What I thought of Cruella
I’ve been waiting a long time for an opportunity to sit down and watch Cruella, and it didn’t disappoint! While some of the facts don’t line up exactly the way they do in Pongo and Perdita’s story, some of the things we learn give more insight into the characters that we know and love.
Cruella’s backstory is not what I would have expected. The spunky child growing into a street smart woman makes sense, and it shed a light onto why she’s so mean. But her lot in life did make you sympathize with her at times. It’s hard not to when you hear about all the bad things that happen to her.
Emma Stone was brilliant, and an amazing choice to play Cruella. She pulled off the cunningness of Cruella perfectly, and she matched the line-wolf character to a T. I couldn’t have picked out a better Cruella myself.
One thing that really stood out to me was her on-again-off-again hatred of Dalmatians. From the very beginning of the movie, she sees the Dalmatians as they event for what happened with her mother. When she has possession of them, however, it appears as though she begins to bond with them. And when she legally owns them, she decides to keep them, even after getting the idea of making a coat out of them. She keeps them at least long enough that they have puppies, as she gifts two puppies (Pongo and Perdita). If she knew she wanted to make a Dalmatian coat, why gift away the puppies? If she hates them, why continue to own them when it no longer serves a purpose?
The timing was also confusing. Cruella is meant to be the prequel to 101 Dalmatians, however the setting was placed a decade after 101 Dalmatians, which took place in 1958. We know this because that’s the date on the newspaper when Jasper and Horace steal the puppies. Matching the times, Anita doesn’t have a job and is instead the homemaker. But Cruella, which is set in the 1970’s, displays several working women. While I like the more progressive approach, it conflicts with the main story.
Overall, I loved Cruella despite its inaccuracies. It gave new perspective and was fun to watch.
