Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil. If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will.
Unfortunately, with the new Cruella trailer, starring Emma Stone, we aren't entirely clear just how evil Cruella De Vil will remain. In the original iterations of 101 Dalmatians, Cruella is an absolutely evil, irredeemable character intent on turning puppies into coats.
There is an entire song which refers to Cruella as "this vampire bat, this inhuman beast," and saying that "to see her is to take a sudden chill."
However, with Disney's new trailer for Cruella, we don't know yet if, similar to Maleficent, the character will be given a tragic backstory that makes humanizes her.
And now, the film is drawing some criticism for having the potential to be Disney's Joker, referring to the film in which Joaquin Phoenix played the irredeemable DC Villain as a mentally ill man who is pushed past his limit.
"From the very beginning, I saw the world differently than everyone else," begins the trailer.
"The thing is, I was born brilliant. Born bad. And a little bit mad."
The anxiety over humanizing Cruella is mostly due to a few moments here and there that most definitely show a more broken version of Cruella--when her last name is literally De Vil, or "Devil."
Though there is no concrete evidence in the trailer that the film happens this way.
It could easily be a film about how dark and twisted Cruella actually is, which would be, to speak plainly, the most fun version of this film Disney could make.
Cruella is due for release May 28, 2021.
We shall see if we have a new Joker, or if we will once again be thrilled by the evil of the curl in her lips, and the ice in her stare.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
