Hungry Imaginations
Our first movie in the theater after 18-months of social distancing was Cruella, Walt Disney’s live-action, PG-13, feature film that tells the backstory of one of the most infamous screen villains of this and previous generations.
I was wary of taking my young boys to see it, one because of the rating, and two because I could only imagine how Disney might have twisted the already beloved-in-my-home animated classic, 101 Dalmatians.
Of course, Cruella was a great film, full of that “just right” combination of action, comedy, drama, dead mothers, and live-your-truth aesthetic that Disney so deftly manufacturers. And, it was set to a killer 1970’s rock and punk soundtrack.
After our theater visit, the boys found it on Disney+ and eventually wore me down to unlock it for the magical price of $29.99.
Since then, they’ve become obsessed with the film. They like the action sequences, the bumbling Jasper and Horace, and of course, they’re intrigued by Cruella. She’s an underdog (no pun intended) that rises to fierceness as a foil to the other strong female lead, the Lady Baroness.
The movie is essentially a brewing civil war between the reigning fashion queen, Baroness and Estella (soon-to-be-Cruella), her would be protégé. Because it’s a backstory about a villain, Disney provides plenty of hardship for these characters that eventually turns them into bad guys. In this case, bad girls.
As I’ve watched this now at least ten times, I’m witnessing an interesting phenomenon: the pedestaling of toxic femininity. But is it a pedestal or permission?
We have learned the dangers of toxic masculinity—men who are unable to feel empathy and therefore destroy everything around them, and only now are we beginning to dismantle it.
Yet when we turn our attention to the feminine killer instinct, it’s somewhat glorified. It’s okay to be a rebel and step on people to become who you’re meant to be. Is Cruella a vehicle for young girls, and even boys—like my sons who are transfixed by the mystique—to belittle all in your path?
I suppose this film is a reminder that it doesn’t matter if you’re working in the feminine or the masculine; toxicity is inside of us all. It’s simply a matter of whether we chose to embrace it or not.
I can’t fault Disney for stoking such ideas in young viewers, because I always remember what they do best—keep our imaginations hungry, while giving parents the opportunity to remind our kids that it’s all a fantasy.
If anything, this film has me begging for the retelling of Captain Hook’s messed up youth. I can already hear the juicy soundtrack now.
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Image from Flix Chatter
