
The trailer of Disney's upcoming live-action film, Cruella, has been released, with the movie expected to come out in May.
Oscar awardee Emma Stone takes on the titular role described by Rolling Stone as “one of the most nefarious and stylish villains in the Disney canon.”
Cruella--a prequel to 101 Dalmatians--follows the story of aspiring designer Estella and her rebellious days living in London during the punk rock revolution in the 1970s.
Estella aspires to make a name in the cutthroat fashion scene. She then caught the eye of the stylish yet frightening fashion legend Baroness von Hellman. Their partnership will push Estella to unleash her wicked persona, instantly transforming her into a fashionable but unruly and vindictive Cruella de Vil obsessed with dog pelt.
The film, or at least its trailer, has fans talking and throwing comparisons between Cruella and DC villains the Joker and Harley Quinn.
Cruella follows the trend of giving villain characters their standalone movies in an effort to move away from the superhero formula.
Villain-centric films, likewise, allow studios to tell backstories of these characters to humanize them in some way and show what drove them to shift from good to evil.
“Both the 'Cruella' and 'Joker' trailers have a voice-over of the main character telling a bit about their backstory over footage of them before hell broke loose while also teasing that there's something that's isn't ok with them,” wrote Adrienne Tyler for Screen Rant.
“They also show those who did them wrong at some point and whose actions contributed in one way or another to them becoming villains, such as the Baroness (Emma Thompson) and Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), and have interesting musical choices that match with their journey - 'Cruella' plays 'Who's Sorry Now', and the Joker went with 'Smile', by Charlie Chaplin.”
Social media quickly became the platform for fans to relay their feelings after seeing the movie's trailer.
Cruella is Joker for Adult Disney Women who live for the Met Gala (I'm so stoked).
-- Jenny Jaffe (@jennyjaffe) February 17, 2021
omg the cruella trailer looks so good 🤭 pic.twitter.com/NPnOZSXTRM
-- macu (@indigoblvd) February 17, 2021
CRUELLA straight-up looks like a Kubrick film I'm not even joking. pic.twitter.com/FAKYEfkrMt
-- H. Perry Horton (@hperryhorton) February 17, 2021
Emma Stone's voice is sexy but her British accent is sexier. #Cruella pic.twitter.com/T3nOLpvgUA
-- Eternal Teresa in the Multiverse of Bond (@TeresaFortesLuz) February 18, 2021
There are some, however, who expressed mixed feelings citing Cruella's fondness for harming dogs.
Whatever your views on the Cruella trailer, please realize that there are villains like this in the real world; harming puppies in the worst manners imaginable in the global #DogMeatTrade.
-- Love without Borders (@LoveIsNeededNow) February 17, 2021
PLEASE RETWEET for them.🔁💕🐶 pic.twitter.com/H8PjvueZw2
Cruella De Vil seems super badass until you remember the ultimate goal of her unspeakable evil is getting a new jacket.
-- Andrew Nadeau (@TheAndrewNadeau) February 17, 2021
"Do you think Cruella de Vil effectively utilized girl power by desiring to skin 100 puppies for the sake of fashion?" pic.twitter.com/smHWnRL01P
-- Gillian Quigley (@cutiepuppyfire) February 18, 2021
At the moment, Cruella is assumed to hit theaters only and it's still unclear if it will be available on streaming platform, Disney+ to make up for potential lost cinema revenues due to the pandemic.
Watch the trailer of Cruella here: