Cruella de Vil falls victim to Hollywood’s smoking ban

Disney’s iconic villain has never been seen without a cigarette but there's a first time for everything!

Fans of Disney’s iconic villain, Cruella de Vil have never seen her without a cigarette in hand. Similarly, there is no millennial kid who doesn’t remember her with her classic cigarette holder and a trail of smoke in the popular cartoon, 101 Dalmatians. But there is always a first time for everything! In a live-action prequel released on Friday, it turns out that Cruella too, has fallen victim to Hollywood’s smoking ban, reported The Telegraph.

Her nicotine habit has been stubbed out in Cruella, making it an inevitably tough task for Emma Stone, the actor who essays the popular fur-obsessed and puppy-hunting lady. “That is not allowed in 2021,” Stone told the New York Times. "We are not allowed to smoke onscreen in a Disney film. It was difficult to not have that cigarette holder. I was so excited to have that green plume of smoke in there, but it was not possible,” she added.

Moreover, the new Cruella does not want to massacre puppies for their fur either in the latest film. Production notes released by the studio read, "In our film, the character Cruella does not in any way harm animals. Cruella doesn’t share the same motivations as her animated counterpart." Speaking about the same, Stone concurred, "I don’t want to promote smoking, but I’m also not trying to promote skinning puppies.”

Disney banned smoking in its films back in 2007, extending the prohibition to Lucasfilm, Marvel and Pixar in 2015. Last year, it added warnings to films on its Disney+ streaming service, including Dumbo, Aristocats and Peter Pan, that they contain "negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures." The warning read, "These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now." The company has updated several measures to make sure its films are children and family friendly.

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