While tragically lacking in puppy murder, this anti-hero origin story for one of Disney's most iconic baddies takes the kind of bold swings we want from these live-action adaptations.

Warts and all, Cruella is what Disney should be doing with their “live-action riff on a Disney animated classic” sub-genre. It stands on its own two feet, almost entirely disconnected from any previous versions of 101 Dalmatians and existing as both an origin story and a 95% stand-alone narrative. Moreover, it is a relatively good time, offering a camp-hoot of a lead turn from Emma Stone which offers up Emma Stone as a worthy foil and surrounds her with the game likes of Mark Strong and Paul Walter Hauser. Yes, this is another “Disney villain gets sympathetic anti-hero origin story” flick, but it’s playing in new (for them) sandboxes and artistically justifies itself. It’s no Pete’s Dragon but has the kind of “Why not just go all-in?” energy that made me appreciate Maleficent: Mistress of Evil far more than the likes of Beauty and the Beast.

Directed by Craig Gillespie, this is pretty clearly a case of executives seeing I, Tonya and asking the helmer to “do that, but with one of our Disney properties.” It’s a pretty strong fit. While produced for a comparatively reasonable $100 million, the lack of CGI characters and fantasy worlds means the production value, including Jenny Beavan’s glorious costumes, is up on the screen and is worth a trip to the theater if you’re able/willing. While there are a few chases, suspense beats and moments of frantic action, the emphasis is on character interaction. Even with the pomp, circumstance and needle drop-heavy soundtrack, the most engaging moments are the conversational beats between its two stars (Stone as a revenge-seeking fashionista and Thompson as the tycoon who runs the industry), as they take turns being (metaphorically) the hunter and the hunted. The “Devil Wears Prada meets Count of Monte Cristo” hybrid mainly works.

The picture positions Estella de Vil as a disgruntled child failing to fit in among her conventional peers, which results in expulsion and a chance encounter that leaves her orphaned before the end of the first reel. 15 (ish) years later, she’s living as a scam artist/thief alongside Jasper (Joel Fry) and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) and still yearns to live legitimately as a fashion designer. She gets that chance with an entry-level job cleaning toilets at a local high-end clothing shop. That results in a chance encounter with Baroness von Hellman (Thompson) and a real shot at glory. However, circumstances change when Estella discovers that her new boss and reluctant mentor may share a connection with her late mother. To find the truth, she can’t do it alone. She’s going to have to become someone else... something else. Enter... Cruella.

The movie features plenty of Stone “being” Cruella. This isn’t an origin story that spends the entire running time leading up to the iconic character becoming who you came to see with the fun saved for the sequel. Dana Fox and Tony McNamara’s screenplay gives Estella a valid in-story reason for creating the Cruella persona beyond “I need to be this new character just because.” I’m not sure I buy the extent that Cruella upends the fashion industry just by making a few public appearances and offering a few “twirl for the camera” moments, but that’s where suspension of disbelief factors. The picture relishes the sights and sounds of punk rock-era 1970’s London while the constant needle drops at least provide a kind of musical education for younger viewers. The music cues are obvious, but, again, this is a Disney movie for kids.

While sold as “Disney’s Joker” with a dash of “Nightcrawler for kids!” thrown in, the film doesn’t so much create sympathy for a future puppy-murdering villain as frankly change the story to where she may or may not become that specific kind of baddie. It’s not a spoiler to say that the movie doesn’t end with her on a dog-killing spree, and the structure is closer to Solo and The Scorpion King. It’s a “first big adventure” tale without arguing that the character as they know them is now entirely set in stone. Those hoping that the PG-13 meant Disney was going head-first into darkness will be disappointed. This is one of the softest PG-13 movies this side of Bill & Ted Face the Music, with the most “adult” content being regular alcohol consumption. If your kids can handle (the much grimmer) Maleficent, they can handle Cruella.

With the critical caveat that good is not the enemy of perfect, Cruella is good and stylish fun that primarily works despite its craven commercial motivations. If Disney must strip-mine their animated legacy for sport, and to be fair, it’s not like audiences showed up for Tomorrowland or A Wrinkle in Time, then we’re better off with these, uh, “filmmaker-driven” one-offs that are at least visually ambitious acting treats versus slavishly faithful remakes of oft-told tales. I wish it interrogated some of its themes a bit more (there’s not a hint of All About Eve-style jealousy) and went a little darker, but it works as intended while playing narratively fair. More bonkers free-for-alls like Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Cruella please, especially as the treasure trove of Disney toons with built-in nostalgia is almost empty. Cruella needs more puppy murder, but it’s still pretty good.