Cruella

***Cruella*** is a 2021 American crime comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Marc Platt Productions and Gunn Films with distribution by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is based on the character Cruella de Vil from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel *The Hundred and One Dalmatians*. The film was directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Andrew Gunn, Marc Platt and Kristin Burr with a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, from a story by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis. It is the third live-action adaptation in the *101 Dalmatians* franchise, and serves as a reboot and an alternate origin story for the title character. Emma Stone stars as the title character, with Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Mark Strong in supporting roles. Set in London during the punk rock movement of the 1970s, the film revolves around Estella Miller, an aspiring fashion designer, as she explores the path that leads her to become a notorious up-and-coming fashion designer known as Cruella de Vil.

## Cruella

### Written by

Dana Fox
Tony McNamara

### Produced by

Andrew Gunn
Marc Platt
Kristin Burr

## Plot

In 1964 England, Estella is a creative child with a talent for fashion, but is ostracized for her black and white hair and develops a nefarious streak. Her mother, Catherine, decides to move them to London, stopping at a party at Hellman Hall, a mansion on the Suffolk coast to ask the host for money. Sneaking inside, Estella loses her mother's necklace while being chased by the host's Dalmatian dogs, which push Catherine off a cliffside balcony to her death. Orphaned, Estella runs away to London and befriends street urchins Jasper and Horace.

Ten years later in 1974, Estella practices thievery and grifts with Jasper and Horace, honing her fashion skills by designing their disguises, alongside their dogs, Buddy and Wink. For her birthday in 1977, Jasper gets her a job at the Liberty department store, but Estella is made a janitor and denied the chance to use her talents. She drunkenly redecorates the window display and impresses the Baroness—a renowned-but-authoritarian haute couture designer—who offers her a coveted job at her fashion house. Estella gains the Baroness's confidence but notices her wearing Catherine's necklace, which the Baroness claims is a family heirloom that an employee once stole. Estella asks Jasper and Horace to help retrieve it during the Baroness's Black and White Ball.

To conceal her identity, Estella creates an alter-ego, "Cruella", and wears one of the Baroness's old designs from a vintage clothing store owned by the flamboyant Artie. At the ball, Cruella steals the spotlight as Jasper and Horace break into the Baroness's vault, but they realise that the baroness is already wearing the necklace. Jasper improvises and releases rats into the party, allowing Estella to swipe the necklace. The Baroness summons her Dalmatians with a dog whistle, and Estella realizes the Baroness caused Catherine's death. In the ensuing chaos, a Dalmatian swallows the necklace. Seeking revenge, Estella orders Jasper and Horace to kidnap the Dalmatians, and recovers the necklace. Cruella upstages the Baroness at various events in extravagant fashions, gaining notoriety via society columnist Anita Darling, Estella's childhood friend. Furious, the Baroness fires her lawyer, Roger Dearly, while Cruella's increasingly haughty behavior discomforts Jasper.

Estella designs and sews an elaborately beaded dress as the signature piece for the Baroness's spring collection and stages a robbery in the fashion house, leading the Baroness to lock up all the dresses. The night of the spring show, the Baroness opens the vault to find that the collection has been destroyed by moths, having emerged from the beads on the dress which were actually cocoons. After seeing this, the Baroness realizes Estella and Cruella are the same person. Having wrecked the Baroness' show, Cruella stages her own fashion show outside in Regent's Park, wearing a faux Dalmatian-fur coat. Returning home, Estella is confronted by the Baroness and her men, who have captured Jasper and Horace. Setting fire to the building, the Baroness leaves Estella to die, and has Jasper and Horace sent to prison for her murder. Estella is saved by John, the Baroness's valet, who reveals that the necklace unlocks a box containing Estella's birth records: the Baroness is her biological mother. She had ordered John to murder the infant Estella to focus on her career and keep her late husband's inheritance. Instead, John gave the baby to Catherine, one of the Baroness's maids, who raised Estella in secret.

Cruella breaks Jasper and Horace out of prison and reveals the truth, recruiting them, Artie and John for her final scheme. The quintet sneaks into the Baroness's charity gala, having arranged for all the guests to dress as Cruella. On the balcony, Estella confronts her mother, who feigns an embrace before pushing her over the cliff, unwittingly witnessed by her guests. Estella secretly survives with a hidden parachute and, now legally dead, adopts her Cruella persona for good. The Baroness is arrested, swearing revenge on Cruella. Before "dying", Estella willed her inheritance to Cruella, including the manor which she renames from Hellman Hall to "Hell Hall", moving in with her accomplices.

