CRUELLA – Review

Dueling Emmas face off in a battle of fashionistas behaving badly, in CRUELLA, in which Emma Thompson’s Anna Wintour-like fashion giant is challenged by Emma Stones’ Vivienne Westwood-like punk designer upstart. CRUELLA is more entertaining that one might expect for the live-action backstory of a Disney villain, Cruella de Vil from the animated classic 101 DALMATIANS. CRUELLA is more entertaining that one might expect. Creative, energetic, dark and spiked with campy humor, CRUELLA is a surprising bit of fun.

CRUELLA is sympathetic backstory that paints the famous Disney villain as a misunderstood underdog, but one of the best things about CRUELLA is that it is not another MALEFICENT. If you liked that Disney villain origin story, you may not care for this one, as CRUELLA takes itself far less seriously. Director Craig Gillespie (I TONYA) makes CRUELLA clever, energetic fun with just enough campy fun and a dark humor twist. Although named for the Disney villain, this film stands on its own, and would be just as entertaining if the central character had a different name.

Estella (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) is a rebellious, brilliant young girl with unusual black and white hair, who arrives in ’60s London after being orphaned when some vicious dalmatians pushed her mother (Emily Beecham) off a cliff. She is taken in by a pair of grifter street urchins, who teach her their trade. In the punk ’70s, grown-up Estella (Emma Stone) has become skilled at the life of petty crime but she is a fashionista with a flare for costumes and disguises, and longs to be a fashion designer.

Her grifter mates Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) help Estella get her dream job at a posh department store, the Liberty, by creating a fake resume that claims she knows royalty. Ambitious Estella hopes to meet her favorite designer, the imperious Baroness (Emma Thompson), London’s top fashion designer, who has a connection to the store. Eventually, Estella does win a spot as an intern with the brutal Baroness but eventually Estella’s rebellious streak puts them at odds. Reinventing herself as an underground, wildly-creative punk designer named Cruella, the two face off on the runway and off.

CRUELLA samples a lot of other films, DEVIL WEARS PRAVDA certainly but also bits of TV’s “Queen’s Gambit,” Roald Dahl’s “Mathilda,” ALL ABOUT EVE, and a number of Charles Dickens novels. There was a team of scriptwriters, Tony McNamara (THE FAVORITE), Dana Fox, Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel and Steve Zissis, whose creative, entertaining script samples a variety of sources. But the mix is melded well and it has plenty of energy and is a lot of fun, with dark edgy vibe and a killer soundtrack of mostly ’60s hits, including the Zombies, Rolling Stones and Animals.

However, if you liked that earlier Disney villain backstory film, MALEFICENT, this one may not be your cuppa. Disney purists probably will be displeased that is really doesn’t explain why the fashionista villain of 101 DALMATIONS would want a Dalmatian puppy skin coat, other than a tragic encounter with some attacking dalmatians, but then again, did MALIFICENT really explain her?

Better to think of this as an alternate universe prequel to the Disney classic, but however you can putting aside those pre-concieved ideas, the more you can just enjoy this wild ride. The story is more a dark, tongue-in-cheek comedy than anything. Emma Stone and Emma Thompson draw on their considerable talents to bring out their best, in a story that is a bit more feminist than might be excepted.

Fans of all things British, and particularly London in the punk ’70s, will find lots to like here, with street scenes and playful references, along with a spot-on soundtrack of mostly ’60s hits, including from the Zombies, Rolling Stones and the Animals.

Both Emma Stone and Emma Thompson are clearly having delicious fun playing these battling bad girls, to the delight of us in the audience. The combination of top-notch performances, with a clever script that samples from a number of sources, and wildly vibrant visuals, all packaged in a fast-paced, high-energy film makes this film a delight. The winning combination evokes both in the director’s previous film I TONYA and co-writer’s film THE FAVORITE.

CRUELLA is surprisingly fun, high-energy, creative romp that spills outside the boundaries of expectations for its premise. It opens Friday, May 28, at various theaters and streaming.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars