Cruella: why Disney and other studios are trying to create sympathy for the devil

By Leora Hadas, Assistant Professor, Film and Television Studies, University of Nottingham

This article contains spoilers for the film Cruella.

Cruella, Disney’s live-action movie about the early years of fictional Dalmatian hater Cruella de Vil, has joined a trend of films that seek to invite sympathy for the devil, specifically the cartoon and comic-book villains of our childhoods.

In theory, Cruella presents a difficult question: what kind of tragic backstory could lead the audience to sympathise with a villain who wants to kill and skin puppies? In practice, however, this gorgeous yet predictable film tells us very little about the psychology of evil…

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