Some time later, Anita and Roger each receive a Dalmatian puppy from Cruella.

## Cast

* Emma Stone as Estella Von Hellman/Cruella De Vil
* Emma Thompson as Baroness Von Hellman
* Joel Fry as Jasper Badun
* Paul Walter Hauser as Horace Badun
* Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Anita Darling
* Mark Strong as John the Valet
* Bobby as Buddy

## Production

Glenn Close, Andrew Gunn, Aline Brosh McKenna, and Marc Platt will serve as producers of the film. McKenna was also hired as the writer of the film; in October 2015, she was replaced by Kelly Marcel, who also wrote the screenplay for *Saving Mr. Banks*.

This is not the first time *101 Dalmatians* was adapted in live-action. The 1996 film and its sequel were the first two.

The film itself is an origin story for the character Cruella De Vil, hence making it a prequel to the *101 Dalmatians* story. However, as the film is live action, it's not to be considered canon to *101 Dalmatians*.

In January 2016, it was reported that Emma Stone is in negotiations to play Cruella. In April 2016, Disney confirmed that she would indeed play the character. She would also serve as an executive producer.

In December 2016, Alex Timbers was confirmed to direct the film. However, it was announced that Timbers would no longer be directing *Cruella* due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by the *I, Tonya* director Craig Gillespie.

## Music

*Main article: Cruella (soundtrack)*
On March 31, 2021, it was announced that Nicholas Britell was hired to compose the film's score. The score album was released on May 21, 2021 by Walt Disney Records along with a separate soundtrack album. Both albums feature "Call Me Cruella", an original song performed by Florence and the Machine in the end credits of the film. The soundtrack album also features other songs such as Nina Simone's "Feeling Good", Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy", Blondie's "One Way or Another", the Doors's "Five to One", and the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go". Per the request of Mark Strong, Tina Turner's cover of the iconic Led Zeppelin song "Whole Lotta Love" was included on the soundtrack. Director Craig Gillespie confirmed that the composing track had a total of 48 to 50 songs.

## Release

Originally scheduled to be theatrically released on December 23, 2020, *Cruella* was delayed to May 28, 2021 as filming began. The film is the second live-action remake/spin-off of a Disney animated film to receive a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association, following *Mulan*, "for some violence and thematic elements". On March 23, 2021, Disney announced that the film would be released simultaneously on Disney+ with Premier Access in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in theaters. Tickets for the theatrical screenings went on sale on May 14, 2021, with the first screening for critics occurring on the same day, and it was also announced that the film would be screened in Dolby Cinema in select territories.

## Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 74% based on 360 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The website's critical 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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 56 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 84% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 63% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Writing for *Variety*, Peter Debruge said: "The director, who brought a wicked edge to pop-culture redux *I, Tonya* a few years back, has rescued Cruella from the predictability of the earlier *101 Dalmatians* remakes and created a stylish new franchise of its own in which a one-time villain has been reborn as the unlikeliest of role models." A. O. Scott of *The New York Times* called the film "refreshing" within the Disney live-action efforts, while complimenting the film's visual style and storytelling in a Dickensian tale, as well as favorably referring the film as a PG-13 revenge take to *Joker*. Peter Travers, reviewing the film for ABC News, wrote: "If looks really were everything, *Cruella* would be flying high on the dazzling costumes that two-time Oscar winner Jenny Beavan has designed for and with two Oscar-winning Emmas-Stone and Thompson-are dressed to wow and deliver much to enjoy in this beautifully crafted fluffball and hits its stride when the two Emmas go on the diva warpath—all in the name of female empowerment." Justin Chang of *Los Angeles Times* remarked the movie as "dazzling fun" and lauded the performances of Stone and Thompson, of which he described the rivalry of the performances as "hard to resist on-screen", and hailed Beavan's costume design on the film as one of her best works since *Mad Max: Fury Road*, while drawing parallels of the film's moral ambiguities and Stone's portrayal of the titular character to her previous performance as Abigail Hill in *The Favourite*.

