In 2010 Disney started
conceptualizing some live-action adaptations of its animated canon, but with
the twist of retelling them from the viewpoint of the antagonists. The first to
get this treatment was “Sleeping Beauty” but with the evil fairy Maleficent as
the antiheroic protagonist. The film, starring Angelina Jolie, was released in
2014 and was followed by a sequel in 2019. Another character that Disney wanted
to get spotlight was “101 Dalmatians” baddie Cruella De Vil, with planning
begun as early as 2011 and actress Emma Stone being cast in 2016. Following
principal photography done in 2019 (and after a COVID pandemic delay), the
first trailer was released.
CNN tells us that Disney finally started hyping up their
live-action film “Cruella,” a prequel of sorts depicting the early days of
fur-obsessed fashion magnate Cruella De Vil as portrayed by Emma Stone. The
initial trailer, released February 17, shows snippets of Cruella and her
twisted evolution from a small-time con artist and aspiring fashion designer,
to the cackling villainess of “101 Dalmatians” as she is best remembered. Set
in London during the 1970s, the first scenes show a wide-eyed but whip-smart
young woman named Estella. She does not stay that way.
Also seen in the trailer is
Baroness Von Hellman, played by Emma Thompson, the head of a major fashion
house who sees potential in Estella and takes her on. If Hellman reminds you of
Cruella herself, then it is a big giveaway just how their relationship will go
in the film’s story. Estella’s time under Hellman’s tutelage, and her own
friendship started with two brothers who are thieves and criminals will grow to
define her future personality. And as Emma Stone’s sinister voiceover goes, she
was born brilliant; she is bad, and also a little bid mad. She is Cruella.
Thus far, the “Cruella” trailer
has been getting solid likes on social media, although some of the commentators
on Twitter cannot help but make comparisons. They see Stone’s half-black
half-white hairdo as De Vil and cannot help but mention DC
villainess-turned-anti-heroine Harley Quinn as portrayed by Margot Robbie.
Interestingly, the film is directed by Craig Gillepsie, who directed the 2017
sports biopic “I, Tonya,” where Robbie starred as the disgraced figure skater
Tonya Harding. “Cruella” also stars Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser as Jasper
and Horace Badun, Emily Beecham as the future Anita Dearly, and Mark Strong as
Boris. The film is expected to release in cinemas May 28.
Image courtesy of CinemaBlend
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