--Cruella
Quite some time ago when I heard they were making an origin story of Cruella DeVil I was intrigued. I have read the book by Dodie Smith and there's somewhat of a backstory of Cruella in it. (In the book Cruella is married and Anita and Roger attend a dinner at Cruella's house.)
When I found out that the movie was going to be more of an origin story of how Cruella became the Cruella of the live action Glenn Close versions, I was much less interested. It sounded dreadful.
Then earlier this year I saw a trailer for it that I absolutely abhorred. Then I saw another trailer that I was again intrigued by. And yet another I did not like. I did know I was going to see it regardless because I've always been fascinated with 101 Dalmatians since the first moment I saw it on Easter Sunday way back in 1961.
I sat down with a bowl of freshly popped popcorn and orange soda and awaited what I was in for.
All through this movie I was resisting it. Resisting what it was because largely I wanted it to be what "I" wanted it to be and it was never going to be that. But all through the movie it kept winning me over here and there so I was conflicted all the way through. (If I watch it again, knowing what it is, I could make a fairer judgment to others about it.)
I give the scene design and art direction an A. The costumes, some of which were brilliant, get an A. The choice of music they have in the movie is obvious, like they had a set playlist of things they wanted to use, but I liked the playlist so I give that an A, but the use of it I give a B-. Both Emma Stone and Emma Thomson I give an A- in their portrayals here. The script has some great moments, but it often veers into odd territory so I give it B. The movie did not feel long to me, though it is too long at 2 hrs. 20 mins. which I grade a C. The movie has an obvious pandering to wokeness, which I grade an F, by casting a black actress as a young Anita, in what is a thankless role the actress doesn't even do justice to, and casting Roger, a smaller role, as an Indian man. I don't know if "all" the time the main three Dalmatians they have in the movie are computer generated, but it is very noticeable that they are in a few scenes, and i give that a D-. I sum this all up in my one viewing with a B-. As much as I was resisting it as I watched, I kept succumbing to it.
One thing I laughed at the most needs an explanation first. On the animated release (DVD & Blu-Ray) they have some extra features and one of them is about how Walt Disney courted the author of the book, Dodie Smith, and talks about the correspondence they wrote to each other throughout the process of making the original film. After Dodie Smith had seen the film Disney asked her what she thought of it. She was mostly complimentary, but she apparently was unhappy that her credit in the title sequence was rather
small.
Now I don't know if the credit in the Cruella movie was intentional on the movie creators' part, or not, but while the credit comes on for Dodie Smith, it is stylized and gigantic across the widescreen and all by itself:
Based on the novel
The One Hundred and One Dalmatians
by
DODIE SMITH.
That made me laugh. It also made me laugh because this film is hardly based on the novel she wrote.
Before I post this I just looked up what critics are saying about it. Rotten Tomatoes has the critics giving it a positive rating, as of today, of 75%, the consensus being:
Cruella can't quite answer the question of why its title character needed an origin story, but this dazzling visual feast is awfully fun to watch whenever its leading ladies lock horns.The audience score on rotten tomatoes is a whopping 97%
with their consensus being:
With dazzling costumes, a great soundtrack, and a pair of terrific performances from Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, Cruella shows a classic character in an entertaining new light.That probably is the reason I heard earlier this week they are red lighting a sequel. (I say quit while you are ahead!)