Movie · 2021 · Comedy, Crime · 2h 14m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 4.5/10 (1.6M ratings)
Hello cruel world.
Overview
In 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.5/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.52/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Metacritic: 59
TMDB: 8.0/10
Director
Craig Gillespie
Production
Walt Disney Pictures, Gunn Films, Marc Platt Productions
Cast
Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, John McCrea, Emily Beecham, Mark Strong, Kayvan Novak, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Jamie Demetriou, Niamh Lynch, Andrew Leung, Ed Birch, Dylan Lowe, Paul Bazely, Abraham Popoola, Leo Bill, Ninette Finch, Sarah Crowden, Harrison Willmott
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, punk-inflected origin story that works best as a fashion-forward revenge caper with strong star turns and playful production design. It’s not especially deep, but it is stylish, energetic, and more entertaining than its premise suggests.
Best for
Viewers who like campy villain-origin stories
Fans of costume design, needle drops, and maximalist visual style
People in the mood for a breezy heist/revenge movie
Audiences who enjoy charismatic antiheroes and diva performances
Skip if
You want strict fidelity to the 101 Dalmatians mythology
You dislike heightened, self-aware studio camp
You prefer subtle character studies over glossy spectacle
You’re allergic to broad tonal swings and cartoonish villainy
Overview
Cruella is a surprisingly lively piece of studio pop, built less like a straight origin story than a revenge fantasia with a fashion-magazine sheen. Emma Stone leans into the role with enough bite and mischief to keep the movie buoyant, while Emma Thompson gives it a proper icy antagonist to push against. The result is a film that knows exactly how outrageous it wants to be, and mostly commits to the bit.
Worth noting
What sells it is the craft: the costumes, production design, and soundtrack all work overtime to turn 1970s London into a glam-punk playground. It borrows the energy of heist movies, workplace comedies, and villain-as-icon reinventions, then wraps them in a glossy Disney package. That tension is part of the fun, even when the plotting gets a little overstuffed.
Bottom line
It’s not a great movie in the classical sense, but it is a very watchable one. If you’re open to a big, brash, designer-label version of rebellion, Cruella delivers enough attitude, style, and star power to justify the ride.
Top Letterboxd reviews
le petit prince (3.5★) · 10509 likes
EMMA STONE COULD DO JOKER BUT JOAQUIN PHOENIX COULDN'T DO CRUELLA
mia lee vicino (3.5★) · 7717 likes
i think the “why would disney make a sympathetic movie about a puppy killer? 😡” faux-outrage is the biggest SNOOZE!! you think they’re actually gonna show her killing puppies? really? think about this for more than 5 seconds then criticize this 324-billion dollar corporation for ANYTHING else! we’re drowning in a sea of reheated, lukewarm content and you’re mad at the one that lets emma stone do deranged glam-punk camp? grow UP and have some FUN!
davidehrlich (2.5★) · 6264 likes
the rare movie that leaves you thinking "that would've been so much better if Emma Stone had murdered a lot of dogs."
(still kinda fun tho, despite everything)