Cruella

Released on Disney+ May 28, 2022

Runtime: 2 Hours 14 Minutes

Rated PG-13

Disney likes it’s villains just as much as it’s heroes. We got a live action Maleficent movie plus a sequel and now we get to learn Cruella’s back story. Of all the Disney villains I would have chosen some others to learn about, but I guess a lot of people really love Cruella and Maleficent. The movie is part Devil Wears Prada, part heist movie, and part mystery. It runs a little over two hours, but it moves fast and keeps your attention.

Themes:

Themes in the movie include murder, revenge, family, orphans, burglary, 5 stages of grief, death, fashion,regret, bullying, being different, friendship, wealth, and poetic justice is a pretty big theme.

Language:

During the movie I only recall one curse word (Who the hell...). There are some religious exclamations and name calling. What would a movie about Cruella be if someone didn’t get called an imbecile?

Stuff to be aware of:

(some possible spoilers lie ahead, you’ve been warned) One thing I will mention is a character named Artie, who is a flamboyant fashion designer. The actor who plays Artie made a big deal about the character being gay. Artie does wear makeup and nail polish, but no characters ever mention him being gay and he doesn’t have a love interest. The movie doesn’t really tell you if he is or not. His character reminds me of someone like David Bowie or Prince. There are several scenes with drinking. Cruella gets drunk at one point, but she never smokes her famous cigarette. There is a traumatic scene where someone gets pushed off a cliff that could scare kids. The dalamations are a bit scary at times. Cruella, Horace, and Jasper are all criminals so there is plenty of theft and burglary. Characters try to kill each other and talk about killing people (tis a story about revenge). There is a naked baby booty during a birth scene. A woman gets slashed with a razor. The main villain is a psychopath, horrible to people, and a bit scary. She is played by Emma Thompson.

Overall:

Overall, it was fun. I really enjoyed Jasper and Horace a lot more in this than I did the old cartoon. Emma Stone and Emma Thompson do a great job with their characters. I like how they don’t try to make Cruella a hero, like they did with Maleficent. This story is about why she becomes evil and is crazy. There are some neat little Easter eggs here and there. Anita is an important character and Roger makes an appearance. Make sure you watch for a mid credit scene. It’s not a movie I would watch over and over, but it’s good. We probably won’t let our girls watch it due to it being intense and having some adult themes.