Cruella fires Anita on Christmas Eve and now shall be visited by three ghosts, taking a look at how she treats others.
Tropes:
- Animation Bump: Notably the only episode of the series to be animated with digital ink and paint rather than cels.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Spot tells the audience that she had a big song and dance number planned for her part as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, but it was cut.
- Chew-Out Fake-Out: When Cruella bursts into the Darlings’ house on Christmas Day:Cruella: How dare you...!Anita: How dare we what?!Cruella: ...celebrate Christmas without me!
- Christmas Carolers: Cruella plows through a group of them to get to her car.
- Christmas Episode: Cruella learns the True Meaning of Christmas when she’s visited by three ghosts.
- Clothes for Christmas Cringe:
- When Rolly is sniffing out all the food-centered Christmas presents under the tree, he reacts in disappointment when he smells a “sweater: cotton-poly blend”.
- Baby Cruella wanted a puppy from her parents for Christmas and cries when she opens the box to find clothes. This same thing happens again when Cruella is a young girl.
- Circling Birdies: When Cruella’s metal Christmas tree falls on her, she sits up and has angels that look like her are circling her head.
- Comically Missing the Point: Horace and Jasper’s two-headed ghost sings to Cruella that if she doesn’t change her ways she’ll end up like them and she replies “I’ll become a tone-deaf nitwit?”
- Commercialized Christmas: The only thing that matters to Cruella is the commercial aspect of Christmas. She even has an angel on top of her upside-down chrome Christmas tree that looks like her, shoots lasers out of its eyes, and says “Merry Christmas! Buy! Shop! Spend!”Cruella: Oh, how I love Christmas! Such a joyous celebration of capitalism!
- Company Cross References: Cruella's second nanny bears a close resemblance to Mary Poppins.
- Convenience Store Gift Shopping: After her change of heart, Cruella wants to buy Christmas gifts for everyone; but since nothing is open except for House of De Vil, she gives out office supplies.Cruella: Have a photo copier! (proceeds to toss a photo copier out a window and almost kills several ice skaters by accident)
- The Door Slams You: When Cruella storms out of her building, she slams the door into the Santa-dressed bell ringer…and then takes money out of his donation bucket to pay for the damage he did to her door.
- Expospeak Gag:Cadpig: It’s obvious your early yearning for a Dalmatian puppy represented a deep-seated need to substitute the love you didn’t get from your parents.Cruella: And that means?Cadpig: You were a brat!
- The Grinch: Subverted. Cruella actually loves Christmas, but only because it means she can sell more designs and make more money.
- Hypocritical Humor: Right after Cadpig tells Rolly he shouldn’t be sniffing all the presents to find out what they are because it will ruin the surprise, she asks him to tell her what she got.
- Jacob Marley Apparel: Subverted, despite Horace and Jasper literally playing the role of Jacob Marley in this episode. While they are Chained by Fashion, they aren’t wearing the elf costumes they were seen in earlier in the episode. In fact, they’re wearing the outfit that the character of Jacob Marley is usually portrayed wearing in most other iterations.
- Nightmare Face:
- Cadpig uses her “special effects” to scare Cruella into agreeing to come with her on their journey to the past.
- Cruella's teen self makes a pretty freaky one when she finally hits her Rage Breaking Point.
- Parental Neglect: Becomes a bit of a Running Gag when Cadpig is showing Cruella the Christmases of her past and her parents are shown to care less and less about her as the years go on.
- As a baby, the letter from her parents is signed “Sincerely, Your Parents Mr. and Mrs. de Vil”.
- As a young girl, Cruella gets a letter from her parents addressed to “Occupant” and signed “Your primary care providers”.
- Her Christmas as a teenager is the worst of all, as her parents send her cardboard cutouts of themselves (that at first trick her into thinking they actually came home for Christmas) that say “Merry Christmas to our little tax exemption schedule C line 4.”
- Sand In My Eyes: When Cadpig sees that the memories of Cruella’s past Christmases have finally had an effect on her, Cruella denies it saying that her tears are from the fireplace smoke.
- The Scrooge: Is it any surprise Cruella plays this role in this episode? She’s so insulted by Anita daring to ask to spend Christmas with her family that she actually fires her.Cruella: Now you can hang up your stocking and stuff it!
- Urine Trouble: Filled with Christmas cheer, Cruella picks up one of the Dalmatian puppies and hugs him. Unfortunately she ended up grabbing Wizzer, and he pees on her before Roger can stop him.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: After Cruella gets hit in the head, she experiences a series of visions that mirror The Christmas Carol; with Cruella as The Scrooge, Anita & Roger as the Cratchits, Lucky as Tiny Tim (complete with an injured leg), Horace & Jasper as Jacob Marley, Cadpig as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Rolly as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Spot as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
