I'm surprised this doesn't have a thread yet. Cruella is Disney's soon to be released prequel to 101 Dalmations focusing on a young Cruella de Vil in 1970s London, played by Emma Stone. It's directed by Craig Gillespie, and written by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara. Synopsis: “Cruella,” which is set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, follows a young grifter named Estella, a clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute, played by two-time Oscar® winner Emma Thompson (“Howards End,” “Sense & Sensibility”). But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella. Cast: Emma Stone as Estella "Cruella" de Vil Emma Thompson as Barroness Von Hellman Joel Fry as Jasper Badun Paul Walter Houser as Horace Badun Emily Beecham as Anita Mark Strong as Boris Kirby Howell-Babtiste as Tabitha Jamie Demetriou as Gerald Poster: Trailer I wasn't sure what to make of this when it was announced, but the trailer actually looked pretty fun.
I wasn’t keen on Emma Stone but I think she’ll do a great job! The trailer looks good and now we all know her real name... Estella! Apparently Glenn Close is an executive producer. I wonder if she’ll make a cameo.
Just saw the trailer. If a trailer is to be graded on its ability to earn attention, this one gets an A+ Also this post needs to be moved to Science Fiction & Fantasy section for higher visibility
My first thought after watching the trailer was that it seems like they're going for a Jokerized take on the character, which is kind of hilarious to me as a concept. At any rate, I love Emma Stone and a good villain origin story. The trailer has my interest piqued.
This looks all kinds of fun, and I also love that they're neither trying to remake 101 Dalmatians again, nor are they trying to make her into a sympathetic anti-hero like they did with Malificent. She's just out-and-out bad.
I was going to, but since there doesn't appear to be any real sci-fi or fantasy stuff in this, apart from the dress burning away, I wasn't sure if it would fit there.
It would be too easy to rag on DIsney for having all the subtlety of a brick through a window, but the names "de Vil," "Hell Hall" and "Baddun" come straight from the novel the original animated film was based on. In the original story, Hell Hall was the ancestral home of the aristocratic de Vil family, but it looks like they're going in a slightly different direction with Cruella (with the hall belonging to Emma Thompson's Baroness von Hellman). (I read Dodie Smith's novel ages ago; it was... fairly good, but you can immediately pick out the elements Disney changed to streamline the story, and I think it helps the story work better. The sequel to the original novel, The Starlight Barking, on the other hand, was one of the most bizarre things I've ever read.)
I just looked up The Starlight Barking on Wikipedia, and I can see what you mean, that book sounds completely insane.
According to the synopsis from Disney, in this her name is actually Estella, and Cruella is just a nickname, or she changes it during the movie.
As far as the names go, I'm now hoping for a crossover appearance by Ricky Gervais as Dominic Badguy from Muppets Most Wanted. I don't even think that counts. I'm guessing that the outer layer was just made of flash paper. Not very practical for day-to-day wear but good for making an entrance. I don't know about the movie but the trailer has definite Joker vibes, which makes sense since that movie made money! I have a longstanding crush on Emma Stone and I've never been that keen on dogs, so I'm totally on her side here.
Couldn't resist showing this music video of the song about her: And I also saw both versions of 101 Dalmatians last night, too. I tell you, when cons resume, this character will be cosplayed all over the planet.
I'm hoping that this will inspire them to put the 1990s live action movies back in print on DVD. (And while we're on the subject, I'd really love to get my hands on a DVD release of the 1990s live action version of The Jungle Book as well! )
I prefer physical media. It gives me equity in my purchase since I can always resell a DVD if I end up not liking it or watching it very often.
I prefer it too, but not always. And DVD's/Blu-Ray's are getting harder to sell secondhand for a lot of money as they used to be.