The New Review Renewed - Cruella

Copyright for the logo belongs to Disney

The New Review

Cruella

Cast: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Mark Strong

Directed by: Craig Gillespie

Concept: Explore the backstory of the Villainous Villainess of the timeless Disney animated classic, 101 Dalmatians.

Execution

Cast: Emma Stone IS Cruella. Emma Stone owns. Nearly EVERY role she takes on. Same can be said of the Uber-Villain played by Emma Thompson. You learn to hate them quickly. Support cast feels like they were pulled directly from the Animated movie. And... surprise Mark Strong is surprise Mark Strong(though, if I looked at the cast beforehand, I would've known). The only casting question isn't a question from me. They changed the races of Anita and Roger. And... it is a welcome change. Their races in 101 Dalmatians doesn't matter as much as the occupations and how they were connected to Cruella. And that...... is ever present. (Side notation at the end of the review)

Score: 20/20

Presentation: It's a live action representation of Disney's London. And it is drab... dreary... depressing. Like it came from a Tim Burton movie. For a more kid friendly "The Devil Wears Prada", the fashion choices were superb as well. Soundtrack was wonderful. Great covers backed by Disney doing Disney stuffs with their music. It's the Disney standard of Presentation.

Score: 20/20

Chronicle: This is the backstory of Cruella DeVil. Devilish Fashionista villain of 101 Dalmatians. Quite a few villain backstory tropes: surprise parental reveal, underdog kicked around story. But where it sets itself apart from the tropes is sympathy. Usually in these types of stories, they try to make you sympathetic to why the good person went bad...... that doesn't last long here. They didn't leave room for that. You genuinely dislike Stella/Cruella. And you're meant to. It's a story of how a bad kid becomes a worse adult. No redemption arc. At least in the traditional sense. The movie is smooth, but in places feels long. And while I give credit to how they weaved in the relationship between Stella with Jasper and Horace, they did that weaving too much with Anita and Roger, within them being major characters. They were always connected to Cruella... but this much? That is just another trope they hit. A couple of really good twists to traditional tropes... like the parent reveal. I thought they were going somewhere else. Glad I was wrong... but... might've untwisted that one. And it closes leading into what is the story for 101 Dalmatians... all the set up... for all the previous payoff. Too many Disney tropes... too many backstory tropes. But enough to set it apart. Immersion so well done, I almost forgot I was watching a SPECIFIC Disney movie... until the Extra Oomph...

Score: 25/30

Impact: Disney has had some hits AND some misses when it comes to adapting to live action. This one is on the hits side. Showing how to make a villain backstory... without adding sympathy into the mix(I'm looking at YOU, MCU). It doesn't break the mold. But it does make it's own. And... while it is really good thing, I'm afraid that Disney might run with it for villains we DON'T need the backstory for... does worry me.

Score: 17/20

Extra Oomph: So... the realization moment. No spoiler if you've seen 101 Dalmatians. Anyone remember WHY Cruella was a villain? What was her plan?....... if you said dognapping Dalmatians so she could make a fur coat out them, you would be correct. I... forgot. I legit... forgot. This movie MADE me forget. And then the impromptu fashion show in the park scene. The Baroness sees Cruella's coat... exposits the "did she kill my dogs(Dalmatians)?" And the scene... as it protrayed by FACIAL expressions alone(look at Jasper), the movie thinks Cruella did. I KNOW I felt my face go pale... "oh my god, did they actually do the dog murder in this Disney movie!?!?!?!" She didn't. Breathe easy. But dammit, I couldn't believe they pulled off this kind of bait and switch in a Disney movie. Animated... you wouldn't think about it. But live action made it feel so different. And THAT makes for a unique "Holy Shit" moment for the adults. Disney went there.

Score: 10/10

Final Score: 92/100

Final Grade: A-

Conclusion: This is a real dark, drab, wonderful movie. Some parts made me feel like Disney didn't make this movie. And while Disney is AMAZING at what it does, losing yourself in some of their movies is where they need to dive into more. Immersion win for the win.

It's all a matter of opinion: I cannot stress enough that THIS is MY opinion, you can either agree with me or not. I don't have to justify my opinion, because *clears throat" that's what this blog is about. Whether I like it or not doesn't mean you have to or not...... I'ts just my justification behind MY recommendation... Which leads me to my FINAL JUDGMENT...

FINAL JUDGMENT: WATCH THIS MOVIE! Watch it. Go see it. Pay for it. Go see it. For the string of live action adaptation style movies from Disney, this one is one of the best. Top 2. Easily. Unlike Raya and the Last Dragon, this is a movie for movie watchers too.

-

-

-

Cruella. It was a great movie. Disney strikes. Goes for blood. And it feels good. It gets a 92.

Side note: Emma Stone is an A lister. One of the best in Hollywood. Very talented. One of my favorites. Emma Thompson is an absolute legend. There is this feeling of allegory in this movie. Almost a passing of the torch. See the movie. Get it... understand it.

Tell me what you think. Leave a comment. Share the post. I wanna know what you all think!

Disney went for blood. It got it. BETTER Disney strikes again!!!!

Again!!!!

Again......