Warning: This story includes spoilers for Cruella.
Screen Rant's beloved Pitch Meeting series takes on Disney's latest live-action venture, Cruella. Following hit live-action reimaginings like Aladdin and The Lion King, the Mouse House has once again delved into its extensive vault of IP. This time, 101 Dalmatians villain Cruella de Vil gets the spotlight, with Oscar winner Emma Stone donning the iconic black-and-white hairdo. Cruella debuted in theaters and on Disney+ via Premier Access this past weekend, helping to signal a return to relative normalcy for the entertainment industry following a year of major releases being delayed.
Cruella begins when its titular villainess was merely named Estella. Following a childhood tragedy, Estella makes her way to London and joins up with a pair of fellow street urchins. Years later, she takes a position at a fashion house with an eye on becoming a famous designer. However, this puts her in conflict with the icy Baroness (Emma Thompson), thus igniting a vicious rivalry between the two. Directed by Craig Gillespie, Cruella also stars Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, and Mark Strong.
With Cruella also available on streaming, Screen Rant's own Ryan George has covered the punk-styled origin story for our Pitch Meeting series. For those unfamiliar, the video imagines what must've gone down in the Disney offices when Cruella was pitched to the executives. Fair warning for those who have yet to see the movie, there will be spoilers for the entire plot. Scroll on to watch the Pitch Meeting in all its glory.
Right away, the Pitch Meeting covers a question many people had when Cruella was first announced: Does Ms. de Vil, aka a woman who wishes to skin puppies, actually need an origin story? Responses to that question have admittedly been mixed and, as the Pitch Meeting points out, Cruella occasionally falls into the trap of answering questions no one had about the well-established character. This is a frequent issue for origin stories; Solo: A Star Wars Story, which explored the early adventures of Han Solo, did the exact same.
Still, Cruella has still been met with mostly positive responses from critics and fans. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has notched a 72% critics score at the time of this writing, as well as a whopping 97% audience score. The first Cruella reviews from last week praised the edgy origin story, though certain plot points have still received some criticism, such as the added detail that Estella's hatred of Dalmatians comes from the dogs pushing her mother to her death. As the Pitch Meeting points out, Cruella has a lot going on in terms of style and music, but there still remains much bafflement over why it had to happen at all.