Alonso Duralde of *TheWrap* wrote: "Placing these characters in the '60s and '70s allows director Craig Gillespie and screenwriters Dana Fox and Tony McNamara to place the characters into an exciting moment of fashion history... Costumer Jenny Beavan, art director Martin Foley, and production designer Fiona Crombie, and their respective departments, all seem to be enjoying and making the most of the film's period demands." In addition, Duralde also lauded the performances of Stone, Hauser, and Thompson, drawing comparisons of the characterizations of the latter's portrayal of the Baroness to Miranda Priestly in *The Devil Wears Prada* and Reynolds Woodcock in *Phantom Thread*. Chicago Sun-Times's Richard Roeper rated the film with 3/4 stars, and highlighted Gillespie's direction for being "clever" and "devilishly offbeat" while praising the performances of Stone and Thompson as "appropriately over-the-top and wildly entertaining", drawing its comparisons to the *The Devil Wears Prada* and also commended the costumes, makeup, and the production values of which he referred to as "spectacular", "dazzling" and a "visual feast", comparing its style to *Phantom Thread* and noting the similarities of the vibe and tone of the film's soundtrack to *Goodfellas*, *Kingsman: The Secret Service*, and *Baby Driver*.

K. Austin Collins of *Rolling Stone* rated the film with three out of five stars, similarly praising Stone's performance of the titular character, of which he felt that she embodied it and described her performance as "vampy, stylish, and cruel" while comparing the film’s style of storytelling to *I, Tonya*, of which he noted a similar internalized victim-like story perspective of Cruella De Vil to Tonya Harding and even pointed out the similar "plausibly two-sided" depiction of Stone's Cruella to Andrea "Andy" Sachs from *The Devil Wears Prada*, but with a twisted spin. He also commended the supporting performances, particularly Thompson and Hauser and referring the film as "a battle of wits and knits", "entertaining", and "fun". Jamie Jirak from ComicBook.com called the film as "raising the bar when it comes to their [Disney's] live-action catalog", praising the art department, the performances and nostalgic elements. Debopriyaa Dutta from *Screen Rant* opined that the film told a "masterfully nuanced origin" and praised the performances of Stone and Hauser.

The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday described the film as "tedious, transgressive, chaotic and inert". While praising the performances of Stone, Thompson, Fry, and Hauser, as well as the costumes; she criticized the film, writing, and the runtime of which she found it as "overstuffed", "overlong", and "miserably misanthropic". Mick LaSalle of the *San Francisco Chronicle* thought the film was misbegotten and felt that it favors more on style over substance. Though he praised Thompson's performance, the costume design and the soundtrack, he criticized the film's writing as "lazy" and "careless". Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2/4 stars, and said: "There's no denying that *Cruella* is stylish and kinetic, with a nasty edge that's unusual for a recent Disney live-action feature. But it's also exhausting, disorganized, and frustratingly inert, considering how hard it works to assure you that it's thrilling and cheeky."

## Sequel

In May 2021, both Stone and Thompson stated that they would like to do a second *Cruella* film in the style of *The Godfather Part II*, serving as both a sequel and prequel. On June 4, 2021, Disney announced that a sequel is officially in the early stages of development, with Gillespie and McNamara expected to return as director and writer respectively.

## Videos

Disney's Cruella - Official Trailer

Disney’s Cruella - Sneak Peek

Disney’s Cruella - Official Trailer 2

Disney’s Cruella - Becoming Cruella Featurette

Disney's Cruella - The Music Featurette

Disney's Cruella - The Fashion Featurette

Disney's Cruella - The Drive

Disney's Cruella - Baroness von Hellman Party CLIP

Disney’s Cruella - The Window Display CLIP

Disney's Cruella - “Anita Darling!” Clip

Disney’s Cruella - “Call Me Cruella” Sneak Peek

Disney's Cruella - “Do You Have A Light?” Clip

Disney's Cruella - New Look

Disney’s Cruella - Meet the Villain

Disney's Cruella - Her Story

Disney's Cruella - The Beginning

Disney's Cruella - The Evil One

Disney's Cruella - One Event

Disney's Cruella - Two Things

Disney's Cruella - Get Mad

Disney's Cruella - The Twist

Florence + the Machine - Call me Cruella (From "Cruella"-Official Lyric Video)

Fashion Diary Featurette - Cruella - Walt Disney Studios

## Trivia

* *Cruella* is the second Disney live-action adaptation to feature the perspective of the villain, after 2014's *Maleficent*.
* Glenn Close, one of the executive producers of the film, played the character of Cruella in the 1996 live-action adaptation of *101 Dalmatians* and its 2000 sequel.
* This is the fourth time that Craig Gillespie has directed a Disney film, after *Fright Night* (which is distributed under the Touchstone Pictures banner), *Million Dollar Arm*, and *The Finest Hours*.
* This is the fifth time that Emma Thompson has done a role for a Disney film, after playing Captain Amelia in *Treasure Planet*, Queen Elinor in *Brave*, P. L. Travers in *Saving Mr. Banks*, and Mrs. Potts in the 2017 live-action adaptation of *Beauty and the Beast*.
* This is the second time that Mark Strong has portrayed a role for a Disney film, after playing Matai Shang in *John Carter*.
* This is the second time that Gizmo has portrayed a role for a Disney film, after playing Froufrou in *Beauty and the Beast*.
* Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Julianne Moore, and Demi Moore were considered for a role.
* Prior to the announcement of the film's new simultaneous release, Kirby Howell-Baptiste was slated to be portraying a character named "Tabitha" while Emily Beecham was stated to be playing Anita. Shortly afterwards, their proper characters were listed. Additionally, Mark Strong's character was named "Boris" before revealing it as John. The reason for the initial misnaming is unknown.
* Following the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first live-action Walt Disney Pictures film to have a theatrical release since *Maleficent: Mistress of Evil*.
* This is the second live-action adaptation of a Disney Animated Canon film to be rated PG-13 by the MPA, after *Mulan*.
	+ This is the first *101 Dalmatians* film to be rated PG-13 by the MPA, unlike the other films, which were rated G, making it the second Disney franchise in which neither animated nor live-action film receives a PG rating after *Mulan*.
* This is the twelfth Disney film to be rated PG-13, and the seventh outside the *Pirates of the Caribbean* films overall, after *Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time*, *John Carter*, *The Lone Ranger*, *Saving Mr. Banks*, *The Finest Hours*, and *Mulan*.
	+ This is also the fifth non-Jerry Bruckheimer Disney film to be rated PG-13, after *John Carter*, *Saving Mr. Banks*, *The Finest Hours*, and *Mulan*.
* This is the third Disney film to be released on Disney+ as a Premiere Access title, after *Mulan* and *Raya and the Last Dragon*.
	+ Thus, it is also the second Disney film to be released in theaters and on Disney+ on the same day after *Raya and the Last Dragon*.
* In preparation for the film, *Disney* released exclusive fashion items that were available for purchase at shop Disney and *Hot Topic*.
* *Cruella* is the first live-action villain origin story to feature an LGBT character, and the second live-action story overall, following in the footsteps of the 2017 film *Beauty and the Beast*. The character of "Artie" identifies as gay, though his plot within the film stretches beyond his sexuality, which is a first for the franchises. In the first script, Artie was written as a drag Queen before the idea was scrapped and he became the owner of a vintage clothing shop.
* *Cruella* was released on what would have been Cameron Boyce's 22nd birthday. The late actor was best known for playing Carlos De Vil, the son of Cruella De Vil, in the Disney Channel *Descendants* trilogy.
* The iconic home of Cruella de Vil makes an appearance when she renames Hellman Hall to Hell Hall by removing the word "man" from the sign on the gate in front of the house.
* The infamous Dalmatians Pongo and Perdita made a guest appearance in a post credits scene, where Cruella gifted the dogs to Anita Darling and Roger Radcliffe.
* Disney partnered with its television subsidiary Freeform to promote *Cruella*. Freeform's fashion series *The Bold Type* had its three stars don fashion inspired by the film in a photoshoot. The series also created an in-universe magazine cover.
* In the movie, Cruella was born with half-black and half-white hair. In real life, there is a similar condition called *poliosis* which can cause single or, less commonly, multiple white patches on the hair due to the lack of melanin.

### Easter eggs and homages

* The car Cruella steals after her heist is a Panther De Ville, the same type of vehicle Glenn Close used in *101 Dalmatians* (1996) and *102 Dalmatians*, which was first introduced in 1974. Horace steals a black and white version later, pointing out the name of the car, which inspires Cruella's new surname.
* Horace notices that some dog owners look like their dogs while Cruella is meeting with Anita, an homage to the moment when Pongo first spotted Anita in the animated film.
* Estella often talks with her mother at a fountain in Regents Park, a real park in London that was the setting for Roger and Anita's first meeting in the animated classic.
* When Roger is introduced as a lawyer for the Baroness, she mentions that he mostly plays his piano all day, a nod to his profession in *101 Dalmatians*. During the mid-credit tag, he sits at a piano and starts singing "Cruella De Vil".
	+ His apartment is almost similar to the one seen during the opening of the animated film.
* When Estrella is pretending to be a maid, a movie is playing called *Lifeboat* starring Tallulah Bankhead, whose mannerisms inspired Cruella de Vil's portrayal in the Disney animated film. A closeup features the actress' signature laugh, which sounds similar to Cruella de Vil's.
* In one scene, the Baroness is watching a film starring Betty Lou Gerson, the original Cruella from the classic 1961 animated film.
* Artie says "If you can dream it, I can dress it" when he first meets Estella, a play on the Disney phrase "If you can dream it, you can do it", written by Tom Fitzgerald originally for the EPCOT attraction Horizons.
* Cruella mentioned turning the Baroness Von Hellman's dogs into coats, which references Cruella's signature scheme of trying to turn Dalmatians' fur into coats.
* The iconic Disney princess Cinderella was mentioned when Estella's boss reprimanded her actions while she cleaned.
* The wigs that Cruella gave the guests at the Baroness's ball are the same hairstyle that was worn by Glenn Close in the live-action remake of *101 Dalmatians*.
* Baroness Von Hellman owns a fashion house called the **House of Baroness**, which may be a reference to Cruella's fashion house, House of DeVil.

