10 Reasons Cruella de Vil is Such a Fabulous Villain
Everyone knows Cruella de Vil. She is one in the great menagerie of unforgettable villains. Today I decided to give her some appreciation! (I swear I'm not a villain myself...)
Let's dive right in, shall we?
1. Obsession: Good villains always have something driving them. In Cruella's case, puppy skins for a new fur coat. She "worships furs." That's her drive as well as her weakness, and finally it's something other than "revenge" or "tragic past."
2. Great evil quirks: I've got to admit it, I love evil quirks in villains. If your heroes are going to have quirks, why not give your villains some as well? Cruella carries a cigarette everywhere, and repeatedly taps the ashes into everything from a cup of tea to a cupcake, displaying a quirk as well as contempt, and it worked fabulously.
3. Clever. As fun as stupid villains are (I think this is why we get Jasper and Horace), clever ones have a far better chance of success. She offers to pay for and buy all the puppies before she even results to theft. And once the puppies are stolen, she even goes as far as to call and express her condolences to Roger and Anita (even though Roger doesn't believe her at all).
4. Style: Think about Cruella. Her hot red BMC car, the gloves, the fancy cigarette. Just because she's a villain doesn't give her an excuse to be filthy. I mean, in all honesty, her green eyeliner goes a little weird with her palid hue and I'm not fond of her half and half hair dye, but she obviously thinks she is very stylish. (Don't get me wrong, gross villains are awesome too); Cruella is all about style, unusual as her style may be.
5. No Stalling. Cruella's not a staller. Meaning, she goes after what she wants as soon as she can. She doesn't wait around giving the heroes multiple chances to exploit her. After she gets her hands on the puppies, there's no gloating, no grandiose speeches, no explaining what her plan is. She just chases down whatever she wants.
6. Confidence. Cruella is clearly someone who has lots of confidence in her schemes, and that's quite an important element for villains (depending on what type of villain you want to write, of course). We get several shots of her obvious contempt which accompanies her confidence. She laughs over the paper with the lost puppies notice. Also, she blames all her failings on her underlings, Jasper and Horace, meaning she clearly thinks of herself as very capable, and has a significant amount of confidence in her plans.
7. Personality. If there is one thing Cruella de Vil is NOT, that's a grey villain. You have to hand it to her: for a villain, yes, she definitely has some pop. The way she talks ( e.x. : Anita: "How are you?" Cruella: "Miserable darling, perfectly wretched!")
8. Creepy--enough. Remember when you were little and watched the 1961 101 Dalmations Disney movie? Was any one else creeped out a little at the climax where Cruella's eyes turn into blazing, striped orange sockets just above her skeletal cheekbones? Or at the beginning when she first comes to claim the puppies on that rainy night where she is silhouetted outside the window? Roger's song proves her creepiness. But she's not so creepy as to be unbelievable or horrifying. It still remains a kid's film.
9. Capability. No one has ever said Cruella wasn't a capable villain. Jasper and Horace? Yeah, absolutely. They are the hilarious, slapstick, dumb villains we all love. But Cruella is the capable and conniving. Think about it: somehow Cruella managed to get her hands on 84 other dalmatian puppies aside from Perdita and Pongo's 15. You have to be capable to puppy-nap 99 specifically dalmatian puppies in spite of your less-than capable henchman.
10. Un-exploited back story. Remember the old, collapsing mansion that she's hiding her
stolen puppies in? Colonel, the old somewhat-deaf sheepdog, says "Ah, yes. That's the ole de Vil place." AM I THE ONLY ONE WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED?? So much of that is shrouded in mystery. Obviously a wealthy, influential family. WHAT HAPPENED THERE? We hear VERY little about this and it adds a creepy mystery to the otherwise cruel and flashy dog-fur fanatic.
Well, there you have it, folks! 10 Reasons why Cruella de Vil is Such a Fabulous Villain.
Let's Chat!
1. In your opinion, what is the creepiest animated Disney villain?
2. What is the most fabulous villain you've ever encountered?
3. What are Cruella's weak points as a villain?
Let's dive right in, shall we?
1. Obsession: Good villains always have something driving them. In Cruella's case, puppy skins for a new fur coat. She "worships furs." That's her drive as well as her weakness, and finally it's something other than "revenge" or "tragic past."
