I know Disney has many projects lined up for the next few years, and I’m excited for most of them. However, there are some that just don’t spark my interest and one of those projects is the upcoming Cruella movie with Emma Stone. Okay, first of all, I always enjoy watching Emma Stone. She’s a magnificent actress, but I never would’ve thought that she could play Cruella. I mean, she’s the exact opposite of the popular Disney villain, so how would it work?
Well, the upcoming 2021 movie is apparently more of an origin story and shows us the early days of Cruella. Like, way before she kidnapped those 101 Dalmatians. Well, a Cruella origins story was never really interesting to me, especially since she was never one of my favorite Disney movie villains. She’s a fashion designer who wants to skin dogs for their fur and make coats. That’s why she, you know, wheres the big furry coats.
I will say, however, Cruella was one of the most memorable parts of the 101 Dalmatians movie. I hardly remember the couple who owned them, I vaguely remember the dogs themselves, but I do love dogs, so naturally, I enjoyed watching them. However, whenever Cruella showed up on screen, she really did steal the show. I mean, woof, her introduction scene where you just see her silhouette was terrifying. She looked like a villain, talked like a villain, and when she got angry, it’s like she turned into a monster. Remember the scene where she was driving and her eyes turned red? Who said Disney can’t be scary?
The bottom line is that when I think of Cruella, I just don’t think of Emma Stone. Now if we want to take a trip back down memory lane, I did like Glenn Close as the villain. She really embodied Cruella physically and made us sympathize with the character, as well as reminding us why she’s a villain. Now that movie came out back in 1996, two years after I was born. I remember seeing it once and it was a while ago, but the performance of Glenn Close really stood out to me. Now that’s an actress who was meant for the role of Cruella.
So the idea of a Cruella origins story doesn’t interest me, but I did check out the trailer. I will admit, it was way better than I thought it would be. As I was watching it, I got a lot of Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie vibes. For starters, it was telling the story of the villain before she became the villain. Based on what the trailer showed us and the dialogue, it implies that Cruella was a bit of a social outcast who was often shunned by society. And when she was at the center of that party and she dropped her drink and the fire somehow transformed her into the more familiar Cruella, I felt that.
It actually reminded me of when Arthur Fleck fully embraced his Joker persona and killed Murray Franklin. The social introvert who was shunned by society finally snaps and decides to take revenge on the society that threw them away. Maybe that won’t be the exact same case for Emma Stone’s Cruella but I certainly got those vibes when I watched the trailer. Emma Stone looked like she was having fun with the role, the music was good, and it sets her up for an intriguing villain origins story. I wasn’t excited about this movie before, but I am now. Releasing a good trailer will do that.
After watching the trailer, I thought about what the movie can do for other characters. Of course, I’m talking about Disney characters who didn’t get their own central stories. To be even more specific, I would like to see more Disney villains get their own solo movies. If Cruella can have hers, I think other Disney villains can have their origin stories told as well.
Now if anyone thinks that’s unnecessary or can’t be done, I suggest you check out the Cruella trailer again. What can be so possibly interesting about a villain who began as a fashion designer? Well, the trailer for the movie makes it interesting. I mean, if she’s willing to skin puppies to make fur coats, she has to be evil. But the movie can go more in depth for her motivations as to why she became so villainous. It’s something that can be done with almost every Disney movie villain.
The question is, which Disney movie villain is worthy of getting their own movie? You ask me, I vote Captain Hook. Peter Pan was never one of my favorite Disney movies, but Captain Hook has always been one of my favorite Disney villains. The guy’s a pirate, has a hook for a left hand, and shot a guy just for singing. His immense fear for the crocodile makes him a more vulnerable and human character, because come on, who can blame him for fearing a crocodile that wants to eat him? In fact, Peter Pan is the one who cut off his hand and fed it to the crocodile. We can understand why Captain Hook is out to kill him.
So how about that Peter Pan and Wendy movie that’s coming to Disney+? I was initially uninterested in that movie until I found out Jude Law was casted as Captain Hook. Seriously, that is some perfect casting right there. Now granted, this new Peter Pan movie can still be terrible, but you can always count on Jude Law delivering a great performance. I have a strong feeling he’s going to kill it as Captain Hook, but I’ve always wanted to see what he was like before he actually got the hook.
Okay, I guess that was already done in that Pan movie. The thing is… that whole movie was just awful. If that was supposed to be pre-Captain Hook, then it did the character no justice. I say a do over. If Jude Law is great, then give him a solo Captain Hook movie. I think seeing how he became a pirate would be a fun origin story to tell. His beginnings from a lowly shipmate and slowly working his way to becoming Captain would tell us everything about the character.
They don’t have to stop at Captain Hook, however. In my opinion, the origins of the villains is more interesting to see than the origins of the heroes. If the Cruella movie sells, then Disney can give us more Disney villain solo movies.
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