Though not quite universally acclaimed enough to be Certified Fresh, Disney's Cruella currently has a respectable 72 percent "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Critics Consensus reads "Cruella can't quite answer the question of why its title character needed an origin story, but this dazzling visual feast is awfully fun to watch whenever its leading ladies lock horns." General audiences are more enthusiastic about the film than critics, with an impressively high 97 percent audience score.
Mixed but overall positive reviews for Cruella have been common. While the script and length of the film have been common subjects to criticism, the acting and visual design, particularly the costumes, have been receiving high praise.
Cynthia Vinney's review of the film for CBR matches the common consensus in writing, "At more than two hours, Cruella is overly long, and suffers from some weak plotting, especially in the last third, where important information is gained in sometimes-contrived ways. Overall, however, there's a lot to enjoy about Disney's latest brand-building effort." The review describes Emma Stone's performance as the titular antihero as "fabulous." The Hollywood Reporter's Lovia Gyarke echoes these sentiments: "What Cruella lacks in script... it makes up for in sheer visual punch, with costume designer Jenny Beavan's exquisitely detailed gowns especially enriching the angsty, sinister universe the film conjures."
Many have compared Cruella favorably over previous live-action Disney remakes and spinoffs of animated classics. Brandon Katz at Observer says, "It's the first time in the last decade that one of Disney's reimaginings feels fresh and exciting." Mia Johnson's A-grade review for Salon.com states, "Cruella shines as quite possibly one of the strongest new-era live-action Disney films."
For other critics, Cruella's narrative weaknesses ultimately proved too much for its aesthetic pleasures to overcome. In a negative review for io9, Valerie Complex writes, "Films need more than pretty costumes, they need a good story -- and that's the missing ingredient in Cruella." Slant Magazine's Pat Brown panned the movie, saying "The film's outward liveliness can't mask the inner inertia it has as just another lifeless product assembled in a factory."
Directed by Craig Gillespie, Cruella stars Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, Joel Fry, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Mark Strong. The film is currently available in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes