“Cruella” is a new live-action film and an origin story for the famous villain that was introduced in the classic “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” film.
The film made its debut in cinemas and o Disney+ this Friday. So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about it.
- Cruella is a 2021 American crime comedy film
- The title is stylized onscreen as Cruella de Vil
- The film is based on the character Cruella de Vil from Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians and Walt Disney’s 1961 animated film adaptation
- The film is directed by Craig Gillespie
- With a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara
- From a story by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis
- It is the third live-action adaptation in the 101 Dalmatians franchise
- Emma Stone stars as the title character
- With Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Mark Strong in supporting roles
- Set in London during the punk rock movement of the 1970s
- The film revolves around Estella, an aspiring fashion designer, explores the path that will lead her to become a notorious up and coming fashion designer known as Cruella de Vil
- Walt Disney Pictures announced the film’s development in 2013, with Andrew Gunn as producer
- Stone was cast in 2016 and also serves as an executive producer on the film
- Alongside Glenn Close, who portrayed Cruella in the previous live-action adaptations, 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians (2000)
- Principal photography took place from August and November 2019 in England
- Cruella premiered in Los Angeles on May 18, 2021
- The film had the first major red carpet event since the COVID-19 pandemic began
- It was released in the United States theatrically and simultaneously available on Disney+ with Premier Access on May 28
- The film received praise from critics for Gillespie’s direction, the performances (particularly Stone, Thompson, and Hauser), costume design, and soundtrack
- It drew criticism for its inconsistent screenplay
- A live-action Cruella de Vil film, based upon the character in Disney’s 101 Dalmatians franchise, was announced in 2013
- Andrew Gunn was hired to produce the film, with Glenn Close (who previously played the character in the previous 1996 live-action adaptation 101 Dalmatians and its sequel 102 Dalmatians) serving as executive producer and Kelly Marcel revising the script originally written by Aline Brosh McKenna
- In January 2016, Emma Stone was cast in the titular role of Cruella de Vil
- Costume designer Jenny Beavan, later stated that her role on the film was to help Stone appear as a younger 1970s portrayal of Close’s 1990s role in 101 Dalmatians
- Confirming the shared continuity between the films
- In August 2016, Jez Butterworth was hired to rewrite the previous draft of the screenplay
- In November 2016, it was reported that Disney had hired Alex Timbers to direct the live-action adaptation, with Marc Platt joining the film as a producer
- However, in December 2018, it was revealed that Timbers had left the film due to scheduling conflicts and Craig Gillespie would instead direct the film
- In May 2019, Emma Thompson joined the cast as the Baroness, described as “an antagonist to Cruella who’s thought to be pivotal in her transformation to the villain we know today”
- Nicole Kidman was considered to be the top choice and Charlize Theron, Julianne Moore, and Demi Moore were also in consideration for the role
- While Dev Patel was considered for the role of Roger Dearly
- The same month, Tony McNamara and Dana Fox were hired to write the recent version of the screenplay
- Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser were added in the following months as Jasper and Horace
- In August 2019, during the D23 Expo, it was revealed that principal photography for Cruella had already begun
- The first official image from the film featuring Stone as Cruella de Vil with three adult dalmatians on a leash, Hauser as Horace and Fry as Jasper was also unveiled during the event
- In September 2019, Mark Strong, Emily Beecham and Kirby Howell-Baptiste were added to the cast
- Filming wrapped in November 2019
- On March 31, 2021, it was announced that Nicholas Britell was hired to compose the film’s score
- The score album was released on May 21, 2021 by Walt Disney Records
- A separate soundtrack album for the film was released on the same day
- Both albums feature “Call Me Cruella”, an original song performed by Florence and the Machine, which will appear in the end credits of the film
- The soundtrack album also includes songs, such as Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”, Supertramp’s “Bloody Well Right”, Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy”, Blondie’s “One Way or Another”, the Doors’s “Five to One”, Electric Light Orchestra’s “Livin’ Thing”, and the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
- Cruella was originally scheduled to be theatrically released on December 23, 2020, but it was delayed to May 28, 2021 as filming began
- The film received a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association, “for some violence and thematic elements”
- Making it the second live-action remake/spin-off of a Disney animated film to receive the rating, following Mulan
- On March 23, 2021, it was announced that the film will be released simultaneously on Disney+ with Premier Access in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Tickets for the theatrical screenings went on sale on May 14, 2021
- It was announced that the film will also be screened in Dolby Cinema in select territories
- It was first screened for critics the same day
- In the United States and Canada, Cruella was released alongside A Quiet Place Part II, and is projected to gross $17–23 million from 3,800 theaters in its opening weekend
- And around $30 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame
- It made $1.4 million from Thursday night previews
- On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73%
- Based on 245 reviews
- With an average rating of 6.60/10
- The website’s critics consensus reads, “Cruella can’t quite answer the question of why its title character needed an origin story, but this dazzling visual feast is awfully fun to watch whenever its leading ladies lock horns”
- On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100
- Based on 53 critics
- Indicating “average reviews”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A” on an A+ to F scale
