Cruella is way more fun than a Disney villain origin story ought to be. I went in skeptical and came out grinning.
Emma Stone is the reason it works. Her Estella is sharp, scrappy, and gifted with a needle. Then she flips into her wicked alter ego like someone hit a switch. The trick is that both sides feel like the same person. One is just a lot louder, and I bought every bit of it.
Emma Thompson matches her as the Baroness: cold, elegant, and lethal with a one-liner. If you loved Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, you’ll have a blast. Watching the two Emmas go head to head is the best thing here, hands down.
The costumes are unreal. Every outfit is a stunt, and that costume design Oscar was earned. Wall-to-wall 70s rock gives the whole thing a cheeky punk swagger. Paul Walter Hauser and Joel Fry are a lot of fun as her partners in crime.
My favorite touch is the hair. Estella spends most of the story dyeing her split black and white hair red to blend in. When she finally stops hiding it, you see both halves of her were there all along, sharing one head. No speech needed.
It’s not perfect. It runs long and the second half gets predictable.
Still, there’s real heart under all the glitter and chaos. If you want stylish, funny, and a little wicked for movie night, this is it.
