Cruella tells the story of the title Disney villain, from her troubled childhood to her rise as the iconic villain everyone now knows, and in the process, the movie included a couple of characters the audience met in 101 Dalmatians – and here’s every one of them. There have been a couple of trends in the movie industry in recent years, and one of the most criticized ones are live-action movies, especially those of Disney animated classics. The Mouse House has not only brought some of its most beloved animated movies to the world of live-action, but it has also taken some of its villains and given them their own stories.
First was Maleficent in 2014, with Angelina Jolie playing the title character, which was followed by Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in 2019. The next villain to get her solo movie was 101 Dalmatians’ Cruella de Vil, played by Emma Stone in the movie simply titled Cruella. In it, the iconic villain (whose real name is Estella) is looking to make a name for herself in the world of high fashion but she’s also moved by revenge, as her mother was killed when she was younger. Cruella got a simultaneous release in theaters and on Disney+ through Premier Access, and it has mostly received positive reviews, with most praise going towards Stone’s performance.
Even though Cruella is all about the origins of this villain, who is best known for wanting to turn her friend Anita’s dalmatian puppies into a coat, it did take time to acknowledge the existence of characters from 101 Dalmatians that were key in her villainous development, and while many of them don’t play a main role in this particular story, they help set up another live-action version of 101 Dalmatians while also serving as a nice treat to Disney fans who surely recognized them right away. Here’s every Cruella character from 101 Dalmatians.
Cruella de Vil
Of course. Cruella de Vil was created by Dodie Smith, author of the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. In the book, just like in the 1961 Disney animated classic, Cruella wanted to skin dalmatian puppies to create coats and targeted those owned by the Dearlys. Cruella was first adapted to the big screen in 1961 and she kept all the important details from the novel, including her being a spoiled heiress who knows Anita from school. In 1996, Cruella and the rest got the live-action treatment for the first time, with the iconic villain being played by Glenn Close, and this time, she was the vindictive, evil, but very glamorous magnate of an haute couture fashion house, with Anita (Joely Richardson) being one of her employees. In this version, a reason for her wanting to make coats out of puppies’ fur is given, unlike in the animated movie: the fur of puppies is a lot softer than that of an adult dog, so they would make better coats. Close reprised her role in 102 Dalmatians, where Cruella went through a brief rehabilitation before going back to her evil ways.
Jasper
In Cruella, Jasper is one of Cruella’s very few friends and the one who agrees on her staying with him and Horace as she had just lost her mother and was on the run. Jasper also appears in the animated version of 101 Dalmatians as one of two burglars hired by Cruella to steal the puppies from the Dearlys’ house, and to do so they pose as men from the Electric Company. Jasper also appeared in the 1996 live-action version where he was played by Hugh Laurie, and his role was pretty much the same as in the animated movie. Cruella added a lot more to his story by explaining how exactly he and Cruella met, what their relationship was like, and the impact he had on her life.
Horace
Horace is Jasper’s friend and partner in crime, who in the animated movie along with the 1996 live-action version (where he was played by Mark Williams) was Jasper’s brother. He’s portrayed as clumsier yet smarter than Jasper, as he figures out the dogs’ plot, but as Jasper is the leader, he’s always left aside and told to shut up. In Cruella, he initially wasn't on board with her joining him and Jasper, but with time, he became an important piece in their plans to steal, manipulate, trick, and more, and turned out to be quite sensitive, being the only one who cried at Estella’s funeral.
Anita Darling
One of the best “surprises” in Cruella was the inclusion of Anita Darling, best known as the owner of Perdita and the wife of Roger Dearly, as well as the connection between the dalmatians and Cruella. In Cruella, Anita is a gossip columnist who ends up being a sort of ally to the title character in her rise as a fashion icon, but in the previous version, her role was different. In the animated version, Anita’s occupation is unknown, but in the 1996 live-action, she works as a fashion designer for Cruella’s fashion house. Anita could have a bigger role in Cruella 2 thanks to the setup left by the mid-credits scene.
Roger Dearly
Roger Dearly, best known as Anita’s husband and the owner of Pongo in 101 Dalmatians, also appears briefly in Cruella, though in a very different role. In Cruella, he’s a lawyer working for the Baroness but he isn’t the best at his job and is eventually fired. In the animated version, Roger was a pianist and songwriter, who came up with the catchy “Cruella de Vil” song, and in the 1996 live-action movie, he was made into a video game designer, with no aspirations to be a pianist.
Perdita & Pongo
Last but not least, Perdita and Pongo make very brief appearances in Cruella, in the mid-credits scene. First off, the Baroness had three dalmatians, who she commanded to kill Estella’s mother but are later trained by Cruella to not harm her. One of those dogs turned out to be female and was pregnant by the end of the movie, with the mid-credits scene showing the fate of two of her puppies. Cruella sent one puppy, Perdita, to Anita, and another one, Pongo, to Roger, setting up the 101 Dalmatians storyline. Perdita and Pongo are the ones responsible for Anita and Roger getting together, as in the animated movie, Pongo dragged Roger to Anita and Perdita at the park after spotting them through the window of their apartment, and in the live-action version, this was a bit more action-filled as Pongo chased Perdita through the streets of London, dragging Roger along, and that’s how their owners met and fell in love.