Here are my thoughts on the film. I've put some things in spoilers, but I actually haven't included any major one. Only maybe the last one.
Personally, I really enjoyed
Cruella. I think it's already one of my top favorite Disney remakes, though as you guys know, I'm not a big fan of them, so it didn't need to be too good to achieve that. However, I also understand some of the criticisms against the film. Since it's so long, it's true that there are some pacing issues and it's a bit short on humor. Personally, I wasn't bothered by that, but I can see why for others it could be a problem. Also, some things in the middle of the movie could've been planned a bit better. For example, the idea of Cruella's "double personality" doesn't completely work for me sometimes.
There's a moment where she suddenly starts treating Jasper and Horace badly because supposedly her evil side has taken control of her. That felt weird to me, because up to that point it didn't really seem there were two sides to her personality; she was just a bit rebellious sometimes. I don't think it was a bad idea to show she was changing; they just could've been a bit more subtle with it. But apart from that, I think the film was really good. I found it very entertaining, the performances were great, as was the music, the production design, the costumes, etc. The film will surely get some Oscar nominations next year (and maybe even some win). Now that I've seen the performances of the two Emmas, though, I don't think either of them will be nominated for this. Both are really good in their roles, but I don't think their performances are that iconic either.
I think I also understand why the early reactions were so good compared to the full reviews now. Critics were probably so surprised by how different from what they're used to get from Disney this film is, that most likely that contributed to their initial excitement. To be honest, I'm actually surprised Disney greenlit a movie like this. It doesn't seem made with children in mind. It's quite serious and adult, the bad guy is the protagonist and it doesn't have a good message for children to learn. There's nothing wrong with all that, but I'm a bit worried about the box office. I don't see many families watching it. Although, the audience score on
Rotten Tomatoes is quite high (96%), so it seems people in general are liking it.
Despite being groundbreaking for a Disney film in those aspects, it isn't really that different from
Maleficent.
They also make Cruella sympathetic here (especially, at the beginning) and she doesn't really do anything too evil in the movie. Her evil actions are more like pranks and the real villain here is the Baroness. Anyway, it's still innovative that the protagonist isn't 100% good and that she gets her happy ending by doing questionable things.
Regarding the connections to the previous
101 Dalmatians films, like Angelina Jolie's Maleficent, to me this doesn't seem the same Cruella from those movies, but that's OK. The same can be said about Jasper and Horace. Despite stealing, they're actually quite kind-hearted and both more intelligent than their animated counterparts. They also love dogs. I don't see them obeying Cruella and trying to kill Dalmatians in the future, like they do in the other versions. Their dynamic is different too. Jasper isn't bossy and doesn't treat Horace badly. Roger and Anita are not that different from previous versions of the characters as far as personality goes, but their roles are quite small, so we don't really get to know them too much.
Speaking of them, the end credits scene seems to set up a new remake of 101 Dalmatians more than a sequel, doesn't it?
By the way, one thing I've seen has been repeated in the reviews is that a Cruella origin story wasn't necessary. I don't think it really was, but why don't they say that about the other remakes? Unlike most of the others, this one at least is mostly an original story.
Disney's Divinity wrote:Yeah, among all the problems with how the character looks here, I never liked that Cruella was missing her cigarettes and furs… I figured it was because of PC reasons, which doesn’t make sense to me since Cruella is a *villain*. A child will not be taking notes on how to behave from a villain…
Well, the problem is that they make you sympathize with Cruella here. But they show her drinking alcohol and getting drunk, which is equally bad in my opinion, so it doesn't make much sense she can't smoke or wear fur as well.