So the movie is about how Cruella de Vil became Cruella de Vil basically. Like her origin story. We see her as a kid, she's got this two toned hair, black and white, already kind of an outsider, gets kicked out of school for causing trouble, and then some stuff happens with her mom (I don't wanna spoil it but it's pretty dark for a Disney movie ngl) and she ends up on the streets of London with two other kids who become like her little crime family, Jasper and Horace. Then we skip ahead and she's older, played by Emma Stone, and she's working in fashion, dreaming of being a designer, and she ends up working for this legendary designer called the Baroness, played by Emma Thompson, who is basically evil incarnate in the most fabulous way possible.
Okay so first thing, the fashion in this movie is insane. Like genuinely one of the best looking movies I've seen in terms of costumes. Every outfit Cruella wears is a whole moment, there's this one scene where she shows up to a party in this dress that turns into a completely different outfit and the crowd is looking at her like she just performed magic, and honestly I was reacting the same way watching it lol... So If you're into fashion or just like visually stunning movies, this one's worth it for that alone.
Emma Stone is really the reason this movie works as well as it does. She goes full unhinged in the best way, she's funny, she's a bit scary, she's got that chaotic energy but you can also see the sadness underneath it, like you understand why she became this way even when she's doing messed up stuff. And Emma Thompson as the Baroness, oh my gosh, she is deliciously evil. Like every time she's on screen she's just dripping with this cold nasty elegance and you love hating her. Honestly their rivalry is the best part of the whole movie, better than anything else going on in the plot if I'm being real.
The soundtrack also really stood out to me because they used a ton of classic rock and punk songs from like the 60s and 70s, and it fits the whole rebellious punk fashion vibe of the movie so well.... I actually went and made a playlist after watching it because the music choices were that good.
Now for the stuff that didn't work as well for me. The movie is pretty long, like over 2 hours, and I did feel it in the middle section, there's a lot of back and forth with schemes and plans that could've been trimmed down a bit. Also the tone is kind of weird if you think about it too much, like it's a Disney movie but it's dealing with some pretty dark themes, and there's moments where I wasn't sure if it wanted to be a fun campy fashion movie or a darker revenge story, it kind of tries to be both and doesn't always blend those two things perfectly.
If you know the original 101 Dalmatians you'd know this version kind of changes a lot about who Cruella is and why she becomes the way she is, and I know some people didn't like that, like they felt it was trying too hard to make her sympathetic when the whole point of the original character was that she was just straight up evil and loved fur coats for shallow reason but i didn't mind it too much personally, I thought it was a fun new take, but I get why some people were kind of annoyed by it.
Overall though I had a really good time with this movie. It's stylish, it's fun, the two lead performances are great, the fashion and music alone make it worth watching. It's not like some deep masterpiece or anything but it's really entertaining and rewatchable, I've actually put it on again a couple times just for the vibes and the outfits. If you like fashion, if you like a good villain origin story, or if you just want something visually fun to watch on a weekend, I'd say give this one a go for sure.
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Rating: 80/100
