‘Cruella’ becomes the underdog in prequel

Following the trends of making villainous back stories, Disney has created the ultimate backstory for their titular fashion loving villain from “101 Dalmatians,” Cruella de Vil.     

The movie begins with the birth of Estella, Cruella’s real name. She is born with a case of albinism, although the movie does not say it outright, which is why her iconic two-tone hair is the way it is. We then watch a montage of Estella’s childhood where we meet another famous character from the original film, Anita Darling. As we continue with Estella’s story, we watch her become an orphan, meet Horace and Jasper also from the original, and see her conquer her dream of becoming a fashion icon during the 1970s.

Since this is a prequel to the original film, there has to be a different villain since the film is pushing us to care for the want to be puppy killer. The Baroness, played by Emma Thompson, fights alongside Emma Stone to try and be the capital fashion influencer in London. Similar to “The Devil Wears Prada,” the film follows two women in fashion, with one who is competing for the affection of the power hungry boss at first until they realize their own potential and take control of their life.

After befriending Artie, a new character, who owns a high end thrift shop, Estella starts to develop the actual persona of Cruella to get back at the Baroness for killing her mother.

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