Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Cruella.
If you’re all caught up withCruella, it’s natural to have a few questions, such as: Is Wink happy and healthy, at this very moment? Will the Academy have the courage to awardEmma Thompsonher third Oscar for this film? Did Disney simply write a check for $2 billion made out to “Music” and then assemble the soundtrack with whatever songs showed up in the mail? All valid, all worth thinking about. However, the biggest question mark comes courtesy of the film’s mid-credit stinger, which simultaneously provides a classic origin story explanation for something inOne Hundred and One Dalmatianswhile also making the events ofOne Hundred and One Dalmatiansroughly ten times more confusing. Here’s exactly what happens:
We interruptFlorence + The Machine’s “Call Me Cruella” to catch up with Anita (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and Roger (Kayvan Novak)—the twoCruellaside-characters who become the dog-owning protagonists ofOne Hundred and One Dalmatians—in their respective homes. Both receive a package bearing an elegant card. Inside each box? One (1) dalmatian puppy.
The note to Roger: “Meet Pongo! Enjoy, Cruella.”
The note to Anita: “Meet Perdita! See you soon, Cruella.”
So, yes, the mid-credits scene ofCruellasuggests that Cruella de Vil herself—in a lovely gesture of kindness??—gifted Roger and Anita with the very same dalmatians who will one day have 15 puppies together, all of whom Cruella kidnaps and attempts to turn into a fancy coat through shoddily-orchestrated dog murder. Connecting this Point A to the Point B of101 Dalmatiansismind-boggling, leaving us with just three possible options for what the actual heck happened between these two films:
OPTION 1:This mid-credits scene confirmsCruellais an alternate timeline-ish, fan-fiction-adjacent version of Cruella de Vil’s origin story, one that leads to a version ofOne Hundred and One Dalmatianswe’ve never seen before. AlthoughCraig Gillespie’s film establishes its Cruella as a “little bit mad,” it stops well short of painting a picture of a person who would gleefully skin a litter of dogs. She’s more Lady Gaga showman than Freddy Krueger of the puppy pound; her villainous public persona is presented as at least 60% part of an act. “Everyone needs a villain to believe in,” she tells Artie (John McCrea). Basically, if Cruella happens to maybe, one day, attempt some light dog-napping, it’s all part of the show, darling. A classic misunderstanding!
OPTION 2:Cruella 2is going to beextremely traumatic. As of this writing, noCruellasequel has been greenlit, but should Disney putEmma Stonein the black-and-white wig again, it’ll be tasked with explaining her transition from “here are some dalmatian puppies, as a gift!” to “I am going to slaughter those dog’s offspring in the name of fashion and feel nothing but joy while doing so.” Again, Cruella doesn’t evenattemptto explain how Cruella ends up as the heartless hag we meet inOne Hundred and One Dalmatians;at worst, we leave Stone’s Cruella at a misdemeanor trespassing level with some theft mixed in. Dog murder? Not even close. A sequel would need to thoroughly eff this woman’s psyche to pieces if you want us to believeCruellastill exists in the same timeline asOne Hundred and One Dalmatians.*
(*Yes, I’m aware dalmatians technically killed Cruella’s mother. I will never forget the way this moment made me laugh for as long as I live. But she doesn’t swear vengeance! The movie lets the dalmatians off the hook! They are friends at the end!)
OPTION 3:Cruella just kicked off a comically elaborate long con that basically turns her into Disney’s Jigsaw Killer. The least-likely and objectively funniest scenario is one in which Cruella’s dalmatian gifts are Step #1 of an impossibly complex plan, one where she also orchestrates Anita and Roger falling in loveyearslater, knowing their dogs wouldalsobecome a couple, all to possibly make a fur coat almost a decade down the line. I deeply want this to be true.
No matter what,Cruellais currently playing in theaters and available to stream on Disney+ Premier, so feel free to send along any other theories. Together, we will solve the classic Disney mystery of when, how, and why Cruella de Vil got extremely into animal cruelty.
KEEP READING:‘Cruella’ Review: A Little Bit Brilliant and Mad but Mostly Bad
