The Place des Stars in Production Courtyard is turned into a hot set, as Cruella De Vil rolls into the Studios on a unique trailer film set. Her two assistants drive the dalmatian-spotted truck which pulls the three spotty sets mounted on trailers, with Cruella hiding backstage in her dressing room until her grand entrance.

This is her big break, her big chance. She's got the hairstyle, the dress, the glamorous poses and the movie star strops - but does Miss De Vil have the acting skill and the winning script to become Hollywood's next big leading lady?

Ready to shoot in 2 minutes!

Cruella De Vil's glitzy jazz fanfare heralds the arrival of the moving movie set in Production Courtyard, a series of three different live sets mounted on trailers - a production office, a snowy country road and Cruella's own glamorous dressing room. As it pulls up in Production Courtyard, her two slaving assistants jump out of the Dalmatian-spotted truck and busy themselves preparing the set. "Ready to shoot in two minutes! Starring Cruella De Vil!" the director announces.

With some startling acrobatic moves and a jazzy song and dance routine, the two spotted assistants prepare you for the arrival of the leading lady. "The curl of her lips; The ice in her stare..." does Cruella know about this alternate version of her theme song?

Miss De Vil, take your place please...

The set is finally ready to welcome the star of the show! Another lively musical fanfare begins, as she bursts out from behind the Dalmatian-spotted screen in her dressing room to strike a pose with feather boas, sparkling jewellery and all the glitz and glamour of a big-time movie star! Applause and adulation out of the way, it's down to work... "Action!" Cruella plays her role with all the emotion of an award-winning actress, but wait - is this the fabulous role she was expecting? Where's the cameraman, the special effects team, the sound engineer? This is despicable! A quick call to the Walt Disney Studios gets the assistants in gear, and they go off in search of a production team...

Tiptoeing left and right, side to side, they make their way across the crowd and pick out some suitable new stars to keep Cruella happy. Sound engineer, sound effects, special effects - in just a few minutes they've assembled a crew from a cast of unknowns, and Cruella returns with a big musical salute and a confident swagger. She even has her own hastily-cast stunt double!

Aaand... Action!

The cameras flicker into action, the spotlights flare up and the lively music sets the scene. Cruella's double has stepped out onto the set in her devilish new costume and is making her acting debut with a phone call to the office on the other side of the set. The cameraman pans left and right to take in all the action as Cruella demands "Do you have the puppies? The dalmatians!" After a quick costume change (the double steps behind the screen as the fully-dressed real Cruella steps out), Cruella progresses to Scene 2 and rushes around the set looking for the devious duo who have stolen her puppies!

A struggle for the bag of puppies and a quick grab by Cruella leads to a high-speed car chase through the wintry country roads, with smoke pouring out the back of her car and the defeated pair of dog smugglers failing to keep up. "And.. cut!" It seems to have gone according to plan, but Cruella isn't happy! "I hate this movie!" she screams, as she storms off to her dressing room, ripping up her contract on the way.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Just as she disappears into her dressing room, the phone rings in the production office. It's Hollywood! They loved Cruella's performance, they can't wait to put her name in lights, she really is the next big star! As a desperate Miss De Vil flounces back on set, ready for her close-up with a glint in her eye, there's something this fiery diva has missed - Hollywood want her double, Cruella 2, for the starring role!

Whilst Cruella 2 steps into the spotlight to the tune of "Hooray for Hollywood!" and poses for her first glamorous group photo with the cast and crew, Cruella De Vil must drown her sorrows with a thorough sweep-up of the set...

Cut! That's a wrap!

Finding a Place to Watch

The show takes place on a series of trailers which are driven into Production Courtyard as the show begins, stopping just in front of the construction fences for Tower of Terror.

It is best to wait in Production Courtyard, near the Place des Stars Stage, until the stars arrive with their set. Follow the cavalcade to its stopping point and find a spot near the middle of the crowd to enjoy the show.

Taking Part

During the show, cast and crew are chosen to either star in the film or help make it. These people are usually chosen at random by Cruella's assistants, but you've got more chance of being asked to join in if you're near the front of the crowd and look enthusiastic!

The show features a lively soundtrack of jazz-based music in the style of the animated One Hundred and One Dalmatians, with an extra jazzy touch of showbiz to help progress Cruella's new role as a fledgling Hollywood actress. Music from past entertainment productions at Disneyland Resort Paris has been given a new lease of life, whilst some music has been taken from the original film's 1961 soundtrack and some is brand new. It was mixed by the musical directors of Disneyland Resort Paris and features some pre-recorded speech for the "director". During the show, the timing of the music and effects are controlled from the Production Office behind the audience, which also doubles as the control room for Lilo & Stitch Catch the Wave Party.

This large-scale streetmosphere show began its first season on the 2nd April 2005. It was first noted when casting notes showed the Studios were looking for a suitable Cruella De Vil, but the true nature of the show was not known until an issue of the "Envie de +" Annual Passport magazine printed a concept art drawing of the unique trailer film sets. Whilst some details in the concept art were different in the final show (most notably the repainted Studio van, which ended up as a white, Dalmatian-spotted truck), it showed that this production was far more than a simple streetmosphere act.

The show proved to be another big entertainment success for Walt Disney Studios Park (in addition to Good Morning Walt Disney Studios and Lilo & Stitch Catch the Wave Party from 2004), and so was given five performances per day for 2006, compared to just two in 2005.

Starring Cruella De Vil is no longer performed at Walt Disney Studios Park.  It was effectively replaced in Summer 2007 by High School Musical On Tour, a live streetmosphere show based on the popular Disney Channel Original Movie.