The Evolution of Cruella de Vil
The Evolution of Cruella de Vil
The Evolution of Mean Girls
Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re discussing the Evolution of Cruella de Vil. Cruella de Vil will take center stage in her upcoming live-action spin-off/origin story, but it’s been a long trip down the runway for this devilish character. For this video, we’ll be looking at Cruella’s evolution throughout literature, film, and television, exploring how the character has changed and what elements have remained the same. Are you looking forward to “Cruella?” Let us know in the comments! There comes a time in every person’s life when they suddenly realize, “oh, her name is literally cruel devil!” Cruella isn’t the first character to possess the surname de Vil. In Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” “Count De Ville” is an alias that the titular vampire uses to purchase real estate across London. We suppose it’s a more creative alias than “Alucard” or “Dr. Acula.” Although Cruella isn’t a vampire, she does share a fair deal in common with Dracula. Both are theatrical creatures, both wear black and white, and both are fine with having a little blood on their hands. Cruella and Dracula even have similar tastes in architecture. Hell Hall certainly wouldn’t look out of place in a Universal monster movie. While we all associate Dracula with bats, he also transforms into a dog in the original novel. Cruella might not be able to shapeshift, but she does wish to drape herself in a fur coat made from Dalmations. This has been Cruella’s motivation since she was first introduced in Dodie Smith’s 1956 book, “The Hundred and One Dalmatians.” Smith established Cruella as a London heiress who’s obsessed with fur, so much so that she married a furrier solely due to his occupation. Being the last of the de Vils, Cruella kept her maiden name and made her meek husband adopt her surname. Adding to her hellish persona, Cruella prefers extreme temperatures and a bizarre amount of pepper on her food. Cruella also owns a white Persian cat, although she treats her more like a possession than a pet. She even drowns her cat’s kittens, failing to see their worth. Cruella’s far more interested in dogs, Dalmatians specifically. Once the Dearly family’s Dalmations get their spots, Cruella adds them to her collection of kidnapped puppies, which reaches the upper 90s. Fortunately, the dogs escape before Cruella can turn them into fur coats. Aided by Cruella’s cat, the Dalmations destroy Cruella’s furs that haven’t been paid off, sending the de Vils into a financial nightmare. Cruella returns in Smith’s 1967’s follow-up, “The Starlight Barking,” although she’s moved on from fur to metallic plastics. As such, her role is significantly reduced. Between Smith’s two books, Cruella made her film debut in Disney’s 1961 animated classic, “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.” For many mainstream audiences, this was their introduction to the villainess. Disney’s interpretation of Cruella remains mostly faithful to her literary counterpart’s appearance, personality, and motivation. Disney ditched a few details, however, like Cruella’s husband, her love of heat, and her cat, although we guess Sgt. Tibbs filled that role. Cruella was voiced by “Cinderella” narrator Betty Lou Gerson, who inspired animator Marc Davis to give the character distinctive cheekbones. Elements of Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, and Tallulah Bankhead can be found in Cruella as well. Character actress Mary Wickes served as Cruella’s reference model – almost thirty-five years before voicing Laverne in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Cruella was such a scene-stealer that Disney almost brought her back as the villainess in 1977’s “The Rescuers.” Writer Ken Anderson even drew some concept art with Cruella wearing alligator skins. However, animators like Ollie Johnston didn’t like the idea of continuing Cruella’s story in a sequel. Disney ultimately filled the villain role with Madame Medusa, who shares Cruella’s over-the-top demeanor, reckless driving skills, and willingness to harm the innocent. Of course, Cruella would eventually return in the straight-to-video sequel, “Patch’s London Adventure,” which sees the fashionista channel her canine craving into art. It isn’t long until Cruella reverts back to her old schemes, however. Cruella also served as the main antagonist in “101 Dalmatians: The Series.” The show’s Christmas special is arguably the first attempt to give Cruella a sympathetic backstory, explaining that she always wanted a Dalmatian growing up. Her parents were never around to celebrate Christmas, though, sending her clothes instead. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, Cruella has a change of heart in time for Christmas, but things soon return to the status quo. Cruella made guest appearances in “House of Mouse” and “101 Dalmatian Street,” the latter of which takes place six decades after the 1961 film. This time, Cruella attempts to capture the descendants of the Dalmations with help from her great-nephew, Hunter de Vil. Yeah, it gets weird. Cruella made the leap to live-action in Disney’s 1996 adaptation with Glenn Close bringing the character to life. Close was perhaps even more animated than her predecessor, earning a Golden Globe nomination for her deliciously demented performance. Close returned in “102 Dalmations,” which briefly sees Cruella reform before her puppy-napping habits kick back in. In the TV series “Once Upon a Time,” Cruella adds parricide to her list of crimes before temporarily taking over the Underworld. Fitting, seeing how her name is de Vil! Cruella also popped up among her fellow banished baddies in “Descendants” where she has a son named Carlos. Who’s Carlos’ father? We don’t know, but our money’s on Horace or Jasper. Throughout her 65 years in media, Cruella has always been a nefarious character. [19] “I was really determined that Cruella be as bad as possible,” Close stated in a 1996 interview. “I think Cruella basically has no redeeming human characteristics. Except she does have a sense of humor, albeit wicked.” What direction will Emma Stone’s Cruella take, though? In many live-action remakes of their animated classics, Disney has either fleshed out their villains or given them the spotlight. An example of the former is 2015’s “Cinderella,” which portrayed Lady Tremaine as a more nuanced villain who’s been torn apart by heartbreak and wants a better life for her daughters. 2014’s “Maleficent,” meanwhile, turned the Mistress of Evil into a misunderstood protagonist, doing for “Sleeping Beauty” what “Wicked” did for “The Wizard of Oz.” We hope this new film doesn’t try to humanize Cruella too much, however. After all, she wants to skin puppies! It’s hard to maintain that essential element and expect us to sympathize with the character. Numerous outlets have compared the trailers to “Joker.” While Disney obviously won’t go for a hard R, we can imagine Emma Stone’s Cruella working as an Arthur Fleck-like character: a social reject whose actions aren’t justified, but whom circumstances and society drove to madness. The footage seen so far is also reminiscent of “The Devil Wears Prada,” that is if Anne Hathaway’s character went down a dark path. “The de Vil Wears Puppies,” if you will. Emma Thompson’s Baroness von Hellman will be “an antagonist to Cruella who’s thought to be pivotal in her transformation to the villain we know today.” Hopefully, this means Cruella won’t be outright redeemed in the end. In any case, Cruella will always be remembered as one of cinema’s most iconic villains, not to mention one of Disney’s premiere baddies.The American Film Institute even ranked Cruella #39 on their 100 Greatest Heroes & Villains list, putting her in the same league as The Evil Queen from “Snow White,” Man from “Bambi,” and even Count Dracula. Evil doesn’t look good on everyone, but Cruella has always pulled it off flawlessly.