2. Great evil quirks: I've got to admit it, I love evil quirks in villains. If your heroes are going to have quirks, why not give your villains some as well? Cruella carries a cigarette everywhere, and repeatedly taps the ashes into everything from a cup of tea to a cupcake, displaying a quirk as well as contempt, and it worked fabulously.
3. Clever. As fun as stupid villains are (I think this is why we get Jasper and Horace), clever ones have a far better chance of success. She offers to pay for and buy all the puppies before she even results to theft. And once the puppies are stolen, she even goes as far as to call and express her condolences to Roger and Anita (even though Roger doesn't believe her at all).
4. Style: Think about Cruella. Her hot red BMC car, the gloves, the fancy cigarette. Just because she's a villain doesn't give her an excuse to be filthy. I mean, in all honesty, her green eyeliner goes a little weird with her palid hue and I'm not fond of her half and half hair dye, but she obviously thinks she is very stylish. (Don't get me wrong, gross villains are awesome too); Cruella is all about style, unusual as her style may be.
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| Google result image. 101 Dalmations,1961 |
5. No Stalling. Cruella's not a staller. Meaning, she goes after what she wants as soon as she can. She doesn't wait around giving the heroes multiple chances to exploit her. After she gets her hands on the puppies, there's no gloating, no grandiose speeches, no explaining what her plan is. She just chases down whatever she wants.
6. Confidence. Cruella is clearly someone who has lots of confidence in her schemes, and that's quite an important element for villains (depending on what type of villain you want to write, of course). We get several shots of her obvious contempt which accompanies her confidence. She laughs over the paper with the lost puppies notice. Also, she blames all her failings on her underlings, Jasper and Horace, meaning she clearly thinks of herself as very capable, and has a significant amount of confidence in her plans.
7. Personality. If there is one thing Cruella de Vil is NOT, that's a grey villain. You have to hand it to her: for a villain, yes, she definitely has some pop. The way she talks ( e.x. : Anita: "How are you?" Cruella: "Miserable darling, perfectly wretched!")
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| Google search result |
8. Creepy--enough. Remember when you were little and watched the 1961 101 Dalmations Disney movie? Was any one else creeped out a little at the climax where Cruella's eyes turn into blazing, striped orange sockets just above her skeletal cheekbones? Or at the beginning when she first comes to claim the puppies on that rainy night where she is silhouetted outside the window? Roger's song proves her creepiness. But she's not so creepy as to be unbelievable or horrifying. It still remains a kid's film.
9. Capability. No one has ever said Cruella wasn't a capable villain. Jasper and Horace? Yeah, absolutely. They are the hilarious, slapstick, dumb villains we all love. But Cruella is the capable and conniving. Think about it: somehow Cruella managed to get her hands on 84 other dalmatian puppies aside from Perdita and Pongo's 15. You have to be capable to puppy-nap 99 specifically dalmatian puppies in spite of your less-than capable henchman.
10. Un-exploited back story. Remember the old, collapsing mansion that she's hiding her
stolen puppies in? Colonel, the old somewhat-deaf sheepdog, says "Ah, yes. That's the ole de Vil place." AM I THE ONLY ONE WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED?? So much of that is shrouded in mystery. Obviously a wealthy, influential family. WHAT HAPPENED THERE? We hear VERY little about this and it adds a creepy mystery to the otherwise cruel and flashy dog-fur fanatic.
Well, there you have it, folks! 10 Reasons why Cruella de Vil is Such a Fabulous Villain.
Let's Chat!
1. In your opinion, what is the creepiest animated Disney villain?
2. What is the most fabulous villain you've ever encountered?
3. What are Cruella's weak points as a villain?
I believe Mother Gothel from Tangled and Hans from Frozen are villains that are creepily realistic to our time period. We hear stories of people using other people for their looks or abilities or innocence and it is all too familiar with the world today. Hans represents the boys to jump at the opportunity when a naive girl is looking for true love. The girl is left harmed and broken in the end when the boy leaves them, just as Hans betrayed Anna and left her to die in the cold chamber.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, Loki from Marvel is one of the most fabulous villains I've ever encountered because he is not as easily disposed of as other Marvel villains usually are. Loki has his fair share of weaknesses and he has strengths and he even is humorous. He has reasons to being a villain and is ambitious and deceiving.
Cruella's weak points involve being so ambitious to the point she would drive like a mad woman, risking her life to chase down puppies. She also has no compassion and could care less about stealing.