One of the threads for my book project is the fact that in some cases, singles are cast as villains and the married people are cast as the heroes (Michael Douglas’s character had no accountability in Fatal Attraction, for example).I critique the Disney version of 101 Dalmatians for casting Roger and Anita, along with Pongo and Perdita, as the heroes.The single Cruella is the antagonist, hellbent on making a coat out of the titular canines.In fact, the entire premise of the movie is based on the fact that Pongo doesn’t want him or Roger to be bachelors.The pan of Roger’s apartment shows the stereotypical bachelor pad, but it was 1961, so I can be forgiving.
While watching it, I remembered Cruella, which I saw at a movie theater in 2021, my first theater outing in a year and a half; the last one was The Hunt, right before we went on lockdown.And Cruella is likable and badass in this version.
As a child, Estella (Cruella’s birth name) is a badass.She is bullied for her hair color, but she can dish it out pretty hard.And just like in life, she gets in trouble for standing up for herself and her friends.And when her mother dies at the hands of the evil Baroness, Cruella, her alterego, comes out, and she becomes all-powerful.There are two men, Jasper and Horace, but there is no romance involved.
I believe Cruella to be a single at heart, at least while we wait for the film’s anticipated sequel.While I can’t approve of what she does to those poor dogs, she does live her best life and is whole without the need for a man, at least not in the romantic sense.I really do hope she doesn’t “find a man” after losing to Roger and Anita.That would just be counterintuitive.Young people do want less romance in their movies, so we can hope, can’t we?