Disney’s D23 expo happened this weekend and… it was a LOT. Sarah’s going to get into most of it throughout the day but it seemed like every hour, something Disney or Marvel was trending on social media because … they have a LOT. They have everything. They have so much of our money already. They are coming for all of the money. Between Star Wars and Marvel and so many other movies and TV shows, the other studios must be wondering if there’s going to be anything left for them. 

So here’s one of the non-Star Wars or Marvel ways that Disney is cashing in: the first shot of Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil. 

This is the Cruella origin story. It’s about how Cruella came to be, a young(er) Cruella in 1970s “punk rock” London. Like everyone else I’m obsessed with the styling. This, after all, is Emma Stone. Emma has given us some looks over the years. Her Cruella looks might be the best looks of her career, if this image is any indication. The wig, the makeup, yes, yes, all of that, but the leather jacket? It’s sublime. Cruella, we know, is a fashion designer. Emma’s Cruella is a fashion designer for the Instagram generation. Now it makes sense why this movie is happening. It’s happening for social media. It’s happening for the memes. 

Emma Cruella is from the same DNA as Miranda Priestley, a worthy frenemy of Anna Wintour and Glenn Close, maybe a boarding school friend of Alexis Carrington, the human descendant of Cate Blanchett’s Hela, if Hela f-cked Jeff Goldblum in Thor: Ragnarok. She’s going to become an icon. She’s definitely going to cover Vogue when this movie comes out. And while part of me can’t wait, because we all love an iconic female villain, I feel like… 

Aren’t we forgetting something? 

Cruella stole puppies so that she could take their fur and make coats!

Doesn’t anyone care about the puppies? 

Are they trying to make me sympathise with a puppy abuser?! 

No, Lainey. They’re trying to make us understand how she became the puppy abuser. Like how Joaquin Phoenix is trying to show us how The Joker became The Joker, because people were so mean to him. It’s a lesson in empathy, in addressing how we have to stop monsters from becoming monsters. So that we can protect the puppies. Now shut up and enjoy the fashion. 

FINE.