Overview
A young woman's ambition ignites in a world of fashion and rebellion, but will her dreams come at a cost?
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- rebellious
- glamorous
- fashion movie night
- girls night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually dazzling and highly entertaining, especially when its two leading women confront one another, while questioning the need for Cruella’s origin story.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Estella deliberately develops the Cruella persona as she enters London’s fashion and criminal worlds.
The Baroness and Cruella compete through elaborate outfits, public entrances, and fashion provocations.
The film places its fashion rivalry amid 1970s London, punk music, and street-level subculture.
The narrative recasts Cruella de Vil as an ambitious antihero while retaining her flamboyant villainous image.
Films like Cruella, and why
Joker
shared villain origin story, stylish fashion world, heightened antihero energy, and morally conflicted protagonist
The Witches of Eastwick
shared campy crime comedy, glamorous criminality, female-led transformation, and vivid costume-driven spectacle
The Devil Wears Prada
shared fashion-industry rivalry, ambitious outsider protagonist, witty melodrama, and lavish visual design
Kingsman: The Secret Service
shared punk-inflected style, theatrical antihero persona, London setting, and playful criminal adventure
Movie Details
- Director
- Craig Gillespie
- Release Date
- 2021-05-26
- Runtime
- 134 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (10100)
Cast
- Emma Stone
- Emma Thompson
- Joel Fry
- Paul Walter Hauser
- John McCrea
- Emily Beecham
- Mark Strong
- Kayvan Novak
- Kirby Howell-Baptiste
- Jamie Demetriou
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Disney Plus, fuboTV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cruella about?
- A gifted young designer transforms from penniless London thief into a flamboyant fashion-world antihero locked in a battle of style and ambition.
- What is Cruella like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cruella as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Cruella violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Cruella as mild.
- What did critics think of Cruella?
- Critics broadly found the film visually dazzling and highly entertaining, especially when its two leading women confront one another, while questioning the need for Cruella’s origin story.
- Which films are like Cruella?
- Films with a similar feel include Joker, The Witches of Eastwick, The Devil Wears Prada, and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
- How long is Cruella?
- Cruella runs 134 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cruella?
- In United States, Cruella streams on Disney Plus, fuboTV.
