Cruella 2021
Though I am a big fan of Disney, I was never crazy about 101 Dalmatians, didn’t really grow up with it, and was a little underwhelmed seeing it as a grownup. Of course I still liked it, but one of my problems was how completely unhinged Cruella De Vil was. It wasn’t really about the people though. I never saw the Glenn Close movies, but they seemed kind of like standard sort of low budget Disney movies for kids. After Covid delays, Cruella was finally released (today!), but I checked the reviews before going and they were only mildly positive, which lowered my expectations a little (always good). I was ready for it to be terrible (sometimes movies for kids get better reviews than they deserve), but was surprised that it was actually pretty good, maybe very good. It avoids the easiest pitfalls of silly slapstick humor and campy performances, even when I wanted it to let go a little (like when Cruella’s evil mentor tries out an early taser on her own staff members). I feel like adults are more of the target audience instead of kids, but kids should still enjoy it. And definitely fans of the original movie will get plenty of inside jokes (stay for a mid-credit scene). It feels a little more like a Marvel movie, with good senses of action (basically a series of capers) and humor, not fully grown up and and not fully juvenile. Emma Stone is very good, catching the right notes for her more complex and somewhat sympathetic character. Emma Thompson as her evil mentor is also very good, but in a flatter role. The previews gave away entirely too much of the movie, but it is still fun watching the origin story of this classic villain and also seeing her fleshed out in a movie that maybe is more an alternate universe story than 100% faithful to the crazed lunatic of the animated movie.
Follow-up in December 2021: I bought this movie on blu-ray and watched it again. It holds up quite well. The side characters, Jasper and Horace, are fleshed out and played very well, along with a clothing shop owner, and Mark Strong is solid as Emma Thompson’s valet. Even the dogs are very good, not just the three dalmatians, but a couple of new faces, sometimes rendered in CGI. The clothes and sets are amazing, and the soundtrack has tons of cool songs, playing almost constantly. The blu-ray has some great extras that highlight the production and cast.Written: 28 May 2021
Owned on: UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital