Parents need to know that Cruella is Disney's stylish but dark live-action origin story about the dog-napping villain from Disney's 1961 classic 101 Dalmatians. Set in the early 1970s, it attempts to explain Cruella's (Emma Stone) nefarious behavior in a way that will spark empathy in viewers.
The first thing Disney did to make Cruella a redeemable character was to portray her as having dissociative identity disorder (sometimes called multiple personality disorder).
She is an eccentric, fashion-obsessed heiress who wishes to use the skins of 99 Dalmatian puppies to create a spotted fur coat. Regarded as a "witch" and "devil woman", Cruella's infatuation with furs drives her to murderous insanity. She commits immoral acts to satisfy her mania, such as kidnapping and slaughter.
A huge theme to acknowledge in this film is the idea of nature vs. nurture. Estella was raised by a caring mother who always tried to “love her into shape” as Cruella herself states it.
As the gang faces hardship, it's their love and devotion that keeps them together, like a pack of dogs. In contrast, the Baroness's Dalmatians are used as a status symbol.
It is not until the end Cruella reveals her true personality, a violent, careless, murderous, destructive and downright evil psychopath after the dalmatians escape, she becomes nearly insane and preposterous, so much so she goes on a rampage trying to retrieve the dogs but accidentally crashes the car she was driving.
It is not until the end Cruella reveals her true personality, a violent, careless, murderous, destructive, and downright evil psychopath, after the dalmatians escape, she becomes nearly insane and preposterous, so she goes on a rampage trying to retrieve the dogs but accidentally crashes the car she was driving.
Parent Movie Review and Guide. As a PG-13 rated movie, Cruella isn't the worst option you could think of for young kids, but there are some issues you should be aware of before buying into the movie. It's darker than previous Disney-live actions and definitely might be too scary for some young kids.
From the original Disney animation, we learn that behind her glamour, Cruella de Vil is a murderous, narcissistic psychopath; she is a woman who is perfectly willing to illegally abduct, murder and skin 99 puppies to create her own spotted fur coat.
The reason given for Cruella's distinctive hair is poliosis, a disease that causes a decrease or absence of melanin in head hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, or any other hairy area. More often than not, the hair is affected in splotches or directly over the forehead to create a streak of white, akin to Rogue in X-men.
It is impossible to list Disney's cruelest without including the woman with “cruel” in her name. Cruella de Vil is a particularly heartless Disney villain, and not just because she's selfish. Cruella actually gets some joy out of the idea of murdering puppies.
In Disney's original animated “101 Dalmatians” from 1961, Cruella de Vil is an evil woman in her sixties whose goal is to kill and skin the Dalmatians for their fur as a new fashion statement.
Cruella begins with Estella as a child with black and white hair, something that she was born with due to a disease called poliosis. The condition is caused by a decrease or absence of melanin in the hair on the body, typically resulting in a white streak or splotches in someone's hair.
In the 1961 animated original film, the fashion-obsessed heiress was usually seen clutching a cigarette and holder as sickly green smoke wafted behind her. When asked why the wardrobe statement piece was intentionally left out, Stone attributed it to evolving opinions about smoking within the past 60 years.
You might even find yourself enjoying the movie, before remembering that the inciting action and entire motivation for the story is that Cruella's mother was pushed off a cliff by some CGI Dalmatians. Yes, that is the reason Cruella de Vil hates Dalmatians.
And yet for all the flair Gillespie and his cast bring to the project, they can't hide that Cruella is too long, too bloated, and is a trend-chaser rather than a trendsetter like its title character. There are times when the film still manages to be fun, but it's a de Vil's bargain.
Cruella has her sights set on making a fur coat out of the dalmatians, and has puppies stolen for this purpose. As she steals so many, we can only see that her theft charge would be a felony. Not only that, she's guilty of cruelty to animals as well as reckless driving.
Cruella is found guilty of crimes such as the tiger stealing, theft of the 15 puppies, conspiring to commit crimes, animal abuse, crimes against humanity and verbal assault, and sentenced to life in prison (which is briefly reduced).
You might be thinking, of course, Cruella is ok for kids! It's Disney and it's based on a favorite villain that kids love to hate. But this one is a touch darker than parents might be thinking: Cruella is rated PG-13 after all. Cruella, the dark alter ego of Estella and isn't kid-friendly.
