I was in the minority (at least among cinema buffs) in that I actually found some enjoyment from the way Maleficent reinvented the Disney villain, presenting her story from a different perspective that allowed us to see her as a protagonist rather than an antagonist. But not every Disney villain needs this same kind of treatment. I was extremely leery of Cruella before even sitting down to watch it, and it turns out my skepticism was warranted. This is not a very good film, and follows some highly predictable beats. It is clearly copying a number of films that came before, and frankly I'm not a big fan of those movies either. I do not care one bit about the fashion industry and a petty rivalry between a couple of designers, whether it is in The Devil Wears Prada or Cruella. I was OK with some of the family drama, and I like the humor brought in by Horace and Jasper, but the plot as a whole was a miss for me.
I also think the fact that this movie is titled "Cruella" and has any attachment to 101 Dalmatians adds nothing to the story. They shoehorn in dogs simply to connect the dots, but those aspects of this movie have zero impact. The filmmakers even make a point of casting Cruella as the superior dog lover just to completely undermine the movies of their past. If they stripped this entire movie of all 101 Dalmatian references, I could see it being a decent script in its own right, but they just can't resist cashing in on nostalgia. Perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is that they created a movie which sanitizes one of their most despicable and pure evil villains, and they do it by adding Emma Thompson as an utterly despicable and pure evil villain. I guess all the young people can just wait another 60 years and go see the "Baroness" movie which will redeem her character and make it clear she was not that bad.
I also think the fact that this movie is titled "Cruella" and has any attachment to 101 Dalmatians adds nothing to the story. They shoehorn in dogs simply to connect the dots, but those aspects of this movie have zero impact. The filmmakers even make a point of casting Cruella as the superior dog lover just to completely undermine the movies of their past. If they stripped this entire movie of all 101 Dalmatian references, I could see it being a decent script in its own right, but they just can't resist cashing in on nostalgia. Perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is that they created a movie which sanitizes one of their most despicable and pure evil villains, and they do it by adding Emma Thompson as an utterly despicable and pure evil villain. I guess all the young people can just wait another 60 years and go see the "Baroness" movie which will redeem her character and make it clear she was not that bad.