Cruella de Ville: Fashionably E Ville

(mini spoiler alert)

Another villain backstory? Count me in!

Cruella (dir. Craig Gillespie, 2021) provides another Disney villain backstory, which I have to admit, is super interesting. I am a big fan of Maleficent, I think it provides more context to our understanding of the original Disney princesses film. I have never really think Disney films as a universe, but maybe it is. A Disney cinematic universe, if you will.

Cruella provides a backstory on how Estella (Cruella’s real name) experiences a turning point during her childhood which leads her to live with two friends, Jasper and Horace. Long story short, the slyness of Jasper and Horace resulted in Estella being able to work in a famous fashion store. Estella then proceeds to be discovered by the famous fashion designer, which is called Baroness. Estella’s divine fashion sense then results in her working for the Baroness, in which she eventually found a fact that completely flipped her perspective, nearly life-changing. And that basically is the backstory of her in becoming Cruella, which is essentially her alter ego that she eventually ‘stole’ to become her main personality.

The fashion in this film is exceptionally beautiful, everything is so gorgeously done and very visually pleasing. Some fashion references were made throughout the film, as well. So, if you got an eye for fashion, you surely would want to watch this film.

This film does not really feel magical like other Disney films, this one is more realistic and felt more superhero-ic rather than magical. However, that becomes the strong characteristic of this film. She is painted as really powerful…. and a little bit mad (yes that is a Cruella reference)

However, the Disney staple is still present in this film. The presence of animals, which is present in almost every Disney film imaginable is there. So worry not, animal lovers, you can still see the cuteness of dogs in this film.

In conclusion, Cruella is a very visually pleasing film, with a great storyline, great actors, and a really good premise. It is a bit different from the typical Disney film, in the best way possible. I’d give this movie a 9.8/10 rate, since this film is stunning, and Cruella de Ville is fashionably evil, indeed :)