“Cruella” Review: A Dark and Gritty Origin Story for One of Disney's Most Iconic Villians

Cruella is directed by Craig Gillespie and is Disney's latest animation to live action movie. This time around it stars Emma Stone as Estella, a young aspiring fashion designer in 1970's Punk Rock London who travels down the path that will lead her to become known as Cruella de Vil. The film also stars Emma Thompson, Paul Walter-Hauser, Joel Fry, and Mark Strong.

Something that I really commend this film for doing is not feeling like a traditional squeaky clean Disney film. This is a very dark, gritty,and bleak origin story that was everything I wanted and deserving of its PG-13 rating. The look of this film is absolutely breathtaking in every way, shape, and form. The cinematography is beautiful, and the 1970's Punk Rock London setting makes for an aesthetically pleasing and visually irresistible film. The costume design in this film is spectacular. As someone who digs black and white, my jaw literally dropped several times during this film due to Jenny Beaven's oscar worthy costumes. The soundtrack here also adds to the aesthetic of the film, as every single song fits perfectly into the scenes.

Emma Stone's performance as Estella/Cruella is without a doubt incredible! Stone's transformation into Cruella is incredible to watch and I could not imagine anyone else in the role other than stone. Emma Thompson is also flawless as usual starring as Baroness Von Hellman, Cruella's new boss at the fashion studio. However, the real scene stealers here are Paul Walter-Hauser and John McCrea as Horace and Jasper. Hauser adds a lot of comic relief throughout the film (as does his sidekick Wink), and stole the show every scene he was in. John McCrea is also quite good as Artie, one of Cruella's friends as well as the first openly gay Disney character.

I felt that the overall story and screenplay was very strong as well. While the film does not try to justify her cruelness, it manages to humanize Cruella just the right amount and almost allows you to sympathize with her character and feel bad for her. The story is incredibly well thoughtout and is exactly what I expected from a Cruella de Vil origin story. I felt that the script was also very well written, as it gives everybody great lines and gives Emma Stone a monologue in the third act that gave me chills.

There is very little to criticize regarding this film. However, if I had to make one criticism, I would say that the film is a skosh too long. While the film does move incredibly fast, I feel that 137 minutes is a little tedious. If the film was about 10 minutes shorter, this would've been pure perfection.

Cruella is easily Disney's best live-action film to date. It has a dark gritty tone, a well thought out story, excellent costume design, and excellent performances across the board. I highly commend Disney for giving us the dark origin story for Cruella de Vil that we deserve. I cannot recommend this film enough and I suggest you watch this one as soon as possible.

Final Grade: A

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Cruella is Now Playing in theaters and is available on Disney+ with Premier Access until August 27th, when it will be available for no extra cost.