Cruella is an upcoming Disney live-action film starring Emma Stone. The movie is based on the character Cruella de Vil, the main villain in 101 Dalmatians. Now, the latest film, reportedly, received a PG-13 rating due to "some violence and thematic elements."
Cruella is set in 1970s London and follows the backstory of Estella (Stone) before eventually becoming the titular villain. She is a young fashion designer who ended up being obsessed with dogs' skins -- especially Dalmatians and the pattern of their fur.
The clever and creative young Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. In order to climb up to the top, she befriends two young thieves. Later on, they were able to build a life for themselves on the London streets.
Baroness von Hellman becomes interested in Estella's flair for fashion. However, their twisted relationship goes in different directions and brings a lot of revelations. This prompted the young fashion designer to embrace her wicked side, eventually becoming the fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella de Vil.
The villain-centric live-action film was rated PG-13 as it contains some violence and thematic elements. Although such a rating was rare, this isn't the first time for a Disney film. For instance, Pirates of the Caribbean was the first movie that received a similar rating in 2003.
Moreover, Mulan live-action remake got a PG-13 rating as the film featured violence during war scenes. As for Cruella, the trailer has a darker tone compared to other Disney films, either live-action or animated. Yet, the rating comes as a surprise as the clip didn't feature any violence.
One of the closest violent scenes the trailer shows is when a car drives past a storefront and a building blazing in the fire. But then, there could be more violent elements in the movie, and Disney decided not to include eye-catching scenes in the promo.
Meanwhile, in addition to Watson, Cruella also stars Emma Thompson as Baroness Von Hellman, the head of a prestigious fashion house and the boss of Estella. Joel Fry will play Jasper Badun, the thief Estella hired to help her achieving her crimes.
Other cast members include Paul Walter Hauser as Horace Badun, Emily Beechman as Catherine, Mark Strong as Boris, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Tabitha, and Jamie Demetriou as Gerald. The movie is directed by Craig Gillespie and screenplay by Tony McNamara and Dana Fox.
Cruella is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, May 18. At the moment, it is uncertain whether the movie will get a traditional theatrical release or will stream on Disney+. But, as per ScreenRant, the film could be released in both due to the COVID-19 pandemic so that many viewers will have the opportunity to watch it.
