Cruella de Vil Rankings And Opinions

Few Disney villains inspire as many heated debates, Halloween costumes, and “okay but she serves” comments as Cruella de Vil.
She wants to turn puppies into a coat, yet people still rank her high on “favorite villain” lists, cosplay her iconic black-and-white hair,
and now argue about whether Emma Stone’s Estella even counts as a true villain at all. If you’ve ever found yourself ranking Disney baddies
with friends, Cruella has probably crashed your list in a cloud of cigarette smoke and Dalmatian spots.

This deep dive unpacks how different versions of Cruella stack up, where she lands in Disney villain rankings overall, and why opinions about
her are so wildly split. We’ll look at the classic 1961 animation, Glenn Close’s gloriously unhinged take, the punk-rock 2021 origin film,
and some underrated TV and book incarnations that quietly shape how fans judge her today.

The Many Faces of Cruella de Vil

Before we rank anything, it helps to remember that “Cruella de Vil” isn’t just one performance. She’s a franchise all by herself: originating
in Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel, brought to life in Disney’s 1961 animated film, reimagined by Glenn Close in the ’90s, and remixed yet again
in the 2021 Cruella movie and several TV spinoffs and tie-in books.

1. The 1961 Animated Cruella: The Original Fashion-Fueled Menace

For many people, the “real” Cruella is the animated version from One Hundred and One Dalmatians. She’s all angles and chaos:
razor-sharp cheekbones, skeletal frame, cloud of green-tinged smoke, and a car that drives exactly like she thinks fast, loud, and
wildly dangerous. Her very name is a play on “cruel” and “devil,” and the movie wastes zero time proving it.

In the animated film, she’s a rich London socialite who wants a fur coat made from Dalmatian puppies. There’s no tragic backstory,
no misunderstood childhood trauma, no “she’s just different.” She is unapologetically greedy, impatient, and obsessed with status and fur.
That pure, undiluted villainy is exactly why critics and fans still cite her as one of Disney’s most memorable bad guys and why she often
lands near the top of “best Disney villain” rankings.

When fans debate her, this version usually scores highest for:

• Visual design: Bold, graphic, instantly recognizable.
• Motivation clarity: No shades of gray puppies = coat.
• Camp value: Every line reading is wildly extra in the best way.

2. Glenn Close’s Cruella: Live-Action Camp Royalty

In the 1996 and 2000 live-action films, Glenn Close takes Cruella and cranks the dial from “dramatic” to “full operatic meltdown.”
The plots mirror the animated story stealing Dalmatian puppies for fashion but the performance adds a cartoonish physical comedy:
falls into vats, insane laughter, and costumes that look like they were designed after triple-espressos.

For ranking purposes, Glenn Close’s Cruella often does extremely well on:

• Performance: Big, theatrical, and completely committed.
• Villain presence: She dominates every frame she’s in.
• Memorability: People who grew up in the ’90s frequently rank this as their definitive Cruella.

Critics weren’t always in love with the movies themselves, but even lukewarm reviews tend to praise her performance and the outrageous
wardrobe. For a lot of fans, Glenn Close’s Cruella is “the one that lives rent-free” in their brain any time they hear the song
“Cruella de Vil.”

3. Emma Stone’s Estella/Cruella: The Antihero Era

Then comes the 2021 film Cruella, which turns the character into a scrappy fashion underdog, Estella, coming of age in 1970s
punk-era London. This movie is designed to ask, “What if we understood how she became Cruella?” rather than dropping her straight into
puppy-kidnapping villain territory.

The film is stylish, packed with needle-drop soundtrack moments, and visually lush, with critics giving it solidly positive scores
and audiences rating it even higher. Many viewers love the cat-and-mouse rivalry between Estella and the Baroness, as well as the way
the movie reframes Cruella as a rebellious creative talent pushing back against an abusive power structure in the fashion world.

In rankings, Emma Stone’s Cruella usually scores high for:

• Character depth: She’s given motivations beyond “I like fur.”
• Sympathy factor: Viewers are invited to root for her success, not just fear her.
• Fashion: Her looks are more avant-garde, leaning into punk couture rather than traditional fur-obsessed glamour.

Where she tends to score lower with hardcore villain fans is in the “pure evil” department. If you want Cruella to be a completely
irredeemable monster, the origin film can feel like it’s softening her too much to fit the current trend of sympathetic villains.

4. TV, Books, and Beyond: Expanded-Universe Cruellas

Outside the mainline films, Cruella shows up in TV series, tie-in books, and even theme-park shows. Animated series like
101 Dalmatians: The Series and 101 Dalmatian Street, plus novelizations and spin-off books, rework her as a
corporate shark, an eccentric relative, or a reclusive villain in Switzerland plotting one more fur-driven scheme. These versions add
quirks, like corporate boardroom scheming or weird family dynamics, but rarely change fan rankings dramatically the big three
(1961, Glenn Close, Emma Stone) still dominate most lists.

One exception is the fantasy drama Once Upon a Time, where an episode centered on Cruella reveals a pitch-black backstory and
emphasizes that she has no hidden soft side at all. That unapologetic cruelty actually boosts her standing among fans who prefer
villains to stay, well, villainous.

Ranking the Cruellas: A Fan-Style Scorecard

Let’s put some structure around the chaos. If you look at fan polls, critic write-ups, and pop culture commentary, you start to see
a rough consensus emerge about how the main incarnations of Cruella stack up.

Top Cruella de Vil Portrayals

1. Animated 1961 Cruella – The blueprint. Highest “villain energy,” iconic design, instantly recognizable, and still
   the version most likely to show up on “top Disney villains” lists.
2. Glenn Close’s Cruella (1996 & 2000) – Peak live-action camp. Not always in the best movies, but regularly praised
   as one of the most fun villain performances in a Disney remake.
3. Emma Stone’s Estella/Cruella (2021) – The stylish antihero who divides opinion: loved by audiences who enjoy complex,
   morally gray characters; doubted by fans who prefer their Cruella fully evil.
4. TV & Expanded-Universe Cruellas – Interesting variations that add layers, especially in darker retellings, but
   they mostly serve to support and remix the big-screen versions rather than replace them.

If you evaluate each version on a simple three-metric scale villainy, style, depth you get something like this:

• 1961 Animated: Villainy 10/10, Style 9/10, Depth 4/10
• Glenn Close: Villainy 9/10, Style 11/10 (yes, off the chart), Depth 5/10
• Emma Stone: Villainy 6/10, Style 10/10, Depth 9/10
• Dark TV Retellings: Villainy 8/10, Style 7/10, Depth 7/10

Is this scientific? Absolutely not. Is it how fans actually talk online? Pretty close.

Where Does Cruella Rank Among Disney Villains?

When you zoom out beyond her own franchise and ask, “Where does Cruella land among all Disney villains?” things get even more
interesting. Critics and fan communities frequently rank her in the upper tier of villains, though rarely at number one. She tends to sit
beside other iconic names like Maleficent, Ursula, Scar, and Jafar in lists that weigh charisma, cultural impact, and sheer evil.

A few trends show up repeatedly:

• Icon status: She’s one of the few villains who’s become a mainstream pop culture symbol, instantly recognizable even
  to people who haven’t seen the full movie.
• Real-world horror: Unlike dragons or sea witches, animal cruelty is very real, which makes her actions feel extra
  disturbing to some viewers especially animal lovers and bumps her evil score up in many rankings.
• Villain lineups: When Disney assembles “all-star villain” shows, merch, and theme-park experiences, Cruella is
  almost always invited to the party, reinforcing her status as core villain royalty.

Fan debates usually put her somewhere in the top 10–15 Disney villains overall, with opinions diverging on whether she should outrank
more magical villains whose schemes threaten entire kingdoms, not just one spotted dog family.

Why Opinions About Cruella Are So Divided

For a character who’s more “designer bad lady” than “cosmic overlord,” Cruella generates surprisingly intense arguments. A lot of that
comes down to how each version handles three key questions: How evil is she really? How much are we supposed to like her?
And how much is she allowed to change?

Animal Cruelty: A Hard Line For Many Viewers

There’s a reason some fans will happily rank Hades or Scar as their favorite villain but refuse to put Cruella anywhere near the top:
she wants to turn puppies into fashion. Even in a stylized, cartoonish context, that crosses a moral line for a lot of people.

When rankings are based on “most evil,” this actually boosts her wanting to skin puppies is about as personal and disturbing as it gets.
But when rankings focus on “favorite” or “most fun to watch,” some viewers drop her down the list because the premise is hard to enjoy
on repeat viewings.

Sympathetic vs. Unapologetic Versions

Another major fault line is whether a story tries to humanize Cruella. The original animation and some TV interpretations portray her as a
gleefully one-note villain: she’s bad because she likes being bad, full stop. Origin stories and reboots, by contrast, often
explore her childhood, trauma, or systemic injustices, giving viewers reasons not excuses, but context for her behavior.

Fans who love complex, morally gray characters tend to rank Emma Stone’s Estella higher because she feels layered, wounded, and driven by
a desire to prove herself in a hostile world. Fans who miss the unapologetic, “no soft side anywhere” Cruella often keep the 1961 and
some darker TV versions at the top and treat sympathetic takes as fun but “off brand.”

Style, Camp, and Meme Culture

Let’s be honest: part of Cruella’s modern ranking boost comes from how incredibly meme-able she is. Her looks are cosplay staples,
her energy is prime reaction-GIF material, and her theatrical meltdowns feel tailor-made for internet culture.

This is especially true of:

• Glenn Close’s scenes – over-the-top physical comedy and snarling monologues.
• Emma Stone’s transformation moments – revealing show-stopping looks in front of shocked fashion crowds.
• Animated line deliveries – classic quotes that still circulate as captions and audio clips.

Even people who morally despise what Cruella stands for may still rank her high for aesthetic impact and dramatic flair.
In the age of social media, style points matter almost as much as story.

How Fans Currently See Cruella

Looking at modern conversation, a rough picture emerges of how rankings and opinions shake out:

• Classic-villain fans usually crown the animated Cruella as the definitive version and keep her comfortably in
  their top 10 Disney villains.
• ’90s & 2000s kids often push Glenn Close toward the top because those movies were their first real exposure to the character.
• Newer audiences and fashion fans often favor Emma Stone’s Estella, praising the movie’s soundtrack, production design,
  and character development even if they admit it doesn’t line up perfectly with the original villain’s later actions.
• Animal lovers are more likely to rank Cruella lower overall on “favorite villain” lists, regardless of version,
  simply because her central crime is so upsetting.

Put simply, Cruella de Vil’s ranking depends a lot on which question you’re answering: “Who is the most evil?”
“Who is the most fun to watch?” or “Who is the most interesting character?” She can easily top one list and sink on another.

Extended Reflections: Experiences With Cruella de Vil Rankings and Opinions

Beyond formal rankings on websites and fan polls, Cruella lives in everyday experiences movie nights, convention halls, social media feeds,
and nostalgic conversations about “villains who scared me as a kid.” Those real-world touchpoints quietly shape how people answer the
question, “Where does Cruella rank for you?”

Consider a typical family rewatch of 101 Dalmatians. Adults who loved the movie as children often remember the tension of the
puppy heist and the frantic car chase, while kids watching for the first time fixate on one thing: “She wants to hurt the puppies?!”
For some children, that shock locks Cruella in as “the scariest villain ever,” no matter how many dragons or sorcerers they meet later.
When those kids grow up, they carry that emotional memory into ranking conversations, putting Cruella high on the “most terrifying”
scale even if they now view her with a bit more ironic distance.

In contrast, think about a group of friends at a Halloween party or comic convention. One person shows up in a meticulously assembled
Cruella cosplay dramatic two-tone wig, faux-fur coat, red gloves, maybe even a toy cigarette holder. Suddenly, instead of “cruel lady
who wants a dog-skin coat,” she becomes “the friend who committed to a look and pulled it off perfectly.” The character transforms in
the group’s mind from pure evil to camp icon, and her ranking shifts accordingly. In those spaces, Cruella is less about ethics and more
about aesthetic power and performative villainy.

Online, the landscape is even more fragmented. People share clips of Glenn Close’s over-the-top tantrums with captions about bad workdays,
post Emma Stone’s runway moments as mood boards for bold personal reinventions, or use animated Cruella’s exasperated reactions as reaction
GIFs to everyday annoyances. The more a character is used as a meme, the more familiar and “friendly” they start to feel, even if their
canonical actions are horrific. It’s not unusual to see someone say, “Cruella is awful, but she’s also a mood,” and that tension is exactly
what keeps her firmly in the public eye.

Rankings also pop up in more structured settings: trivia nights, online tier lists, or “S-tier to F-tier Disney villain” YouTube videos.
In those spaces, people often negotiate their feelings in real time: one person insists that animal cruelty should automatically put Cruella
in the “top evil” category; another argues that magical villains with body counts are objectively worse; a third points out that style,
quotes, and film quality should weigh just as heavily as canonical crimes. The final list may not matter objectively, but the discussion
reveals how different viewers prioritize morality, entertainment value, and emotional impact.

There’s also a generational factor at play. Longtime Disney fans who encountered Cruella in the animation or early live-action films often
see the 2021 origin story as a remix that can’t fully “fit” with the villain they grew up with. Younger viewers, meanwhile, might
experience Emma Stone’s Estella first and only later go back to the older movies, treating the original Cruella almost like an alternate
universe version. When the same character has multiple “entry points,” rankings become less about one definitive hierarchy and more about
personal timelines.

Finally, conversations around Cruella increasingly intersect with broader discussions of fashion ethics and animal rights. Faux fur
innovations, documentary exposure to real-world abuses, and social media activism have all altered the cultural context. Some viewers now
treat Cruella as a cautionary symbol of unchecked vanity and consumer cruelty, while others compartmentalize her as a relic of exaggerated
cartoon villainy. Either way, those evolving values quietly influence where she lands when people sit down to rank Disney villains “from
worst to best” or “most evil to least evil.”

Put all of these experiences together childhood fear, adult nostalgia, cosplay admiration, meme culture, and ethical reflection and you
get a character who refuses to stay in one lane. Cruella de Vil is simultaneously unforgivable, unforgettable, and weirdly magnetic.
That messy combination is exactly why rankings and opinions around her are so passionate and so varied.

Wrap-Up: So, Where Should Cruella Rank?

If you’re looking for a neat, universally agreed-on answer, Cruella de Vil will disappoint you as surely as she disappoints every Dalmatian
who ever sees her coming. But if you accept that rankings reflect personal values and emotional history, she becomes one of the most
fascinating villains to talk about.

As a cultural icon, she ranks extremely high: her silhouette alone can carry a costume party, a poster, or a meme. As a villain,
she’s both horrifying and strangely entertaining a perfect storm of greed, vanity, and theatrical flair. Whether you place her near
the top or somewhere in the messy middle, one thing is certain: any Disney villain list without Cruella de Vil on it probably needs a
rewrite.