littlelostsunny’s review published on Letterboxd:
Imagine not enjoying this delightful film–could NOT be me!
Ok, so, I’ve seen a handful (pawful?) of critics opine as to whether or not a target audience for “Cruella” exists…or to put it more bluntly, they’ve asked: “WHO IS THIS FOR?” And, well, um…me, I guess? I’m a 35 year-old woman who loves sympathetic origin stories, who enjoys exploring the more complex, gray areas of humanity, who has watched every season of Project Runway, who digs The Devil Wears Prada, who was a punk rock princess growing up, who has a weakness for camp, who adores both the Emmas, who seeks out female-fronted films, who likes the creativity involved in reimagining classic tales and who appreciates the fuck out of onscreen eye candy (actors, costumes, set-design, etc). So, yeah, I was pretty damn pumped and, thankfully, it didn’t disappoint!
I mean, yes, it’s still unabashedly a family feature, so of course there are goofy, silly aspects to it, but it is surprisingly adept at appealing to both younger and older audiences. And, before I hit play, I decided to turn back time & try to reconnect with my past self, hoping to view the film through two distinct, yet connected, lenses: the current iteration and the kid version. Adult me obviously left feeling well fed and satisfied. But, what would little Sunny think? Well, after nestling into that childlike headspace, I found myself assuming the vantage point of someone who loved the animated original, who memorized Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Dogs, who played with the movie tie-in McDonald’s toys every evening in the bathtub, who didn’t understand haute couture & high-fashion, but loved playing dress-up….what would that girl think of this? It’s impossible to know for sure, but I am fairly certain that she would have enjoyed it, too! I would have gone into it petrified that I’d bare witness to a mad-woman & her henchmen slaughtering and skinning a bunch of polka-dotted pups….a) because I was a huge huge HUGE dog lover & thus firmly on team Dalmatian and b) I’m not someone who belongs on an FBI list! But, thankfully, this film opts to skirt that issue, just briefly touching upon the possibility that she…might MIGHT think they’d make for a fabulous fur frock. But, for the bulk of the run-time, dogs seem to like & respect our glamorous, gifted anti-hero (and vice-versa)! Dogs were friends! Dogs were allies! Sure, it starts off with her having a…rather complicated relationship with the trio of spotted hounds, but it morphs and shifts as the movie progresses. Adult Sunny cried about ten times start-to-finish….and I believe that young me would have, too. We’ve always been a little too mushy, a little too emotionally invested, a little too moved when it comes to matters of the heart. I am a natural empath, after all. And, to a certain extent, that trait resides within Estella, as well. She cares. She feels. She loves. She knows & extends compassion (at times). That is a part of her, even if there are darker elements present, too. In the original 101 Dalmatians, Cruella was portrayed as a full-on psychopathic demon creature; a truly terrifyingly unhinged woman without a shred of decency. And I, for one, fully support the softening of the character. I mean, why the fuck not? The translation from cartoon to live-action provided an opportunity to ground the story in reality–I mean, not COMPETELY, obviously, but enough to make her feel human. I was ten when the Glenn Close version was released & found myself positively petrified of her exaggerated facial expressions and over-the-top theatricality–so I skipped it (and to this day I’ve yet to see it!)! I was a timid, sensitive little thing (and to a certain extent, I still am). So, I assure you that I would have been much more receptive to this specific adaptation.
So, I guess to answer those critic’s queries: this film was for me….then & now. I can also confirm that it was for my 40 year-old sister, my 11 year-old niece and even the 6 year-old dug it (though she admittedly fell asleep towards the end!). I don’t know y’all, but I thought it was fun as fuck. Delightful at times, tragic at others, and never taking itself too seriously. I mean, it’s not the best movie ever made, but it didn’t need to be and it wasn’t trying to be! HOWEVER, it *IS* great at being entertaining, at balancing tone, at gifting us some delicious back-and-forth banter between two sensational actresses, at pleasing the ears with a killer soundtrack (even if, yes, some of the needle drops are dopey as hell–I assure you that kids will like that!), at showcasing sumptuous sets, at creating cool, clever costume designs (that both Emmas rock the hell out of), and just… delivering on what was promised. What more did you want this film to be? It is exactly what we were expecting and, in my case, that’s a very good thing! You can hate Disney all you want, but this was a solid outing & I have no serious gripes. I’ll definitely be re-visiting it in the not-so-distant future!