All About the Dogs in ‘Cruella’

The new “Cruella” movie isn’t just about Dalmatians: The film, which stars Emma Stone as a young, punk version of the classic Disney villain, also features a chihuahua named Wink and a terrier named Buddy.

Here’s everything we know about the dogs in the movie, which is now playing in theaters.

  1. Buddy the Terrier is played by a dog named Bobby.
    “I truly believe one of the great loves of my life is the dog Buddy who is played by the dog Bobby, who was a rescue dog and one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met,” Stone told Reuters. As a young orphan, her character rescues Buddy from a dumpster.
  2. Bobby’s motivation? Balls!
    As his trainer, Julie Tottman told The Strategist, “Bobby, would do anything for a ball. He was actually a rescue that we rehomed — a friend of mine works for a company that rescues dogs, and she found Bobby in Cyprus. Bobby really responds well to a ball. Generally, if I need to keep him calm, I’ll use food. But if he needs to do something bonkers, I get a squeaky tennis ball, show it to him, and he’ll do anything for it. He’ll watch this ball no matter where it is — and it really lifts his spirit when I throw the ball at him. Sometimes I’ll put this on the end of the bait stick if it’s a shot that requires a bit of distance.”
  3. Wink is also a fashion maven
    The well-dressed Wink the chihuahua is played by a dog named Bluebell. In the movie, she belongs to henchman Horace Badun (Paul Walter Hauser). (According to IMDb, several Wink doubles were used, including dogs named Nala, Dane, Dixie, and Mozart.)                                  
  4. Emma Thompson “tried to get Wink fired”
    At the press conference, Emma Thompson, who plays the Baroness, joked that she tried to get Wink fired:
    “I told stories. I said he’d come and widdled on one of my costumes, and nobody believed me. They just knew I was lying and that it was just a vicious attempt to get rid of this dog that was, frankly, upstaging me and getting in my light.”
  5. Wink and Buddy have their own plush toys.
    “An absolute must, darling!” You can Wink here and Buddy here.

6. What about the Dalmatians? Do any of them die? (SPOILERS)

Here's How Disney's "Cruella" Leads Into "101 Dalmatians"
Not only does Cruella *not* kill (or skin) any Dalmatians in this film, she ends up with the Baroness’s Dalmatians by the end of the film, because she has trained them to follow her commands instead of those of her archnemesis. Therefore no Dalmatians — and no dogs at all — are harmed in the film. (Read more at Collider: Does Cruella Kill Dogs?)

7. The Dalmatians are (at first) the bad guys!
Early in the film, at the Baroness’s command, her dogs knock Cruella (then Estell’s) parents off a cliff, orphaning her. It all has to do with a necklace that the Baroness stole from Cruella’s mother. It’s a scene that’s been roundly criticized for its cheesiness and its poor CGI.

8. ‘Cruella’ shows the origin of Pongo and Perdita
In an end-credits scene, Cruella sends puppies named Pongo and Perdita to Roger (Kayvan Novak) and Anita (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). That she later tries to kidnap their puppies in the original films perhaps makes no sense, but that’s the nature of prequels.

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