
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