

Anita actually causes Cruella’s obsession with dalmatians by designing a spotted coat. Instead of being old friends, Cruella is Anita’s boss at House of de Vil, where Anita works as a fashion designer. This version expands upon the 1961 animated film, but still covers the same time period, further building out the human characters by adding complexity to the relationships between Anita, played by Joely Richardson, and Cruella. If you enjoyed Stone’s portrayal of a young Cruella, you need to check out Glenn Close’s depiction from the 1996 live-action 101 Dalmatians. A mix of 101 Dalmatians adaptations, devilish characters, high-fashion comedies, and unexpected origin stories for some of our favorite Disney characters, here are 7 movies like Cruella you should watch next. RELATED: Dalmatians, Beware: 'Cruella 2' Is in Early DevelopmentĪll that world-building might leave you wanting more, so if you loved Cruella, you need to check out the movies below. It is a story about the pursuit of revenge that poisons her soul, and it adds depth to the character that we never got in the original story. She is nicknamed Cruella by her mother, who notices her cruel streak, and that's before her life is derailed by tragedy. Taking us back to her childhood, Cruella focuses on young Estella's desire to become a fashion designer, but it doesn't take long for her dark side to show up. The story is a prequel to Disney's 1961 animated classic One Hundred and One Dalmatians, in which Cruella infamously kidnapped puppies in an attempt to make coats out of them. This kind of storytelling has become more prevalent in both books and movies in recent years, and with Cruella, Disney introduced us to Emma Stone's take on the iconic character and left us craving more. The reasoning behind how someone became a villain can be even more captivating than the evil things they do. As get older, we begin to question the Disney stories we watched as kids. They add a layer of intrigue and humanity to characters that might otherwise be one-dimensional bad guys. Origin stories for villains have a way of captivating our imagination. Disney's latest live-action reimagining, Cruella, gives us delicious insight into how she came to be so evil, with some unexpected twists!


After all, her name is basically "Cruel Devil" with some signature style. Cruella has long been considered one of the most wicked Disney villains of all time.
