Cruella (2021) - Craig Gillespie

By Maria Sofia Bassit Gomez.

Cruella: The Redemption of 101 Dalmatians.

Cruella is a 2021 American crime comedy film based on the villain Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians, directed by Craig Gillespie.

The main cast includes Emma Stone as Estelle/Cruella, Emma Thompson as The Baroness, Joel Fry as Jasper, Paul Walter Hauser as Horace, Emily Beecham as Catherine the Maid, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Anita Darling. The movie budget remains uncertain. However, in its first two weeks, Cruella made 129 million USD worldwide.

Warning: This review contains spoilers about the movie. Proceed at your own risk.

The 2h 14 min movie has a 74% Rotten Tomatoes review and 7.4/10 on IMDb. The movie attracted positive attention upon its debut.

The movie is the prequel of 101 Dalmatians, centered around the Villainess Cruella De Vil and her origin story. The movie depicts the fur-loving dog-killing Fashion designer to be a modestly chaotic yet ambitious woman who is avenging her foster mother’s death. The movie reveals the origin story of Estelle and her transformation to the beloved, almighty Cruella.

The movie is a visual feast, the equivalent of going to see your in-law family for the first time who treat you like their favorite child. The editing of the movie is sharp and very color centered. A big plus was that the movie respected Cruella’s color scheme: white, red, black, green. One of my favorite scenes was the famous Disney chateau introduction colored in all black and white with the beautiful logo in red.

Another plus are the costumes designed by the award-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan. Her creation was the red bowtie that made this remake stand out over the others. The aesthetic is similar to 70’s Punk in London. Unlike the aesthetic, the writing isn’t all black and white. Most of the characters are seen as flawed yet loveable. Estelle, the sweet child who turns into a villain. Jasper, the malicious thief with a heart of gold, and Horace the sweet looking man with a craving for gold and treats.

The plans elaborated by Estelle are simply malicious and mystically gives the viewer the feeling of thrill and awe. I noticed that many of the viewers in the cinema were simply mesmerized by Cruella, the rebellious kid who marked her way out of the system, almost as a social metaphor to people’s desire for authenticity and power. Most of us are chained by the chains of conformity and people’s opinions. Hence, to be this careless unbothered person among the people is appealing.

The music choices used in the movie are immaculate, iconic 70’s bops. Examples: “One way or Another” by Blondie. “Stone Cold Crazy” by Queen. “I wanna be your dog” by John McCrea and the newly composed song “Call me Cruella” by Florence and the Machine. The last song set the tone of the movie, bittersweet as a sunny picnic day that ended in rain.

It is obvious that the movie doesn’t try to make Estelle this lovely dovey character who hasn’t been fortunate in her life. Instead, the story portrays how this madwoman breaks out of her limitations into the powerful beast she was made to be. There is a contrast between 101 Dalmatians Cruella and the modern Cruella in Disney’s depiction of her. Previously shown as the living mummy whose pure purpose of life is fashion and fur while a green smoke is following her pipette, the recent remake humanizes the villainess to a relatable character who fought for her own beliefs regardless of how wrong or right the viewers think she is.

Another interesting fact is that Cruella or Estella seems to be a grieving character who is affected by her traumatic childhood event. While the original one showed Cruella as this psychopathic narcissistic fashion guru, this role was given to the Baroness who soon turns out to be her biological mother. The story takes a Snow White plot with the murderous jealous mother willing to end her all-star daughter, and the baroness goes to untold practices just to end competition at all costs.

The movie leaves no room for nagging in my opinion, as most people would agree on. However, when the character is shown to be running or walking, the camera begins to shake and it’s hard to focus on. Additionally, the reason for the remake seems almost out of thin air. However, this isn’t common practice for Disney. Their newest hits were live action remakes: the Lion King, Dumbo, Mulan and the other 17 Disney live actions.

It’s likely that Disney suffers from franchise fatigue, which disables them from simply coming up with original ideas or innovative movies. Another possible is reason that Disney is trying to profit off all the grown-up adults with their nostalgia for old time Disney movie, a good way to make extra revenue for the 122 billion USD worth company.

Cruella the Disney remake is likely to be awarded with the amount of effort put on the movie, as well as the positive welcoming for the film. In spite of all the future daydreams, one question remains unanswered in the people’s minds: How many live action remakes will Disney create? It is expected that there will be more remakes with The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, the Sword in the Stone, Prince Charming, Think and Rose Red.

One can only hope Disney has a luck streak with their movies similar to the one of Cruella.