Disney's upcoming live-action film Cruella will reportedly receive a PG-13 rating, which is rare for its brand. Emma Stone stars as Estella, whom Disney fans know as the main 101 Dalmations villain, Cruella de Vil. Cruella takes place in 1970s London and will chronicle Cruella's backstory as Estella embarks on her career as a fashion designer who ends up becoming fixated with Dalmations and the pattern of their fur. Cruella also features Emma Thompson as Baroness Von Hellman, Estella's boss, and Paul Walter Hauser and Joel Fry as Cruella's henchmen.
Cruella is set to premiere on May 18, 2021. It's unclear whether the film will get a traditional theatrical release or a streaming release on Disney+, like Pixar's Soul. With the current progression of the pandemic, it's likely this film will release both in theaters and streaming to give everyone the opportunity to view it. Though it's also likely Disney+ will charge subscribers an extra $29.99 to view the movie on its platform via it's Premier Access program. This was Disney+'s course of action for both Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon.
FilmRating.com (via Forbes) lists the villain-centric Cruella as rated PG-13. The reasoning for Cruella's PG-13 rating is some violence and thematic elements. This rating comes from the Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA) board of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). While a PG-3 rating is rare for a Disney film, it isn't unheard of. Pirates of the Caribbean was the first Disney film ever to receive a PG-13 rating in 2003. Recently, Disney's Mulan live-action remake received a PG-13 rating for violence depicted during war scenes.
The Cruella trailer did have a darker tone than most Disney films, live-action or animated. The film had been previously marketed as a comedy and a family-friendly flick similar to its origin movie, 101 Dalmations. Many viewers have compared the trailer to DCEU's Joker and Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. The trailer does have a playful dark side and certainly embraces that angle more than its other villainous prequel, Maleficent. One particularly DC villain-eseque moment from the trailer includes Cruella menacingly smirking at a ballroom full of guests as she sets her dress on fire. Another includes her driving recklessly through the city. Even smaller elements, from her unhinged and comical demeanor to the dark music playing in the background, emulated the DCEU villain vibe.
The PG-13 rating is peculiar not only because it is a Disney film, but also because the recently-released trailer doesn't feature any violence. The closest the Cruella trailer comes to violence is when a car drives through a storefront and a building is shown in flames, presumably thanks to Cruella. There may be more violent elements elsewhere in the film; however, one would think that if there were, Disney would include these eye-grabbing moments in its trailer.
Still, if the film is embracing the DC villain route akin to Joker or Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, the PG-13 rating may be warranted. After all, both of those films are rated R. While Disney obviously wouldn't go as far as an R-rated Cruella, it could be straddling the line and have received a PG-13 rating to air on the safe side with parents. Viewers will have to wait until May 18 to see Cruella and determine whether they think the PG-13 rating is warranted.
Source: FilmRatings.com, Forbes