## References

1. ↑ "Box Office: ‘Cruella’ Nabs Non-Fabulous $7.7 Million Friday", *Forbes* (May 29, 2021).
2. ↑ "In a Punk ‘Cruella,' Dogs Play Second Fiddle to the Designs", *NBC News* (May 28, 2021).
3. ↑ "How Much Did Cruella Cost To Make?", *Screen Rant* (May 28, 2021).
4. ↑ "*Cruella (2021)*". *Box Office Mojo*. IMDb.
5. ↑ *Cruella (2021)*. *The Numbers*. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
6. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/disney-preps-live-action-cruella-639169
7. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/emma-stone-talks-play-cruella-852693
8. ↑ http://moviepilot.com/posts/3886426?utm\_source=fb-channel-hollywood-buzz&utm\_medium=facebook&utm\_campaign=emma-stone-will-play-the-evil-de-vil-in-disney-s-live-action-cruella
9. ↑ http://www.empireonline.com/people/emma-stone/alex-timbers-direct-emma-stone-cruella//
10. ↑ https://deadline.com/2018/12/emma-stone-craig-gillespie-cruella-director-live-action-1202514016/
11. ↑ https://comicbook.com/movies/news/cruella-mark-strong-craig-gillespie-talk-epic-soundtrack-nicholas-britell-score/
12. ↑ Debruge, Peter (May 26, 2021). "‘Cruella’ Review: Emma Stone Reimagines the ‘101 Dalmatians’ de-Villainess as an Iconic Underdog".
13. ↑ "‘Cruella’ Review: A Disney Villain Gets a Backstory. It’s Spotty.", *The New York Times*, A. O. Scott (May 26, 2021).
14. ↑ "'Cruella' review: Emma Stone and Emma Thompson deliver much to enjoy in this beautifully crafted fluffball", *ABC News* (May 28, 2021).
15. ↑ Justin Chang (May 26, 2021). "Review: ‘Cruella’ is dazzling fun but shows too much sympathy for the de Vil".
16. ↑ Duralde, Alonso (May 26, 2021). "'Cruella' Film Review: Emma Stone Generates Sympathy for the de Vil". *TheWrap*.
17. ↑ Roeper, Richard (May 26, 2021). "Eye-popping ‘Cruella’ dazzles with spectacular outfits and offbeat origin story".
18. ↑ "A Battle of Wits and Knits: Despite Its Intentions, ‘Cruella’ Proves Why the Baddies Are More Fun". *Rolling Stone* (May 26, 2021).
19. ↑ Jirak, Jamie (May 26, 2021). "Cruella Review: Emma Stone Slays in Wickedly Stylish Prequel". *ComicBook.com*.
20. ↑ Dutta, Debopriyaa (May 26, 2021). "Cruella Review: Emma Stone Is The Beating Heart Of Masterfully Nuanced Origin". *Screen Rant*.
21. ↑ "Disney’s ‘Cruella’ manages to be tedious, transgressive, chaotic and inert, all at the same time", *The Washington Post*, Ann Hornaday (May 26, 2021).
22. ↑ LaSalle, Mick (May 26, 2021). "Review: Emma Thompson wipes Emma Stone off the screen in misbegotten ‘Cruella’".
23. ↑ Zoller Seitz, Matt (May 26, 2021). "Cruella movie review & film summary". RogerEbert.com.
24. ↑ https://www.filmratings.com/Search?filmTitle=cruella&x=19&y=24
25. ↑ https://www.shopdisney.com/movies-shows/disney/cruella/
26. ↑ https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2567846/cruella-star-confirms-lgbtq-character-in-emma-stone-disney-movie-john-mccrea-artie