Cruella

Didn’t Cruella de Vil’s criminal legacy include skinning puppies to pamper her fur indulgence? Apparently she was just misunderstood.

Cruella is an ill-conceived origin story for the iconic Disney villainess, justifying her future malfeasance by positioning her as a rebellious mad genius trying to cope with oppressive circumstances.

However, sympathizing with the title character requires forgiving or ignoring her legacy of mischief and misbehavior — as detailed in multiple retellings of 101 Dalmatians. It turns out she’s really a dog lover at heart!

Set in punk-rock 1970s London, this prequel chronicles her evolution from small-time grifter to supervillain. Orphaned when her mother was killed in an accident involving a Dalmatian, the film shows how she became feisty and outspoken at a young age.

As a teenager, Estella (Emma Stone) dreams of a career in fashion design but turns to petty crime to survive on the streets with her sidekicks Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser).

By chance, she lands an apprentice role with the Baroness (Emma Thompson), whose garish outfits encapsulate her aristocratic vanity and greed. Estella’s ambition would seem to fast-track her success.

Still, her attempts to go straight in the world of haute couture are derailed by sexism and classism, triggering a mental breakdown and the launch of a sinister alter-ego named Cruella. As their rivalry deepens, the Baroness performs the ultimate comeuppance by stealing Cruella’s spotlight.

As directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya), the film showcases some period visual flair, with particular kudos to the hairstyling and costume design teams. Stone’s offbeat charm is upstaged by a scene-stealing Thompson as the pompous diva who Cruella seems to loathe but might secretly envy.

There’s a certain audacity to this dark and brooding character study, which reinvents a classic character, but the film lacks the subtlety and dexterity to pull it off.  The screenplay awkwardly tries to ground the story in gritty reality rather than the heightened fantasy world of its predecessors.

Basically the same rags-to-riches story about a young woman coming of age in the 1970s London fashion world, with a devious twist, could have been told independent of one of Disney’s signature franchises.

That would have freed Cruella from certain narrative burdens yet also left it without the box-office safety net of brand recognition. Choosing the less creative and more lucrative option would make its title character proud.

Rated PG-13, 134 minutes.