Movie Quote of the Day (‘101 Dalmatians,’ With Cruella De Vil Delivering a Perfect Vow of Revenge—and Pun)

Cruella De Vil [played by Glenn Close]: “You... BEASTS! But I'm not beaten yet. You've won the battle, but I'm about to win the wardrobe.”— 101 Dalmatians (1996), screenplay by John Hughes (adapted from the 1961 Disney animated film and the novel by Dodie Smith), directed by Stephen Herek

I first became aware of this quotation while reading Maureen Dowd’s New York Times interview with playwright Tom Stoppard back in September.

However, while Ms. Dowd notes, correctly, that Stoppard did some script-doctoring on 102 Dalmatians at the behest of Glenn Close, I think she identified the wrong quote for the movie. This quote that she (and I!) enjoy so much came from the 1996 Hughes version, rather than the 2000 sequel with a screenplay by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker, and Noni White.

(Hughes was not associated with the 2000 project, whereas, as producer in 1996, I doubt that he would have allowed anyone tinkering with his script.)