Both Cruella and Maleficent endeavor to turn famous Disney villainesses into sympathetic antiheroines by retelling the pair’s backstories from their perspectives, but which of the origin stories makes for a stronger prequel? The 101 Dalmations prequel/villain origin story Cruella recently arrived to mixed reviews, reminding many film fans of Disney’s first attempt to re-litigate the cinematic reputation of one of their iconic villainesses, Maleficent. Released in 2014, Maleficent starred Angelina Jolie as a less heinously evil and more misunderstood iteration of Sleeping Beauty’s mistress of evil.
Maleficent attempted to turn its title character into a less outwardly villainous and more misunderstood figure but took some narrative shortcuts in doing so. The approach was a mixed bag, with the film earning middling reviews but scoring a huge success at the box office. A sequel soon followed in 2019’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, a movie whose continued success may have contributed to Cruella's reinvention of the villain as a hero receiving a green light.
Both origin stories are stuck with some tricky subject matter. The question of how to make an attempted child murderer and an attempted dognapper likable and engaging protagonists would be hard for any director or writer to answer, and the addition of a (relatively) family-friendly rating to proceedings can’t be too helpful. However, Maleficent and Cruella also both boast a star who viewers are more than ready to root for. In the case of the former, Angelina Jolie made a career of playing vampy villainesses well before Maleficent, making her perfect for the part. Meanwhile, in the case of the latter, La La Land’s Emma Stone has flirted with darker parts in the past and makes for ideal casting as the young Cruella. This Cruella is more ambitious and less outwardly unhinged than the character viewers have come to recognize from her cartoon iteration (and Glenn Close's hilarious live-action version), but the same could also be said for the live-action Maleficent - so which movie does a better job of selling the sad story of its misunderstood heroine?
Cruella's Story vs. Maleficent's Story
Neither of the movies sticks to the story of their predecessors, but Cruella arguably makes more cohesive and tonally appropriate changes to the original. In the Stone-starring movie, Cruella grows to hate dogs after her mother is killed by them, in a tragic backstory may be a bit too familiar for some Disney fans. She grows up and becomes a fashion icon specifically to wreak revenge on the incorrigible Baroness responsible for her dear mother's death, whose pet Dalmations provide the requisite sort-of connection to the original movies. In contrast, Maleficent’s story was understandably criticized for turning the original movie’s kindly King Stefan into a villain, a switch that added an uncomfortably dark metaphor to Maleficent losing her wings thanks to the character’s duplicitousness.
Not only was the presence of an obvious assault metaphor somewhat out of place in the family film, but Sharlto Copley’s Stefan was also openly villainous enough that Maleficent was no longer the villain of her story. Instead, the character became the victim of some unfair public perception, a toothless choice that sapped the eponymous villainess of her monstrosity and ferocity. Cruella, although it adds in a cliche backstory, does at least use this element to give the heroine a Joker-style reinvention as a counterculture icon who still commits enough crime and wanton recklessness to feel true to her original cartoon counterpart (albeit with less animal cruelty).
Cruella's Accuracy To The Original Story vs. Maleficent’s
Maleficent and Cruella both featured marked diversions away from the story of their original movies. In the case of Maleficent, a lot of mythical lore is added, and some of the film’s strongest moments come from scenes that focus on the Moors, Maleficent’s dark kingdom which is home to misunderstood monsters like her. It’s an interesting and promising reinterpretation of the original story (wherein the character and her minions are all gleefully, intentionally cruel, and evil), and one that is fortunately fleshed out further in the sequel. In contrast, many of Cruella’s best moments riff on the original character’s existing obsession with fashion over everything else, even if the eventual inclusion of Roger Radcliffe smacks of post-credits sequel-baiting. Cruella’s pursuit of the perfect fit, her need to be seen and perceived at the expense of life and limb, and her eventual turn to villainy is more closely aligned to the original animated character's motivations than Maleficent’s, even though both stories are very different from their original movies.
Cruella's Costumes & Visuals vs. Maleficent's
Maleficent’s costuming is undeniably impressive, with Jolie’s instantly iconic look as the title character remaining the movie’s most enduringly popular image. Meanwhile, the realization of the Moors artfully incorporates CGI landscapes to create a genuinely enthralling fantasy setting. However, the eventual reveal of Maleficent’s dragon form lets the film down badly, as the character turns into a forgettable monster with none of the depth of character of the same year’s Smaug. In contrast, Cruella may have less lavish visuals due to the movie being a crime comedy period piece rather than a fantasy film, but the movie’s costumes are a joy to behold. Some of Mad Max: Fury Road costume designer Jenny beaver’s most iconic works since that 2015 blockbuster, Cruella’s costumes complement the cast’s characterizations and provide a plethora of visual splendor for viewers. The outfits steal the show in 2021 prequel, as is only appropriate for a story centering around the infamous fashionista.
Conclusion: Cruella Is The Better Villain Origin
Despite Maleficent’s best attempts, Cruella offers a more cohesive vision of what a revised Disney villain origin story can be. A darkly funny spin on the original, the prequel reimagines its villainess in terms that remain true to the despicable original character while adding layers of believable backstory to her, and throwing in a devious secondary villain in Sense and Sensibility star Emma Thompson so audiences have someone to root against while never losing sight of Cruella’s own gradual turn toward the dark side. In contrast, Maleficent takes the easy way out and simply opts to rewrite the title character’s story so that she is no longer the villain, thus ensuring audiences will root for her. It is lazy storytelling that makes the movie less of a "villain" origin story, so with no attempts at moral complexity or playfully re-contextualizing the original movie’s story, Maleficent can’t beat Cruella despite boasting some impressive lore and lush visuals.