The world was such a wholesome place until, Cruella DeVil. But how did one of the most famed and notorious Disney villains become so…evil?
While there is no excuse for her future dabbling in animal cruelty, Disney’s live action origin story, Cruella, takes us back in time to Cruella’s early rebellious days in punk rock London.
We all know this is an unnecessary prequel, and trust me, it was a rough for me to get into given the cringeworthy beginning that’s been going viral on Twitter.
However, once you embrace the chaos that is Cruella, it is a fun ride.
It’s much darker than other Disney live-action films. Like I’m not sure if this is appropriate for all kids. Cruella fully owns having Cruella be a villain instead of giving the audience some off narrative, happy ending approach (yeah, I’m looking at you, Maleficent).
Cruella isn’t perfect and it wouldn’t be Heather’s Hot Takes if I didn’t share my qualms. The runtime is far too long, overstuffed and tried so hard to make the films twists surprising. There are so many eye-rolling moments and inconsistencies with the original animated/1996 live-action productions, however, it is impossible not to fall in love with the entire production – the soundtrack and costuming will leave you drooling.
And the casting is just *chef’s kiss*.
Emma Stone does a fantastic job transforming into Cruella although she is no Glenn Close. Sorry to disappoint. Also, is it just me or did it take winning an Oscar for Emma Stone to finally act like someone besides herself in films? *sips tea*
Emma Thompson is spectacular as the Baroness — it’s as if she took Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly, injected ice into her veins and gave her Dalmatians. I was always obsessed with actress, but I was HOWLING throughout. And putting the Emmas against each other is a a deliciously devilish battle. It’s like Devil Wears Prada on crack.
And a huge shout out to Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser who make Horace and Jasper SO MUCH more lovable than ever before. It was truly sweet to see them be more human instead of mindless tools for physical comedy.
For those of you curious, at the end of the day, the film makes NO excuse for Cruella’s future motives, so you can keep hating her — like as a dog mom, Cruella will always be a monster. And considering she has dogs throughout the film, I have a LOT of questions. However, end of the day, I have to stop overthinking it and just enjoy the ride to Hell Hall.
Final Thoughts: Aesthetically pleasing and fantastically acted, Cruella is an entertaining Memorial Day flick.
Heather's Hot Takes 