‘Cruella’ — the puppy killer is coming back to the screen

Walt Disney Studios released the trailer for “Cruella” starring Emma Stone, and it has many people talking.

The trailer now has an impressive 9,564,962 million views on YouTube. This isn’t surprising or new to Disney, since “Cruella” isn’t Disney’s first villain to get their own movie and backstory. “Maleficent,” starring Angelina Jolie, was very popular which even sparked a sequel, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.”

In Maleficent’s case, her turn to evil came from being betrayed by a boy she loved. But a broken heart is a cliche at this point, and I want to see something new.

According to Oprah Magzine, “Cruella” is set in 1970s punk London, which would explain Stone’s exaggerated and bad British accent. 

The best thing to come from the trailer is the internet is comparing Cruella to the Joker. It makes sense: the crazy hair, the madness and the smeared makeup — “Cruella” could be the Joker’s sister. In more Disney fashion, “Cruella” could be compared to the Mad Hatter: they do have the hairstyle and the crazy to match.  

If you look beyond the internet memes, “Cruella” has undertones of feminism — not surprising for movies with the “strong female lead” archetype. There was a silent moment in the trailer where Stone’s character impressively says: “I am woman, hear me roar,” a saying first introduced by Helen Reddy’s 1972 song “I Am Woman” and subsequently used by contemporary feminists.

I just hope the movie is good. I will even settle for decent. After watching the trailer, there seem to be only two possibilities for how “Cruella” would turn out: really good or really bad.