When Disney dropped the trailer for its forthcoming 101 Dalmatians origins story Cruella in February, the internet went into something of a meltdown. The trailer, it was quickly noted, bore a distinct similarity to the one for Todd Phillips's 2019 smash Joker.
There were the hints of a tormented past resulting in the villain we know and love (to hate) today; the first person voiceover detailing the protagonist's wickedness; snapshots of the nemeses that tipped our anti-heroes over the edge (Baroness Von Hellman for Cruella, Thomas Wayne for the Joker); a soundtrack from the golden era of 1950s crooning (Connie Francis's Who's Sorry Now for Cruella vs Charlie Chaplin's Smile); and an overriding sense that we were going to learn a lot more about the titular characters than we ever would while they were playing second fiddle to the heroes of the movies we have seen them in before.
The hashtag #DisneysJoker was soon trending, but is this really a fair comparison? There's no doubting Cruella delves into territory a little darker than we might expect from a Disney live-action spin-off. It has even received a PG-13 rating in the US, only the second of Disney's recent clutch of live-action remakes to enter such "adult" territory, following Mulan. But it's still not in the R-rated world of Joker. Cruella, after all, is the story of a narcissistic aristocrat with a penchant for dog-fur coats, while Joker tells of a psychopathic maniac hellbent on global destruction, while packed with tales of abuse and torture that would never come close to PG-13 territory.
It's definitely dark for a Disney movie. Maybe not for a really intense R-rated film, but it was darker than I've seen a Disney movie for a good long time
Paul Walter Hauser, who plays Cruella's henchman Horace in the new film, concludes that sometimes the internet just likes easy comparisons. "People like to find one quick way to describe something, and it becomes catchy and suddenly people are agreeing with it without even knowing what they're talking about – that's just Twitter," the actor laments. "The Joker comparison is kind of lazy. I'd like to be compared to it by way of fostering cool conversations and making a ton of money, that would be cool, but I think that the comparisons end there."
Actress Emma Stone, who plays Cruella herself, agrees the Joker comparisons are over the top, though she is pleased with the film's undeniably dark edge. "[Disney] really let Craig [Gillespie, director] and Tony [McNamara, screenplay] write and make what they wanted to make," she says. "It's definitely dark for a Disney movie. Maybe not for a really intense R-rated film, but it was darker than I've seen a Disney movie for a good long time."
Stone's co-star Emma Thompson, a veteran of British period dramas like Howard's End and Sense and Sensibility, also seems to have enjoyed the opportunity to go a little closer to the dark side in her latest role as the movie's true villain, the Baroness Von Hellman.
“I had such fun doing her, because I've been asking for quite a number of years if I could be a villain, a proper villain,” she says. “I spent decades playing what my mother used to call 'good women in frocks’, and now I got to play a really evil woman in frocks.”
The lauded thespian appears to have taken her newfound love for evil off-set as well, as she jokingly admits to attempting to have her co-star, Wink the dog, fired from the movie for stealing her spotlight. “I told stories. I said he'd come and widdled on one of my costumes, and nobody believed me. They just knew I was lying and that it was just a vicious attempt to get rid of this dog that was, frankly, upstaging me and getting in my light,” she says with a laugh. “The dog was an obstacle.”
I think Disney is figuring out how to put creative people in the driver's seat of an intellectual property vehicle, and ... do something really interesting with it
What is perhaps most surprising about the film, however, is not how Disney dabbled in darkness for the origins story of this classic animated villain, but how much love we have for her by the end of the film. In both the 1961 animation and the two live-action remakes from the '90s, featuring Glenn Close as the haute couture-laden harridan, there's little doubt as to the evilness of Cruella. In Cruella, however, the character begins as nothing more than naughty schoolgirl Estella (played by Tipper Seifert-Cleveland in the film's early scenes), and becomes the likeable-but-oppressed aspiring fashion designer in the Baroness's 1970s London design house.
Her adoption of the Cruella mantle is not just an alter ego with which to fight the Baroness, but a part of her effort to shake up the staid culture of the era. The parallels to enfant terrible Vivienne Westwood and the punk rock movement are unavoidable – and signposted in both the fashions and soundtrack – and quite laudable.
Cruella can deliver some low blows, but they're all designed to defeat the infinitely more wicked Baroness, whose crimes are far greater. It's not the darker tone that could alienate audiences from the source material, but the fact we end up rooting for this previously detested character.
Hauser seems unconcerned about the apparent redrawing of his fictional mistress's moral compass, however. “We've got to start twisting and contorting these timelines and these materials or we're not going to have any movies left,” he says.
"Hollywood doesn't invite many wholly original films – a movie like Little Miss Sunshine is very hard to get made, whereas a movie like Superman or Batman is not as hard to get made.
"I think Disney is figuring out how to put creative people in the driver's seat of an intellectual property vehicle, and let them drive their way and do something really interesting with it. And I think Cruella is the best example I've seen in several years of Disney letting somebody take the reins creatively and do something totally new with something that we've seen before.
"I really hope that people get to enjoy the full breadth of creativity of Cruella."
Cruella is in UAE cinemas from Thursday
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Mobile phone packages comparison
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
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John Zubrzycki, Hurst Publishers
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Results
2.30pm: Expo 2020 Dubai – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: Barakka, Ray Dawson (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
3.05pm: Now Or Never – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: One Idea, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.40pm: This Is Our Time – Handicap (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Perfect Balance, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Visit Expo 2020 – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Kaheall, Richard Mullen, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.50pm: The World In One Place – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1.900m; Winner: Castlebar, Adrie de Vries, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm: Vision – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
6pm: Al Wasl Plaza – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Jadwal, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Jebel Ali results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 64,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: One Vision, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gabr, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
4pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 96,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
4.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Torno Subito, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Untold Secret, Jose Santiago, Salem bin Ghadayer
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Race%20card
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In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.