My rating	IMDb		Rotten Tomatoes
	Critics	Audience	Critics	Audience
9/10	60/100	7.5/10	72%	97%

Numbers obtained from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes on May 31, 2021.

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101 Dalmatians (1996) was my favorite Disney live-action movie based on an animated film. Not only was it very well made, but also Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil was just so perfect and such a fun villain to hate that it seemed impossible to top that.

Yet here we are, 25 years later, with the origin story for that same villain, now played by Emma Stone, and Cruella became my favorite Disney live-action movie. Granted, it is not the exact same story, since Cruella takes place in the 1970s and tells us how sweet Estella turned into the infamous Cruella.

Comparing the two performances doesn’t feel very fair, as they play the same character in completely different moments in her life. So, it’s better to just enjoy the ride and have fun with Emma Stone being Estella/Cruella.

And I definitely had a lot of fun with this movie! Without giving too much away, I can say that young Estella (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) arrives in London after her mother’s death and befriends two petty thieves, Jasper (Ziggy Gardner) and Horace (Joseph MacDonald), who grow up to be played by Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser, respectively (both absolutely wonderful).

As time passes, Estella remains interested in fashion and gets a job at a posh department store where she meets The Baroness (Emma Thompson), the most important designer at the time.

The main thing that caught my attention is how the whole movie is a great analysis of the never-ending discussion between “nurture” and “nature.” How much of our personalities comes from our birth and how much of it comes from how we are raised.

Also, of course, the “duel” of Emmas is simply delicious to watch! They are both so perfect for their roles, with Emma Thompson being one of the most vicious villains I’ve seen! There have been some comparisons to “The Devil Wears Prada”, since both Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) and The Baroness are horrible bosses who terrorize everyone around them. However, as the story in Cruella develops, we see that The Baroness is much worse! Cruella herself, of course, also does bad things, but her motive is mainly revenge.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (who also directed I, Tonya), Cruella is very fast paced, despite the running time of 2h14min. The soundtrack, with over 30 songs ranging from The Rolling Stones to Judy Garland, and everything in between, helps with the rhythm of the story. It also pulls the audience to London in the 1970s and it is impossible to leave the movie without noticing the songs.

The original score, by Nicholas Britell, is also excellent, giving the right tone to Cruella’s dilemmas and reflections.

However, the thing that has everyone talking about is the costume design in Cruella. Two-time Academy Award winner Jenny Beavan was responsible for the 47 costume changes for Cruella and 33 for the Baroness! Their looks are completed with equally wonderful makeup and hair design. (So many great wigs!)

Of course, there are Dalmatians in the story, even though they have a different role than the one we would have imagined. We also get to meet Anita Darling (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and Roger (Kayvan Novak), who have important roles in the mid-credit scene!

Also part of the cast are Mark Strong, playing The Baroness’ right-hand man, and John McCrea, simply hilarious as Artie, the owner of a second-hand clothing store.

Cruella is a fun experience and a great addition to Disney’s canon! It’s available both in theaters and on Disney+, at an extra cost. Don’t miss it, darlings!