I didn’t find out about this movie until the trailer came out and had the same reaction as most people. Are they going to try and turn Cruella into a sympathetic character? The woman who is all about skinning dogs for a coat? Who asked for this?

Turns out, I did, and I just didn’t know it.

Cruella tells the story of how a young girl named Estella becomes one of Disney’s most iconic film villains, Cruella de Vile. The movie begins in 60s England with Estella around the age of twelve years old. She’s a rebellious and strong-willed kid. She pushes up against authority at school and does not hesitate to defend herself against anyone who crosses her. Catherine, her single mother, does everything she can to give Estella a proper upbringing. When Estella crosses a line at school and gets kicked out, their forced to move to London to go to another school and Catherine reaches out to The Baroness for help. She’s a superstar in the fashion world; Catherine used to work for her as a maid. Partly due to Estella sneaking around The Baroness’ posh party, all hell breaks loose and Catherine is killed in an accident involving the Baranoess’ dalmatians.

Frightened and traumatized from seeing her mother killed, Estella runs away. She stows away in the back of a truck and on her first morning alone, she finds Jasper and Horace stealing for their own survival. She tags along with them, becoming a potent thieving crew. They come up with inventive ways to rip people off and with the sowing skills she first picked up from her mother, Estella creates all of their costumes for disguise.

The bulk of the movie moves ten years ahead where Estella yearns to do more with her life. Her and the boys basically scrape by with each successful theft they pull off and she is clearly very talented in fashion. Her friends end up getting her a proper job that could get her foot in the door to becoming a fashion designer where Estella ends up working under The Baroness.

The movie blasts off from there, with Estella working her ass off for The Baroness who turns out to also be a thief. None of her designs are her own, she just takes from the dozen or so designers who work under her. Never one for authority, Estella rages against the machine, creating Cruella as an alter ego to dethrone The Baroness.

I can’t believe how good this movie is. It’s just mad. The production is off the charts good. The casting is great, the soundtrack is awesome, the direction is incredibly active and creative. It’s punk, goth, and glam mashed together in surprising ways. The action pieces (pretty much all chase scenes) are awesome and the way Cruella keeps upstaging The Baroness is nothing short of brilliant. You will not believe what is possible with a garbage truck until you see this movie. It’s part of one of the best montages ever made.

This movie basically presents Cruella as an anti-hero. It skirts a lot of extremes in what I think are smart ways. This is a pretty family-friendly movie, but it gets pretty dark and intense. The Cruella personality doesn’t suddenly appear. That part of Estella is shown under the surface from the very start. She is a product of her environment. Her dislike of dalmatians makes sense from her trauma and there’s a twist to that part of the story that changes her perspective (and the audience) further. You never see her hurt a dog, she makes a joke about it that foreshadows 101 Dalmatians. The major arc of the movie is watching Estella steadily being worn away. Jasper and Horace see it happening. They don’t like it and they tell her that and try and get her to pull back from the edge that she keeps running up to with The Baroness. She gets more extreme as she’s driven by the overpowering emotions of abandonment, vengeance, and justice. Ultimately, her goal is to get what she’s fairly earned instead of someone ripping it away from her.

This movie is so fresh and unique that I have to remind myself that it’s from Disney. The script is brilliant, I commend the writers for it. The twists are great, the metamorphosis of Estella is satisfying and surprisingly well told. It’s directed by Craig Gillespie, whose last movie was the great I, Tonya. The man knows his craft. Come to think of it, this movie has a lot of parallels with I, Tonya.

Highly recommended.