Review by Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times

Imagine 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada鈥� on steroids, set in 鈥�70s London, with Anne Hathaway鈥檚 character vengeful rather than sweet. Sounds kind of great, right?

When I first heard about 鈥淐ruella,鈥� the live-action Disney origin story of the 鈥�101 Dalmatians鈥� villain Cruella de Vil, I may have rolled my eyes a bit. This is me going back in time to retract that eye-rolling: 鈥淐ruella鈥� is an absolute kick, and if you鈥檝e been looking for a reason to go back to movie theaters, here it is.

It鈥檚 coming to streaming platform Disney Plus this weekend.

The fashion alone, designed by the great Jenny Beavan (an Oscar winner for 鈥淎 Room with a View鈥� and 鈥淢ad Max: Fury Road鈥�), is worth the ticket price; if that doesn鈥檛 do it for you, there鈥檚 also slyly brilliant work from the two Emmas 鈥� Stone and Thompson 鈥� working hard to upstage the gorgeous outfits in which they鈥檙e swathed.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (鈥淚, Tonya,鈥� 鈥淟ars and the Real Girl鈥�), 鈥淐ruella鈥� feels like a wildly imaginative superhero movie, but with fashion instead of superpowers. (Actually fashion is the superpower.) It begins, as all origin stories do, with a flashback: Young Estella 鈥� Cruella is a teasing nickname her loving mother gives her, for the little girl鈥檚 dark side 鈥� struggles to fit in as a child, thanks to her two-toned hair and quick temper. Her mother agrees that the two of them should move to London, but something terrible happens on the way.

Fast-forward 15 years or so and Estella (Stone) is an embittered grifter, surviving on her street smarts but dreaming of being a fashion designer. An opportunity at a famous London department store 鈥� Liberty鈥檚, beautifully handling its star turn 鈥� turns into a job with The Baroness (Thompson), the world鈥檚 most famous couturier.

Need I tell you that Stone and Thompson make formidable opponents? Stone, speaking in a dark-syrup British accent, makes Estella/Cruella slightly feral and wickedly smart; she鈥檚 got a way of narrowing her eyes at people that makes you worry that they might burst into flames. (At one point, appropriately, she wears a red gown seemingly made of fire.)

Thompson, tottering around under turbans and enormous pastries of hair 鈥� the Baroness鈥� look is slightly dated; Estella鈥檚 is up-to-the-minute London punk 鈥� is a queen who鈥檚 scornful of her kingdom. 鈥淕o鈥� is her most frequent word, delivered witheringly; though I quite liked her clenched-teeth delivery, to a luckless maid, of 鈥淵ou鈥檙e. In. The Way.鈥� Though there鈥檚 never any doubt who will prevail in this battle of wills 鈥� the movie isn鈥檛 called 鈥淏aroness,鈥� after all 鈥� it鈥檚 a fair fight, and you find yourself rooting for both of them.

Crammed full of 鈥�70s music and insanely chic eye candy, 鈥淐ruella鈥� is a more-is-more treat, right down to its unexpectedly sweet coda (stick around as the credits start). Bring on the summer movie season! If the rest are as much fun as this 鈥� well, that鈥檚 what we all deserve right now, isn鈥檛 it?

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