Cruella Review: The Origin Story of a Great Villain

Running Time: 2h 14mins

Release Date (UK): 28th May 2021

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Genre: Crime/Comedy

Stars

Emma Stone

Emma Thompson

Joel Fry

Paul Walter Hauser

Mark Strong

Kirby Howell-Baptiste

The story of how Cruella (Stone) became the villain we all know and love to hate.

After 60 years, we finally see how Cruella De Vil, the villain from Disney’s ‘101 Dalmatians’ series, turned into the cruel person she is. The film follows Estella, a young Cruella, as she chases her dreams, and faces her past, stopping at nothing until she gets what she wants. In this live action prequel, it shows Cruella’s journey from childhood to adulthood, showing a different side of her, a side that shows you her talents, and the childhood trauma which resulted in her becoming such a bad person.

Emma Stone is wonderful as Cruella, she is very versatile with her performance, showing her character as not only ruthless and fierce, but also sensitive. She shows both sides of the character very well, in such a way that makes her much more realistic.

The director (Gillespie) did amazing with this film, the plot goes very smoothly, and it is paced very well. He represented the London setting very accurately and incorporated lots of twists and turns into the plot, making it more exciting and shocking. The music choice is also great, it really captures the essence of Cruella’s character and of London in the 70’s.

There are many scenes in this film that I love, however one stands out to me, one where Estella, after being put down by her boss continually, finally stands up to her using the Cruella persona. I love this scene as it’s very dramatic and exciting, seeing Estella showing her true colours and confidence.

I really enjoyed this film, I loved to see the different factors that made Cruella the twisted way that she is. It made me appreciate the character on a deeper level, in a more complex way. I recommend this film to anyone who loves the 101 Dalmatian series and the live-action Disney films.

See the complex story of how Disney’s Dalmatian-obsessed fashion designer became cruel.