SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
Academy Award ® winner Emma Stone (“La La Land”) stars in Disney’s “Cruella,” an all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of the cinemas most notorious – and notoriously fashionable – villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil. “Cruella,” which is set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, follows a young grifter named Estella, a clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute, played by two-time Oscar ® winner Emma Thompson (“Howards End,” “Sense & Sensibility”). But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable, and revenge-bent Cruella.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Cruella Video Summary
Cruella Plot Summary and Synopsis
The movie starts with a birth scene of Estella. Adult Estella acts as an offscreen narrator as the story pushes forward.
She was born with black and white hair, and everyone despised her except for her mother Catherine. She tries to teach her how to design clothing patterns, but Estella tells her samples are ugly. Catherine says this is cruel, and she is Estella, not Cruella.
A bit later Catherine asks Estella to get rid of Cruella inside her, and young Estella (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) agrees.
Her mother Catherine was the only one who saw potential in her due to her creativity and her affinity for dogs, especially a stray she picked up and named Buddy. Due to her rebellious nature, the school director tried to expel Estella, but Catherine pulls her from school first. They move to London.
Catherine attends a party hosted by Baroness von Hellman and tells Estella to stay in the car. However, Estella ends up chasing Buddy and runs afoul of the Baroness’ ferocious Dalmatians. As she runs outside, she sees Catherine speaking to the Baroness.
The entire dialog is not heard, but we hear Catherine telling Baroness that she will keep her mouth shut and that Baroness will never see again. The Dalmatians end up running to Catherine and making her fall off a cliff to her death. Believing that she killed her mother, Estella takes Buddy and flees into the city. Baroness insists that Catherine was threatening her and demanded money.
Estella loses her mother’s necklace on the run – Catherine gave it to her just before going to Baroness. Offscreen Estella mentions that she died because of it.
The next morning Estella wakes up by the fountain and meets two street urchins Jasper (Ziggy Gardner) and Horace (Joseph MacDonald), as well as their one-eyed dog Wink.
Jasper invites her to stay with them in the abandoned warehouse they occupied, and Horace reluctantly agrees. Estella considers herself a fugitive and dyes her hair red.
Ten years later, Estella (Emma Stone), Jasper (Joel Fry), and Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) make a living as thieves and pickpockets to make ends meet while Estella continues making designs for extravagant clothing.
For her birthday, Jasper and Horace get her an entry-level job as a janitor for a Liberty fashion store. Her manager continues to belittle her as she tries to make suggestions that are swiftly ignored. While staying late one night, an inebriated Estella ‘fixes’ one of the windows displays which is seen by the Baroness in the morning. Impressed, she hires Estella to join her elite team of clothing designers.
To expand her creativity, Estella also befriends the owner of a vintage clothing store named Artie who admires her taste in fashion. Estella rises through the ranks and acts as a supervisor of sorts for the Baroness.
One day she sees her mother’s necklace worn by the Baroness and hears her claims that it was previously stolen from her. Estella decides to steal it and resorts to get Jasper and Horace to help her.
Estella, with her natural hair color, and adopting the guise of ‘Cruella’, crashes the Baroness’ party while Jasper and Horace try to steal the necklace out of the safe.
However, the Baroness is wearing it and Jasper releases rats to distract the party-goers. As the Baroness uses a dog whistle to command her Dalmatians, Estella realizes that she used the same whistle to direct her dogs to kill Catherine.
One of the Dalmatians ends up swallowing the necklace as Estella, Jasper, and Horace flee in a stolen Panther de Ville. Now with a proper motive for revenge, Estella continues to taunt the Baroness by appearing at her lavish gatherings in over-the-top and stylish outfits and having her childhood friend Anita Darling use her journalistic position to spread her publicity.
Jasper and Horace begin to feel abused by ‘Cruella’, but continue to assist her.
The Baroness, growing more and more angered at Cruella, fires her lawyer Roger who returns to his side work as a pianist.
Estella continues her taunting by kidnapping the Baroness’ Dalmatians and waiting until one of them gives up the necklace.
