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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Casper Libero chapter.

It has been 60 years since Cruella was first introduced to the screen, in the 1961 Disney animated movie 101 Dalmatians, and 25 years since Glenn Close debuted as the iconic villain in the first live action of the franchise.

Based on Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel, the world fell in love with the story of a nice young couple and the family they build with their dalmatians dogs.

And although the franchise’s protagonists are Roger, Anita and the dogs, the first thing everyone remembers about the movies is Cruella De Vil. She is a scandalous, wicked, and fascinating woman, with a particular enthusiasm with the black and white dogs, especially their fur. De Vil is known to be absolutely obsessed and selfish, which makes her one of the most interesting villains of all Disney, but the public never got to understand why she is the way that she is. Until now.

The prequel was initially rumored to come to life back in 2011, but it was only confirmed in a Disney event in August of 2019, with a glimpse of Emma Stone playing the infamous character. The high expectations are carried by director Craig Gillespie, most famous for I, Tonya, Tony McNamara, writer of The Great and Emma Stone’s The Favorite, writer Dana Fox, known for How to Be Single and Isn’t It Romantic, and as an executive producers is the first Cruella, Glenn Close.

But after the first glimpse in August of 2019, everyone has been talking about the cast, and how will Emma Stone portray Cruella. Stone started her career in comedy, playing the nice, sympathetic, funny girl, though she has played against that in Birdman and The Favorite, she was never a villain.

Also, in the cast is no stranger to Disney, Emma Thompson, Emily Beecham (Hail Cesar!), Paul Walter Hause (I, Tonya), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Killing Eve), Mark Strong (Kingsman) and Joel Fry (Yesterday).

So, Here Is Everything We Know So Far About The Plot!

Is going to focus on Stella (Emma Stone), a normal girl who works in a department store as a brilliant designer and boss to a school friend, Anita (Emily Beecham). And one day, out of the sudden, the Baroness Von Hallen (Emma Thompson) enters the store using Stella’s mom’s long lost locket, that disappeared the night she died at the Baroness state. The young girl later starts a friendship with two thugs (Joel Fry and Paul Walker Hause), who then become her henchmen.

The De Vil Is Born And The Decade Of Feminist Movement

Set in 1970s London, it’s the story of a girl rebelling against the world, in the middle of the second wave of the feminist movement. With the touch of punk rock, the movie is anticipated to illustrate what happened to Stella to become Cruella, why she is evil and (maybe) her obsession with animal fur. Being antagonized by the Baroness, the fans await for proper motivations for each of the protagonists, instead of a dumb female rivalry.

Maleficent was the very first Disney movie to tell a villain’s origin story, released in 2014, and it is now one of the fan favorites, it even got a sequel in 2019. It was a huge success because the movie doesn’t shy away from the protagonist’s complicated issues, instead, they embraced and explore her complex mind without painting her as crazy or stupid. And now the audience can expect the same with Cruella.

Since this is a prequel to the 101 Dalmatians’ franchise, we will probably see De Vil’s evolution as a character in her looks and make up, so in the end we can understand who Cruella is, with the red lipstick, crazy black and white hair and a fur coat. And with the two trailers so far released, we can already spot a edgy animated inspired Cruella iconic look.

The Wait Is Close To Ending!

The project was originally planned to be released on December 23rd of 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic the production was pushed forward. The film now will be released on Disney+ on May 28th of this year. Hopefully, after the movie there won’t be anymore questions on why Cruella De Vil is a monster.

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The article above was edited by Lívia Carvalho.

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Beatriz Kawai

Casper Libero '24

A journalism student in love with feminism, art, movies, music and sometimes politics