58 Fun Facts About Cruella

Who plays Estella, the aspiring designer who becomes Cruella, in the 2021 film?

Emma Stone was in talks for the part in January 2016 and outlasted the film's first director, who left nearly three years later over a scheduling clash.

Who plays the Baroness, the couture designer Estella goes to work for in Cruella?

Emma Thompson plays her as a boss who takes nine-minute power naps and plans to pass off Estella's best dress as her own work.

Cruella opened in US cinemas over which holiday weekend in 2021?

Memorial Day had been its slot since 2019, when Disney moved the film from Christmas 2020, so the date was a planned summer launch rather than a pandemic delay.

Which director of I, Tonya made Cruella?

Craig Gillespie stepped in when the first director's schedule clashed, and again told a notorious woman's story from her own side, as he had with Tonya Harding.

Cruella's main action unfolds in London during which movement?

The 1970s punk rock scene is partly an illusion: the soundtrack leans on the Clash's Should I Stay or Should I Go, which was not released until 1982.

Cruella crashes one of the Baroness's galas by arriving in which vehicle?

A garbage truck delivers her dressed like so much rubbish, and the enormous chiffon train of her gown streams from the back of it.

Which London department store gives Estella a job, though only as a janitor?

Liberty keeps her on cleaning duty until she drunkenly redoes a window display overnight, and the Baroness likes it enough to hire her.

Which Yesterday actor plays Jasper in Cruella?

Joel Fry said he did not look back at the cartoon or the 1996 film, and thought instead about Jasper's thin arms and legs.

Which Richard Jewell star plays Cruella's Horace?

Paul Walter Hauser, an American, already knew the director: he had played Tonya Harding's bumbling bodyguard for him in I, Tonya.

The actor playing Horace in Cruella says he borrowed the voice from which earlier performance?

Bob Hoskins in Hook, as the pirate Smee: finding little to borrow from the cartoon Horace, he said he was ripping off that voice instead.

Which Killing Eve actress plays Anita Darling, the gossip columnist, in Cruella?

Kirby Howell-Baptiste's Anita went to school with Estella, recognises her by her hair, and turns Cruella into a celebrity by reporting her stunts.

Who plays John, the Baroness's valet, in Cruella?

Mark Strong's John seems a loyal fixer until he pulls Estella out of a burning building and hands back her mother's necklace.

What does Estella secretly disguise as beads on the dress she designs for the Baroness?

Moth cocoons hatch inside the vault where the collection is locked away, so the Baroness opens it on show night to find the dresses eaten.

Where does Estella stage her own rock-music fashion show?

Regent's Park is where the orphaned Estella had hoped to go with her mother, and where Jasper and Horace found her asleep by the fountain.

In Cruella, what tells Estella at the ball that the Baroness killed her mother?

She whistles for her Dalmatians with a dog whistle, the same signal that sent them charging at Estella's mother on the night she died.

In Cruella, what does the necklace turn out to unlock?

A box holding Estella's birth records: the valet who rescued the necklace from the fire shows her the papers that reveal who she really is.

What is Cruella's big twist about the Baroness?

She is Estella's biological mother, and had ordered her valet to get rid of the newborn so that a child would not get in the way of her career.

How does Estella survive being pushed off the cliff at the charity gala?

A hidden parachute, sewn into her skirt, saves her after the Baroness shoves her off the cliff in full view of the guests, which gets the Baroness arrested.

In Cruella, where does the surname de Vil come from?

The model name of a car: Estella borrows it from a Panther De Ville, respelling De Ville as de Vil for her new identity.

What does Cruella rename the Baroness's mansion once she inherits it?

Hell Hall takes the middle three letters out of the old name, Hellman Hall, and matches her country house in the original novel.

What are the two Dalmatian puppies Cruella sends to Anita and Roger called?

Perdita and Pongo, the parents in the 1961 cartoon, arrive here as gifts, and Roger, now a songwriter, starts writing a song about Cruella.

What is Roger Dearly's job in Cruella before he turns to music?

A lawyer for the Baroness until she fires him for failing to stop Cruella, Roger then takes up songwriting, his trade in the 1961 cartoon.

Which Fonejacker star plays Roger in Cruella?

Kayvan Novak, later the vampire Nandor in What We Do in the Shadows, turns up in a mid-credits scene starting to write a song about Cruella.

Artie, the vintage-shop owner in Cruella's entourage, was modelled on which two glam-rock figures?

David Bowie and Marc Bolan: the actor said Bolan was given as a reference at his audition, and Artie's look follows Bowie's Ziggy Stardust years.

Which Succession composer wrote the score for Cruella?

Nicholas Britell also co-wrote the film's original song, a new tune on a soundtrack built mostly from vintage chart hits.

Which act performs "Call Me Cruella", the original song over the end credits?

Florence and the Machine's track was co-written by the film's own composer, and Disney previewed it in a trailer more than two weeks before release.

Which Stones hit ends Cruella?

Sympathy for the Devil is the on-the-nose pick for a heroine newly named de Vil; one critic said the film could have been titled Sympathy for the de Vil.

What colour is the dress Cruella unveils at the Baroness's Black and White Ball?

Red was chosen as the most standout colour for a black and white ball, and in the story the dress is cut down from one of the Baroness's own old designs.

Which Academy Award did Cruella win?

Best Costume Design suited a film whose heroine fights her duel with dresses, crashing gala after gala in outfits built to upstage her rival.

Who designed the costumes for Cruella?

Jenny Beavan gave the heroine looks in the spirit of Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, having already won Oscars for A Room with a View and Mad Max: Fury Road.

On release day Cruella could also be streamed on Disney+ through which paid feature?

Premier Access charged about $30 on top of a subscription to watch at home from day one; three months later the film joined the regular library at no extra cost.

Which film was the first live-action Disney remake to be rated PG-13, a year before Cruella?

Mulan earned its PG-13 for sequences of violence; Cruella followed for some violence and thematic elements, when most such remakes had been rated PG.

Where did Cruella hold its world premiere in May 2021?

El Capitan Theatre, Los Angeles, hosted a scaled-down night: social distancing applied and no press was allowed inside, though there was a proper red carpet.

Which actress, the Cruella of Disney's 1996 film, was an executive producer on the 2021 one?

Glenn Close signed on as an executive producer when the film was announced in 2013, and both of its leads later said they would welcome her in a sequel.

Which Broadway director of Beetlejuice was first hired to make Cruella, then left over scheduling?

Alex Timbers was tied up bringing Beetlejuice and then the Moulin Rouge musical to Broadway when Disney moved the shoot forward, so he had to step aside.

Why does Cruella never light a cigarette in the 2021 film, unlike her earlier incarnations?

Disney bans smoking in its films, a rule dating from 2007, to the regret of its star: she said she had been excited to use the green plume of smoke.

In Disney's 1961 film, what surname do Cruella's henchmen Jasper and Horace share?

Badun is the name of the two brothers Cruella hires to snatch the puppies from the Radcliffes, as the novel's Dearlys were renamed for the film.

Cruella opened second at the US box office behind which film?

A Quiet Place Part II took about $57 million that weekend playing only in cinemas, roughly double the $27 million of Cruella, which could also be rented at home.

In Cruella, how do young Estella, Jasper and Horace support themselves?

Petty thieves: the two boys take in the orphaned Estella, who dyes her two-tone hair so that she is harder to recognise on their jobs.

Cruella's two leads backed the idea of a sequel modelled on which film, half sequel and half prequel?

The Godfather Part II intercuts a young father's rise with his son's reign; both leads loved that model, and Disney began developing a sequel weeks later.

Cruella's co-writer Tony McNamara earned an Oscar nomination for which earlier period comedy?

The Favourite gave Cruella's leading lady an earlier turn as a schemer on the rise; its co-writer shares the final screenplay credit here with Dana Fox.

Which author created Cruella de Vil?

Dodie Smith kept Dalmatians herself, and is said to have had the idea when a friend looked at them and remarked that they would make a lovely fur coat.

Who played the henchman Jasper in Disney's 1996 live-action 101 Dalmatians?

Hugh Laurie's Jasper and Mark Williams's Horace are the bumbling pair hired to snatch the puppies; the 2021 film recasts the two as Estella's childhood allies.

Who voiced Cruella in Disney's 1961 animated One Hundred and One Dalmatians?

Betty Lou Gerson, the narrator of Disney's Cinderella, exaggerated her own voice for the part, and the animator gave the character her high cheekbones too.

Which of Disney's Nine Old Men animated Cruella in the 1961 film?

Marc Davis left animation after the 1961 film to design Disneyland attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.

The animated Cruella's voice was taken for an imitation of which flamboyant actress?

Tallulah Bankhead and the voice actress both grew up in Alabama; the latter said each wore a put-on English accent over a Southern one, and that she never set out to imitate her.

Which Disney villain ranks highest, above Cruella, on AFI's list of great screen villains?

The Evil Queen of Snow White stands 10th, and even Man, the hunter in Bambi, places 20th, well above Cruella at 39th.

In the original novel, why was the young Cruella expelled from school?

Drinking ink got her expelled from the school she shared with Mrs Dearly, who admits Cruella frightened her; the 2021 film has young Estella expelled as well.

In the original novel, what is the occupation of Cruella's meek husband?

A furrier, whom other characters say she married for his trade: he keeps his whole stock at home so that she can wear whichever furs she likes.

The surname de Vil echoes De Ville, an alias used by the title character of which Victorian novel?

Dracula buys a house in Piccadilly under the name Count de Ville, an alias that surfaces in a letter from the estate agents to Lord Godalming.

In 102 Dalmatians, who is Cruella's French accomplice?

Jean Pierre Le Pelt, a French designer played by Gérard Depardieu, plans the new coat with her; both are arrested after the puppies trick Cruella into being baked in a cake.

Who played Cruella in the TV series Once Upon a Time?

Victoria Smurfit's version is a witch who can control animals, teams up with Maleficent and Ursula, and is finally killed by the show's heroine.

In the Disney Channel movie Descendants, what is the name of Cruella's teenage son?

Carlos, played by Cameron Boyce, starts out terrified of dogs, as his mother's son might be, and gets over it by befriending the school's dog, Dude.

In French-language versions, Cruella's surname becomes what?

d'Enfer is French for 'infernal', keeping the devilish joke of the English name; Italian versions chose a demon instead, calling her Crudelia De Mon.

In the novel, all of Cruella's food is strangely coloured and tastes strongly of what?

Pepper flavours the whole menu when the Dearlys come to dinner: purple soup, green fish, pale blue meat and black ice cream.

Which actress, Missy in Doctor Who, voices Cruella in the animated series 101 Dalmatian Street?

Michelle Gomez voices her in a series set almost sixty years after the 1961 film, in which her great-nephew Hunter hunts the dogs first and then calls her in.

At which fan convention in August 2019 did Disney unveil the first look at its new Cruella?

D23 Expo, Disney's own fan convention, saw the first image, and the studio let slip there that filming in England was already under way.

Aline Brosh McKenna, Cruella's first writer, had earlier scripted which film about a tyrannical boss?

The Devil Wears Prada, another tale of a young assistant and a fearsome boss; she keeps a story credit on Cruella, though later writers reworked the script.