Estella’s schemes get more daring as she has Artie create more outfits and together put on a show in the Regent’s Park. The Baroness is enraged as she thinks that Estella killed her dogs and made her coat out of them. She figures out that Cruella is Estella, finds her hideout, and captures Jasper and Horace.
It is hinted during their conversation that Catherine was not the first person to be murdered by the Baroness. Estella promises the Baroness to kill her.
Estella is tied up as the Baroness burns the place to the ground while Jasper and Horace are arrested and blamed for her death. However, Estella is rescued by John (Mark Strong), the Baroness’ valet, who had managed to secure the necklace which is a key to a box containing Estella’s birth records.
It is revealed that Estella is the Baroness’ daughter. The Baron was a sweet old guy, while The Baroness was a true narcissist. She was so displeased with her pregnancy that she asked John to get rid of her baby daughter. John instead gave the baby to Catherine, a Baroness’ maid, and she raised Estella in secret. The Baroness said the child had died and the Baron died of grief believing it.
Angered over being lied to, Estella eventually makes peace with the truth. She goes to the fountain she used as a place to speak to her mother Catherine. She talks to herself explaining Catherine’s motives behind not wanting Estella to be Cruella – she didn’t want her to become the psycho as is her biological mother.
Estella finally adopts the name Cruella and announces her intent to avenge Catherine by defeating the Baroness.
Cruella sets up an operation to get Jasper and Horace out of the police. She crushes into the police station with a garbage truck while Wink delivers the picklock. Cruella drives away from the police by throwing garbage at the police cars. Jasper and Horace go out of the police station dressed as police officers.
She apologizes for not giving them credit and tells them that the Baroness is her birth mother. She also recruits Artie and starts the one final scheme.
They trick the Baroness’ guests into wearing Cruella wigs and break into her party where Cruella, adopting her Estella appearance for one final time, has the Baroness come out to see her.
The Baroness orders her dogs to get Cruella, but she orders them to sit instead, and they do.
Cruella reveals that she knows everything.
The Baroness feigns being happy to reunite with her and approaches for a hug. John, Artie, Jasper, and Horace have the guests go outside where they witness the Baroness shoving Estella off the landing and over the cliff. The police arrive after Cruella’s phone call, come, and arrest the Baroness. Cruella uses a parachute as she fell and returns to witness the Baroness being taken away.
Cruella with Jasper and Horace stays by the grave with Estella’s name on it. Cruella says that Estella died and was a poor thing whose funeral no one attended. Before her death, Estella gave all her fortune to her friend Cruella de Vil.
Now having adopted the full name of Cruella de Vil, she acquires Hellman Hall (shortening it to Hell Hall) and takes her rightful place as its heir.
Cruella Ending
The movie ends with Cruella, Jasper, Horace, and Artie entering the Baroness’ mansion. John fires up the fireplace welcoming them.
Horace notices that one of the Dalmatians, Genghis, put on a bit of weight. Jasper asks Cruella what she is going to do now, and she answers that she has a few ideas.
Cruella Mid-Credits Scene
Cruella gifts two Dalmatian puppies (children of Genghis) named Pongo and Perdita to Roger and Anita, respectively. Admiring Cruella’s name, Roger begins composing the song ‘Cruella de Vil’ as a tribute to her.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Ending Explained
The protagonist finishes at the same spot the classic ‘101 Dalmatians’ starts. It is also explained how did Roger and Anita get their Dalmatians. It is revealed that it was Cruella’s gift that set up their future meeting and marriage. The story makes sense, however, it is not clear how did a person who loves animals so much could become someone ready to skin them on the spot. It might do something with her mental health as, obviously, such a family drama and heredity do not go away so simply.
Cooncel Rating
The movie has everything you might expect from a Disney movie – a villain painted with only black colors, cute animals, and even a song, albeit only one (and it plays during the credits). While it is not a fairy tale like the majority of Disney works, it is no way Todd Phillips’s Joker either.
Source: © Cooncel.com.