Disney+, Entertainment, Movies

How Far Has Cruella Succeeded As Disney’s Enigmatic Super Villain Story?

By

David Mudd

In 101 Dalmatians, Cruella de Vil appears to be irredeemably evil, yet Emma Stone’s rendition of the character, while capable of terrible atrocities, isn’t all that bad. It has been grossing high among the kids especially. And so here is what you need to know about Cruella.

About Cruella

CRUELLA is a Disney film that chronicles the early years of one of cinema’s most famous – and notorious stylish — villains. During the punk music movement in London in the 1970s, a teenage thief (Emma Stone) evolves into the rowdy, revenge-oriented Cruella de Vil.

Cruella is a 2021 American criminal comedy film inspired by Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians’ character Cruella de Vil. Craig Gillespie directed the film, which was written by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara and based on a tale by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis.

It is the franchise’s third live-action adaptation and serves as a relaunch and origin tale for the title character. Emma Stone plays the main character, with Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Mark Strong rounding out the cast.

The film is set in London during the punk rock era of the 1970s and follows Estella Miller, an aspiring fashion designer, as she explores the route that would lead her to become Cruella de Vil, a legendary up-and-coming fashion designer.

The film’s development was confirmed by Walt Disney Pictures in 2013, with Andrew Gunn serving as producer. Stone was cast in the film in 2016 and acts as an executive producer with Glenn Close, who played Cruella in the previous live-action versions, 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians (2000). The majority of the filming took place in England between August and November of this year.

What Is The Plot For Cruella?

Estella is a talented young lady with a flair for fashion and a dark side. Catherine, Estella’s mother, decides to take her daughter out of school so that she may keep her record clean and go to London. She stops at an upper-class party on the way there to seek financial aid.

Estella sneaks into the party despite being warned to stay in the car and unwittingly attracts the attention of the host’s three fierce Dalmatians. They follow her down the street and shove her from a cliffside balcony, where she dies. Estella runs away to London, orphaned and blames herself for Catherine’s death, and encounters street urchins Jasper and Horace, who take her in.

Estella practices thieving with her companions ten years later, improving her fashion sense by making their disguises. Jasper and Horace secure her an entry-level job at the Liberty department store for her birthday. Estella, on the other hand, is demoted to janitor and denied the opportunity to showcase her abilities.

When Estella redecorates a window display while inebriated, the Baroness von Hellman—a renowned but dictatorial haute couture designer—is thrilled with her work and offers her a coveted position at the Baroness’ fashion firm. Estella accepts joyfully and earns the Baroness’ trust.

Despite her pride in having her creations shown, she finally finds her boss wearing a necklace that Catherine previously wore. Estella requests Jasper and Horace to assist her in retrieving the necklace during the Baroness’ impending Black and White Ball after the Baroness says that an employee had already taken it.

Estella disrupts the Baroness’ spring collection display while concurrently staging her own in Regent’s Park, dressed in a counterfeit Dalmatian-fur coat to humiliate the Baroness even more. The Baroness arrests Jasper and Horace and sets fire to their home after realizing that Estella and Cruella are the same people.

Estella is left to perish in the fire but is rescued by John, the Baroness’s servant. When Estella finds the jewelry, it unlocks a box with her birth records. She discovers that the Baroness is her biological mother; after her birth, the Baroness had Estella murdered so that she could concentrate exclusively on her profession and acquire her late husband’s estate. Instead, John handed the infant to one of the Baroness’s maids, Catherine, who nurtured Estella in secret.

Cruella frees Jasper and Horace from prison and discloses the truth, enlisting their help, as well as that of Artie and John, in her last ploy. The quintet sneaks into the Baroness’ charity banquet, where Estella discovers she is the Baroness’ daughter on the cliffside balcony.

The Baroness pretends to embrace Estella before tossing her from the balcony; she later finds that her guests were escorted outside and watched the deed. Estella lives thanks to a concealed parachute and, now that Estella is metaphorically dead, she takes on the Cruella de Vil persona for good. Cruella acquires Hellman Hall, renames it Hell Hall, and moves in with the rest of the quintet once the Baroness is incarcerated.

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Who Is In The Star Cast of Cruella?

  • Emma Stone as Estella a.k.a. Cruella De Vil
  • Emma Thompson as Baroness von Hellman
  • Joey Fry as Jasper
  • Paul Walter Hauser as Horace
  • Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Anita Darling
  • Kayvan Novak as Roger
  • John McCrea as Artie
  • Emily Beecham as Catherine
  • Mark Strong as John the Valet

Is Cruella Based On A True Story?

Cruella de Vil is a fictitious character from Dodie Smith’s novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, published in 1956.

Dodie Smith’s novel The 101 Dalmatians earned a famous superfan when it was published in 1956. Walter Elias Disney, the world-famous animator and studio leader, apparently enjoyed the book so much that he wanted to adapt it for his next animated project.

However, Walt and his cartoon crew were having trouble with Cruella De Vil, the book’s major nemesis. Marc Davis, one of Disney’s “nine old men” – animators responsible for some of the company’s most recognizable character designs — was tasked with the job. He subsequently told The Los Angeles Times that when he created Cruella, he had “many partial models in mind,” but he didn’t mention one in particular.

Dodie Smith’s original figure was a far-fetched parody of the 1950s’ emerging women’s rights movement. Cruella is an heiress in the novel who drives a vehicle with “the loudest horn in London.” She marries a wealthy heiress and is dismissed from school “for drinking ink,” similar to Tallulah Bankhead, who was expelled for flinging it.

Who Is The Main Protagonist And Antagonist In The Movie Cruella?

Cruella De Vil, earlier known as Estella von Hellman, is the eponymous protagonist of the black comedic crime film Cruella, which was released in 2021.

The Baroness, played by Emma Thompson, is characterized as “a Cruella opponent who’s supposed to be essential in her development into the evil we know today.”

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What Is The IMDb Rating of The Movie Cruella?

A weighted average vote of 7.4 / 10 has been given to Disney’s Cruella by 180,576 IMDb users.

Is Cruella Kid Friendly?

This one appears to be a major subject among parents, so I compiled a list of reasons why Cruella might not be appropriate for some children.

Cruella isn’t the worst option for young kids as a PG-13 rated film, but there are several difficulties you should be aware of before buying into the film.

However, we try to give parents advance notice of any potential problems that may impact a tiny or sensitive kid while viewing the film, so they may be prepared before settling in for a movie night.

Cruella isn’t exactly kid-friendly, but it’s also not the worst film you could see with a child.

Here’s all you need to know about Cruella to decide if she’s suitable for your children.

A character dies after being attacked by a pack of dogs, which might be a concern for young children.

Murder, fire, and pursuit scenes all have the potential to influence your choice on whether Cruella is appropriate for children.

Because the film is about vengeance, don’t expect everything to be kid-friendly!

The two major characters (Estella/Cruella and the Baroness) are both enormous bullies with hurtful lines. For sensitive or bullied youngsters, watching this as enjoyment might be an issue.

Cruella is suitable for children aged 9 and up who are not overly sensitive and enjoy the dark comedy.

If that’s your child, you know they’ll be OK.

However, for most children, the PG-13 classification is about right.

What Are The Reviews For The Movie Cruella?

Cruella got a 74% of Tomatometer score from 393 reviews and a 97% Audience score from 5k+ verified ratings of Rotten Tomatoes.

Cruella got mixed reviews from the audience and critics.

Gillespie and his team have delivered audiences a suitably wicked and well-acted backstory for one of Disney’s greatest villains. It has trouble making the ride a smooth one back to 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

The film’s stylish nature, dedication to period accuracy, breathtaking costume design, and deliberate musical touches, not to mention a truly game cast puts this one in the surprisingly great category that neither of us can hate.

Cruella herself would find the movie dull and obvious, a wannabe punk decked out in Hot Topic. A surprisingly stylish, prickly, and fun backstory for an already-iconic character.

Is Cruella A Good Or Bad?

There are some crimes for which there is no forgiveness, and one of them is the murder of puppies. In 101 Dalmatians, Cruella de Vil appears to be unredeemable evil, yet Emma Stone’s rendition of the character, while capable of terrible atrocities, isn’t all that horrible. Unless you cross her, in which case she will hurl a world of pain down on you. You can’t help but cheer for this outsider, and Stone’s acting is the reason for that.

Is Cruella A Scary Movie?

It’s clear from the trailer that this is a darker film. Cruella de Vil has a substantially longer running duration, as well as more violence, risk, and complex topics (hence the PG-13 rating). Cruella has some violence, but there is no gunplay, fist fighting, or gore.

There are some perilous moments, as well as a more adult topic than Maleficent. Because of a handful of graphic sequences, it narrowly missed the PG rating, but they weren’t something you needed to close your eyes for.

Where Can I Watch The Movie Cruella?

Cruella is now available to all Disney+ subscribers for free as of August 27. A monthly subscription costs $7.99, or $79.99 for a year. If you and your family use a lot of streaming, the Disney bundle contains Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for $13.99 per month, or $19.99 if you want the ad-free version of Hulu.

Is There Going To Be Cruella Part 2?

Cruella completes Estella’s Joker-like transformation into Cruella de Vil, leaving the following chapter wide open. Cruella 2 is officially moving forward as a continuation of the original film, despite the fact that the series may go in many different directions.

After the original film’s successful box office performance and Disney+ Premier Access, as well as excellent reviews from reviewers and moviegoers, Disney is pushing forward with Cruella 2. This is great news for Disney+ and Cruella fans, as the recent feud between Scarlett Johansson and Disney over the hybrid release of Black Widow had placed doubt on Emma Stone’s participation in a future Disney+ film.

The positive reviews Cruella has gotten indicate that people want to see Cruella’s narrative continued in a direct sequel, a spinoff, or maybe a 101 Dalmatians film. Despite the fact that Disney quickly approved a Cruella sequel, Cruella 2 still lacks an official release date. Despite the fact that a sequel is in the works, it is unlikely to be published until 2023 at the earliest, due to the time it will take Disney to build the production and for the core cast to return. And that’s assuming Cruella 2 progresses swiftly.

Cruella de Vil’s origin tale was always going to be the focus of the 2021 film. Cruella de Vil tells the story of how the orphaned Estella changed herself into Cruella de Vil and replaced Baroness von Hellman as a famous fashion designer, but the evil is only getting started now that her identity has been established. Cruella 2 can now depict her conquering the fashion world while continuing her career as a legendary criminal.

Cruella 2 could either remake 101 Dalmatians from Cruella’s point of view, or it could take the elements introduced in the first film and tell an original story about Cruella and her henchmen that further establishes de Vil’s hatred of dalmatians, which isn’t yet deep enough to justify the events of 101 Dalmatians.

Meanwhile, Emma Stone and Emma Thompson have expressed their desire for Cruella 2 to be a combination prequel/sequel that jumps back and forth between the Baroness’s origin and Cruella’s current journey, similar to The Godfather Part II. This would allow Glenn Close’s renowned performance from Disney’s early 2000s films to be reimagined alongside Emma Stone’s reimagination.

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Conclusion

Cruella has got a lot more to be explored. And soon we will come up with something more about it and other entertainment! Until then stay up with us.

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