Cruella stars Academy Award winner Emma Stone (La La Land) in Disney's all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinemas most notorious - and notoriously fashionable - villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil. The movie arrives in theaters and on Disney+'s Premier Access service on Friday, May 28, and believe us when we say it's an absolute must-see!
We were lucky enough to be among those present for Cruella's global press conference earlier this month, and it kicked off with Stone being asked if she was surprised by how "deliciously dark" Disney allowed the movie to get.
"I was. I mean, they really let Craig and Tony write and make what they wanted to make," she responded. "I think it's definitely dark for a Disney movie. Maybe not like a really intense kind of R-rated film, but yeah, it was darker than I've seen a Disney movie for a good long time."
Her co-star, Emma Thompson, meanwhile was asked what the process was like of creating the Baroness. "I think if my husband were in the room, he'd say, 'No acting required,' really," she joked. "I had such fun doing her, because I think I've been asking for quite a number of years if I could be a villain...a proper villain."
"I spent decades playing what my mother used to call, "Good women in frocks." Now I got to play a really evil woman in frocks. But oh, boy, the frocks. I had just the best, best time," Thompson continued. "Every time Em and I would come on set, we'd just look at each other and walk around each other, like we were sculptures or works of art or something, which we were. I mean, it was in a way, everyone created the Baroness, and then I sort of stepped in and just said the words [Laughs]."
Cruella is definitely a departure for Disney, and that's no bad thing at this stage, particularly when it comes to the studio's live-action adaptations, prequels, and spinoffs. The two Emmas clearly had an absolute blast embracing this story's darkness, and the Baroness clearly gives Cruella a run for her money in terms of sheer evilness if these comments are anything to go by.
Our review of the movie hits the site tomorrow, so make sure to check back for that then (at 9am PT/5pm BST). In the meantime, you can see my social media reaction below: