YMMV / Cruella

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • To what extent were Cruella's "jokes" really jokes? For a moment, did she really consider using the Dalmatians to create a costume before Jasper convinced her not to, or was it just a cruel joke to annoy Jasper?
  • Jasper clearly cares for Estella, but does he love her like a little sister, or does he have romantic feelings for her?
  • John describes Catherine as "the kindest woman in the world" and knew her well enough to trust her with a baby. Were they simply good friends, or was he in love with her?
  • Were Catherine's constant reprimands of Estella's misbehavior really because she was terrified Estella would grow up to be as cruel as the Baroness and wanted to nip it in the bud? Or was she just being a Good Parent who wanted her adoptive child to be kind to others?
• Awesome Music:
  • Much like the director's previous film I, Tonya, there are dozens of iconic songs weaved throughout the movie. In addition, there's John McCrea's energetic cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog", and the movie's score from Nicholas Britell (Moonlight, Succession) is nothing to sneeze at, particularly Cruella's first confrontation with the Baroness.
  • Florence + the Machine's original song "Call Me Cruella" is a great track, too, being dark and brooding, and capturing the protagonist's mindset perfectly, even slightly resembling her iconic 1961 theme.
• Broken Base: Some people see the film as a gem, praising Emma Stone’s performance and the creativity, others hate that Disney is once again trying to turn one of their most iconic villains into a misunderstood anti-hero. The ludicrous backstory they gave her is a frequent target of ridicule. Many of movie's detractors actually say that overall story of the movie isn't actually bad but it would work far better if it was about an original character.
• Common Knowledge:
  • The infamous "Cruella's reason for wanting to skin Dalmatians is because they killed her mother" angle that has become a frequent joke about the film is something of a misrepresentation of what happens in the movie. By the end, it's shown that she doesn't hold it against the animals, since they were manipulated by the Baroness with a dog whistle, and she adopts the dogs after completing her revenge. By the end, she doesn't have a murderous hatred of Dalmatians and doesn't show any immediate signs of wanting to skin them. In fact, before she found out that the Baroness was the person that was responsible for her mother's death, Cruella personally blamed herself for her mother's death and not the Dalmatians. At one point, she does mention that they would make for a good coat, but this isn't due to any personal grudge, and she passes it off as a joke. She even gifts two Dalmatian puppies to Roger and Anita in The Stinger.
  • One particular scene from the trailer got a lot of mockery for supposedly not even trying to hide the film's Joker influence, with Cruella releasing a bunch of bats into a party. They're actually moths, which wasn't quite clear from the brief trailer shots.
• Evil Is Cool: The most praised aspect of the film is Emma Stone as Cruella. She puts her heart and soul into the character, and makes the film work as well as it can. Emma Thompson as the fashionably villainous Baroness received similar acclaim, and many feel that any time the two share a scene or the scenes focus on each other are the real highlights of the film.
• Genius Bonus: While in a hotel room, Cruella is seen briefly watching a clip of the movie Lifeboat, specifically of Tallulah Bankhead laughing. Tallulah Bankhead was the inspiration for the animated Cruella - right down to calling everyone "darling".
• Harsher in Hindsight: The plot of the movie being a fashion designer getting trying to overcome hardships makes the fact one of the costume designers got screwed over more depressing.
• I Knew It!: From the moment the film was announced, many correctly predicted that Cruella's backstory would involve a traumatic moment caused by Dalmatians.
• Jerkass Woobie: For all her selfishness and pronounced mean streak, Cruella lost her mother in a deeply traumatic fashion, and was forced into a life of crime.
• Just Here for Godzilla:
  • Many viewers admitted to only watching the film for Jenny Beavan's amazing costume design, which was praised even by the films detractors.
  • Others watch just to see Emma Thompson and Emma Stone duke it out in Ham-to-Ham Combat, finding the end result deeply entertaining.
• Like You Would Really Do It: No, Cruella didn't skin the Baroness' dogs and make a coat out of them. She just wore a spotted dress to mess with her mind.
• Love to Hate: The Baroness is one of the most enjoyably evil Disney villains in years, being over-the-top, shamelessly narcissistic and cruel, and utterly unflinching in pursuit of her goals. She's an absolutely vile person, which makes her a joy to watch, especially with Cruella starts scheming to take her down.
• Magnificent Bitch: Cruella de Vil is reimagined as a capable con artist and thief with excellent fashion sense. Born to the cold-hearted Baroness von Hellman—who wanted her dead—Cruella was at first raised as "Estella", the daughter of maid Catherine Miller, whose murder she witnessed as a child. Growing up orphaned, Estella had ended up pulling schemes with the Badun brothers Horace and Jasper, creating the costumes for each job as they go. Wanting to get into the fashion world, Estella gets hired and works closely under the Baroness, while also trying to steal back her family heirloom from her cruel employer. Becoming Cruella, she also undermines the Baroness' own business while increasing her own and when Cruella learns of her true heritage, she then fakes her own murder as Estella at the Baroness's hands in order to set her up and make it so Cruella gets everything that was always meant to be hers.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • The term "Disney's Joker" caught on with both supporters and detractors who noted the clear influence in the marketing, including repurposing Joker's memes, such as "I'm going to become the Cruella", "This happened to my buddy Erica", and giving all 101 Dalmatians "what they fucking deserve."^note (Note that principal photography for Cruella was well underway at the time of Joker's release, and the project had been in development for many years.)
    • One youtuber (Andre Meadows of Black Nerd Comedy) even called the movie "The Joker Wears Prada"
  • Disney’s seventh "first gay character".^note  Cruella is the latest Disney movie to have a minor character (in this case Artie) be "confirmed" as Disney’s first gay/LGBT+ character despite films like Onward, the live action Beauty and the Beast remake and more having confirmed LGBT+ characters that were also promoted in marketing, but who are ultimately minor characters whose sexuality can easily be overlooked or edited out for more conservative markets. However, looking at the official statement more thoroughly, he is specifically noted to be the first original live-action Disney film character to be gay, which would be more accurate but also fall under the category of Overly Narrow Superlative. Tends to also be lumped in with the "Ultra Lord in class" meme in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius which was ironically the 7th time he's shown it in class.
  • Cruella turns evil because Dalmatians hurt her.^note It was often joked that Cruella would turn evil because something would happen to her involving Dalmatians. Though her start of darkness actually happens when the Baroness disrespects her mother, Dalmatians did push her mother off a cliff, leading to a resurgence in the meme after release. This also has led to variations such as "Because Dalmatians killed my mom, okay?!" as a reference to Trolls.
    • [Disney villain] turns evil because [something that is central to the original story] killed their parents.^note A copypasta riffing on Cruella's Freudian Excuse, it's a mocking suggestion thrown around for potential future live-action origin stories of classic Disney animated villains, like the hunter from Bambi turning evil because a deer killed his parents or Ursula because legs did it.
  • Girlboss ^note A lot of people use this meme in relation to Disney trying to make traditionally unsympathetic villains like Cruella sympathetic and that she's got an excuse for trying to skin puppies (specifically Dalmatians) because of her trauma
• Memetic Psychopath: Thanks to two infamous scenes where they cause someone's death, Dalmatians are treated as this in the context of the film, being interpreted as Killer Rabbits capable of murder.
• Moe: Cruella is surprisingly cute as a child.
• Moral Event Horizon: Baroness Hellman crossed it by wanting her own infant daughter to be killed and actually ordering one of her servants to carry it out.
• Narm:
  • The idea of Cruella's mother being killed by Dalmatians is Narm in itself. Such a potential backstory had long been a meme before the film was even announced, so to see it in the film is straight up hilarious. On that same note, the scene itself is impossible to take seriously: The Dalmatians are clearly CGI, the music in the background horribly contrasts the tone of the scene, the actress playing Cruella's mother has a blank stare on her face as if she doesn't know what's going on, and worst of all, Cruella's mother just stands still as the Dalmatians charge towards her and push her off the cliff, even though she clearly could have, at the very least, heard them barking in the distance as they came towards her. It is quite obvious that the Baroness was exaggerating how Catherine was approaching her. Which leaves the reveal that the Baroness had killed her on purpose leaning towards a Captain Obvious Reveal. The fact that, as mentioned, the scene is played seriously, really just makes the entire thing comical.
  • The idea of Cruella's hair always being black and white itself is a bit unintentionally funny, but any scene of her as a child or baby fall into this because of how over the top and just plain fake the hairstyle looks on her, making it hard to take it seriously.
• Narm Charm: Part of the film's charm is how over-the-top everything is, essentially being a Battle of Ham between two actresses showing each other off by fashion events.
• Older Than They Think:
  • The first trailer drew multiple comparisons to Joker but the script was written before that film was even pitched, filmed, and released.
  • In addition, younger audiences skeptical of a live-action Cruella are often unaware of the live action 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians films from the 1990s, or of the character's appearance (also including a backstory and child version of herself) on Once Upon a Time.
• Signature Scene: Cruella's mother being pushed off the cliff by Dalmatians is the most well known and talked about scene, though not necessarily for the good reasons.
  • Cruella's entrance to the Baroness' party, burning her overcoat and revealing her red gown.
• Special Effect Failure:
  • The angry and clearly CGI dalmatians that push Cruella's adoptive mother off the cliff, which just adds to the scene's narm.
  • The water at the bottom of the cliff that Cruella lands in after escaping her apparent death is not very convincing.
• Spiritual Successor: Due to the focus on a plucky female lead struggling against her abusive fashion-mogul boss, the film can be compared to The Devil Wears Prada, just with heavy crime-film elements, a lot of camp, and a lead who fights back at her employer. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that Aline Brosh McKenna was both the writer for Prada and on the script team for Cruella.
• Squick:
  • When Estella eats the banana slice that was left stuck on her cheek after the contents of the garbage bag she was throwing away in the dumpster spilled all over her.
  • This version of Pongo and Perdita are implied to be from the same litter, and at the end of the film Cruella gifts them to Roger and Anita respectively and separately. If the proposed sequel continues with the original canon, the humans will have little to no way of knowing that their pets are brother and sister...
• Tainted by the Preview: Some found the sheer darkness of the first trailer off-putting and unintentionally silly.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Estella coming to grips that The Baroness killed her adopted mother, Catherine. While she ultimately decides to take up the Cruella persona going forward. She likewise shows appreciation for all Catherine did in trying to raise her and, no matter her actions, that'll she'll always consider her her true mother. This emotional scene is performed in one take, and it may remind viewers of "The Fools Who Dream" song from La La Land, which was another highly dramatic and emotional moment that Emma Stone did in the same manner.
    Cruella: So, this is a confusing day. My nemesis is my real mother and she killed my other mother. I guess you were always scared, weren’t you, that I’d be a psycho like my real mum? Hmm? That explains all the "tone it down, try and fit in" stuff. Love me into shape, I suppose, was the plan. And I tried. I really, I tried because I loved you. But the thing is... I’m... not sweet Estella, try as I might. I never was. I’m Cruella, born brilliant, born bad and a little bit mad. (Laughs) I am not like her. I’m better. Anyway, must dash. Much to avenge, revenge and destroy. But I do love you. Always.
  • The gradual deterioration of Cruella's relationship with Jasper and Horace. Jasper gives Cruella a "The Reason You Suck" Speech after she gets a little too into character. After the concert, he says he wishes they'd left her on that park bench.
  • The Baroness' Dalmatians showing distress as Wink and Buddy are abandoned in the burning loft.
  • According to John Cruella's father, who was an actual Baron, was a sweet man who was overjoyed at learning he was going to be a father. On the loss of Estella, John simply and sadly says he wasted away of grief.
  • Before learning the truth, Estella spends ten years believing that she was personally responsible for her mother's death, because she'd disobeyed the instruction to wait in the car and had accidentally provoked the Dalmatians into chasing her.
  • Estella tossing her mother's necklace into "her" grave.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Many fans of the original 101 Dalmatian films are unhappy that Cruella has become an anti-hero who is an Adaptational Nice Guy, as it takes another iconic Disney villain who was loved for just how petty she was, and tries so hard to make her seem likeable.
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!: A lot of people have made unfavorable comparisons to Joker when the first trailer for this movie was released. Considering they both involve a sympathetic backstory to well-known antagonists, it's not hard to see why. Beyond that, the aesthetic of the trailer is very reminiscent of the trailers for Joker, which doesn't help. The film's concept has also been frequently compared to Maleficent. Ultimately, however, the film doesn't follow the formula of either, being much wilder, campier and energetic compared to the heavily serious Joker and not offering Cruella a true redemption arc like Maleficent, despite treating her sympathetically. Other critics have pointed out the plot is a rehash of The Devil Wears Prada.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Despite the film being basically an origin story for Cruella de Vil, the film makes no attempt at bridging the way for the same vile and evil character seen in the original story and various adaptations. While the film was essentially marketed that way, in the end it tries to create a sympathetic character who doesn't at all fit the same villain from the original story, which makes it harder to accept that this Cruella would become the same person who would skin puppies for a coat. There's even some suspicion that originally the film did have her go full puppy killer, until the filmmakers figured there would be no way to retain any audience sympathy for her and heavily rewrote the second half, especially since there's no real purpose for Roger and Anita to be in the film as it stands. It remains to be seen whether the proposed sequel will take the character in a darker direction.
• Win Back the Crowd: While the film didn't win over all the critics, Cruella by and large received stronger reviews than most Disney Live-Action Remakes of the preceding four years, and its style, emphasis on character and acting over flashy effects and comparatively freewheeling approach to the source material (in contrast to the It's the Same, Now It Sucks! complaints that plagued the 2017-2020 remakes) was able to convince many that the series might not be as bereft of artistic potential as believed in the years since the last widely acclaimed entry, Pete's Dragon.

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