Cruella is a new Disney movie which provides the backstory of the wicked Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations. We learn how someone could become such a horrible and nasty person.

There have been two Disney movies based on the original novel The One Hundred and One Dalmatians: one cartoon from 1961, and a remake from 1996. Prior to seeing Cruella, I hadn't seen 101 Dalmatians for a long time so the story wasn't fresh in my mind. Because I wanted to relearn the story of 101 Dalmatians before seeing Cruella, I watched both the original and the remake the day before seeing Cruella. I watched both because I was unsure which Cruella would relate to more. I found that Cruella referenced both the original and the remake. It doesn't matter which version of 101 Dalmatians you have seen but it is important that you watch one of the versions prior to seeing Cruella for a better experience.

I didn't enjoy the 101 Dalmatians movies all that much as I felt they were outdated and had a too simple story. From the trailers that I had seen of Cruella, I didn't think that it looked very good but the movie received a high rating from other reviewers so I was unsure how I would feel about the movie. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of Cruella. This is one of the best live action remakes ever from Disney.

Cruella was an extremely clever and well thought out movie. Having seen the 101 Dalmatians movies the day before seeing Cruella, I was able to spot many references towards the original movies. It explained many of the habits of the infamous villain and provided many background details for 101 Dalmations. I did notice a couple of plot holes which didn't align with the original movies, but these didn't matter as they would have gone over most people's heads unless they had just seen the original movies. There is a second reason which I will cover later.

There were multiple themes which were repeated throughout the movie which went to show how much the creators planned out this movie. It was obvious to the audience that the story had been mapped out for many years and that there were multiple rewrites of the script to make the best movie possible. This effort paid off in creating a cunning and devious movie.

Another thought out aspect of the movie was the music. The music was able to reflect the kind of fashion which was being displayed and echoed the evolution of Cruella and her style. I thought that the music was always appropriate to what was being seen. And whilst we're on the topic of seeing, the costumes and fashion seen throughout the movie were absolutely fabulous. I don't know much about fashion but anyone would have to appreciate the costumes in this movie. 

Cruella's actors' take on the characters is the best interpretation I have seen of these characters from any 101 Dalmatians film. They made all the characters feel very modern whilst still keeping them appropriate to the era. I have to commend Emma Stone for bringing much emotion to an often masked character.

Although Cruella was a long movie, it kept moving along nicely and I didn't get bored or feel that it was too long. The movie wasn't intended to be a comedy movie but there were multiple hilarious jokes which only added to the enjoyment of the movie.

It was easy to see that there was some inspiration taken from The Devil Wears Prada. The attitude of some characters as well as the overall story of the movie felt very familiar. I did not feel like this was a bad thing because I enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada and Cruella didn't feel like a rip-off version, just a movie with a similar idea and characters to another successful film.

There has been talk from multiple movie reviewers about a possible sequel to Cruella. This is likely due to the success of this film. But the question is what this sequel will be about. Some have said that the sequel could show more of Cruella as she rises higher in the fashion industry. This is possible as we didn't see Cruella at the peak of her madness in this movie but I think that a more likely scenario is that we will see another 101 Dalmatians remake. They already have most of the cast introduced in Cruella and the mid-credits scene definitely hinted at this.

I said earlier that there were a couple of details from Cruella that didn't align with those from 101 Dalmatians. Having a new 101 Dalmatians remake would be an easy way to fix these plot holes. The creators would have to make some very clever storytelling decisions for how they would go about making a remake as we have now all fallen in love with Cruella, but posing the remake from her perspective might make a good sequel. After the success of our first Cruella movie, I have full faith that Disney will be able to pull off something incredible.

Overall, Cruella upstaged the original 101 Dalmatians movies in the same way that the character of Cruella planned to upstage her competition. It had some complex acting, fabulous costumes, and was a well put together movie. It is obvious that the creators wished to create something which would be profound and enjoyable for the fans. Cruella can be found in cinemas or on Disney+ for an extra fee.

Director: Craig Gillespie

Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser

Year released: 2021

My rating: 8.5/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 16/06/2021