If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will! Disney has unveiled the trailer for its upcoming live-action origin story Cruella starring Emma Stone as the titular character. It follows a grifter named Estella’s rise to power and her transformation into the formidable Cruella de Vil we know today. Here’s an official synopsis per Disney:
Academy Award® winner Emma Stone (La La Land) stars in Disney’s Cruella, an all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinemas most notorious — and notoriously fashionable — villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil.
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 and 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.
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Now, the trailer below dictates Estella’s fashionable descent to “madness.” She describes herself as “brilliant, bad and a little bit mad.” We see that her initial hair color was red prior to her signature black and white locks. Estella boasts some truly chic looks here, which is probably my favorite aspect of the trailer. I hope they somehow incorporate Cruella de Vil’s theme song from 1961’s 101 Dalmatians.
This isn’t the first time Cruella has seen a live-action adaptation. Glenn Close portrayed the villainess in 1996. Betty Lou Gerson lent her voice to the character in the original animated outing.
The trailer looks intriguing. Very The Devil Wears Prada meets Harley Quinn. My only concern is that Disney will try to frame Cruella in a sympathetic light. The character is known for skinning puppies because she wants a fur coat. There’s nothing remotely humanizing about that. To me, Cruella’s a true villain. However, this origin story takes place in the ’70s while the animated film was set in the ’60s. Perhaps Disney’s rewriting her history.
Cruella is directed by Craig Gillespie and boasts a script from Dana Fox and Tony McNamara. Its story is by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel and Steve Zissis. Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Mark Strong and Paul Walter Hauser are headlining the feature.
You can check out the trailer for yourselves below. Witness the birth of a baddie when Cruella hits theaters May 28, 2021.
Are you excited to watch Cruella whenever it hits theaters? Sound off in the comments below!
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