Cruella

When I heard that they we're going to make a live-action movie about Cruella de Vil, I thought: This is going to be a disaster.

The trailers looked good but still not really great.

This movie? Blows every live action (except Cinderella) out of the park! Cruella is brilliantly written, acted and portrayed. All the side characters are memorable and useful. The baroness is amazing and just pure evil. I love it.

The costume designs are the best thing in this movie. They are beautiful, diffrent and are a feast to your eyes.

This movie gives me hope for the future of Disney!

Okay so cruella was actually kind of amazing. The cinematography and costuming were breathtakingly beautiful. The storyline took a few weird turns, but for the most part really worked. The characters were well cast and well acted. The Emma's slayed being maniacally deranged.

This is hands down the BEST Disney film I've seen in years and has the best soundtrack I've ever heard. Emma Stone is hypnotic as Cruella, Emma Thompson is delightfully wicked. The ancillary characters are very strong, as well. This film should received multi Oscar nods for acting, fashion, cinematography, and direction. The films' only drawbacks were the iffy CGI Dalmatians and particular animal references to skunks and raccoons that most outside the UK would never pick up on; neither animal is found in the UK.

It's dark, it's edgy, it embodies the punk rock movement of the 1970s and injects it into every aspect of this film with glorious results. Emma Thompson steals the show!

This is a film I did not see myself enjoying as much as I did. Serving as a (sort of) prequel to 101 Dalmations, Cruella is set in 1970s London during the punk rock movement and follows the character Estella (Emma Stone) as she attempts to make it in the fashion industry. She is taken under the wing of the vindictive and domineering Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson) and quickly learns secrets that will push her along the path to becoming the villainous Cruella De Vil.

First off I have to praise the performances of both leads. Emma Stone is wonderfully hammy yet charming and surprisingly nuanced as the titular Cruella, while Emma Thompson is cold and ruthless as the fashion mogul Baroness. There was also great support from Paul Walter Hauser as 'Horace', who serves as the main comedic output of the film, a role which he serves with aplomb.

I loved the Rock/Punk Rock style and aesthetic the film had, which is exemplified by the wonderful set and costume design and the excellent and unrelenting soundtrack. The original score from Nicholas Britell was also very effective at establishing the tone and mood and was quite Danny Elfman-esque.

My main problem with the film comes in the form of writing, with some aspects seeming cheap and overly reliant on coincidence and convenience. The latter stages are definitely weaker and the film doesn't end quite as strongly as it should have.

Overall, this is one of Disney's best live action outputs in recent memory although the sympathetic origin story seems tonally dissonant for one of Disney's most despicable villains.