Honestly, if you grew up watching the original 101 Dalmatians, you probably remember Cruella de Vil as a terrifying, skeletal woman with a cigarette holder who literally wanted to skin puppies for a coat. It was dark. Fast forward to 2021, and suddenly we have Emma Stone stepping into those iconic heels for the movie Cruella. But here's the thing: it wasn't exactly a remake.
Emma Stone 101 Dalmatians is the phrase everyone types into Google when they’re trying to figure out if she’s actually in a movie with 101 dogs. The short answer? She isn't. Not exactly. She stars in a prequel that’s more about 1970s punk rock and high-fashion revenge than it is about dog-napping.
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The "Dog-Murderer" Identity Crisis
Disney had a real challenge with this one. How do you take a character whose entire "brand" is animal cruelty and make her the hero of a summer blockbuster? You basically don't. Instead, they gave us Estella.
Estella is a creative, slightly troubled girl who loses her mom in a bizarre accident involving three Dalmatians. Yeah, you read that right. In this version, Dalmatians are basically the "hitmen" that push her mother off a cliff. You'd think that would make her hate the breed forever, but the movie takes a sharp turn. By the end, she’s actually living with those same dogs. It's a choice.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Timeline
People often get confused about where Emma Stone fits compared to Glenn Close. Glenn Close played the character in the 1996 live-action 101 Dalmatians and its sequel. Emma Stone’s version is technically a prequel to the concept of Cruella, but it’s not necessarily a direct lead-in to the 1996 film.
Director Craig Gillespie (who also did I, Tonya) didn't even watch the older movies before filming. He wanted something fresh. He set the movie in London during the 70s, focused on the rivalry between Stone’s Estella and Emma Thompson’s Baroness von Hellman.
Think of it like this:
- Animated (1961): Cruella is a pure villain. No excuses.
- Glenn Close (1996): An over-the-top, fashion-obsessed corporate nightmare.
- Emma Stone (2021): A misunderstood "anti-hero" who uses the villain persona to take down a worse person.
The Mid-Credits Scene That Broke Everything
The biggest link to the Emma Stone 101 Dalmatians lore happens right at the end. In a mid-credits scene, we see Cruella send two Dalmatian puppies to two different people: Anita and Roger.
Wait.
Anita and Roger are the couple from the original story. The dogs she sends them are named Pongo and Perdita. If you think about this for more than five seconds, it gets incredibly weird. If Cruella gave them the dogs that eventually have 15 puppies, then why does she try to steal and kill those puppies later? Is she just a really bad gift-giver? Or is this a different timeline where she’s actually a "nice" person who just likes the aesthetic of being a villain?
Cruella 2: Where Are We Now?
It’s been a few years since the first film hit theaters and Disney+ simultaneously during the pandemic. It didn't break the box office—making around $233 million worldwide—but it was a massive hit on streaming.
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As of early 2026, things are finally moving again. Emma Stone has been busy winning another Oscar (for Poor Things) and starring in The Curse, but she’s officially signed on for a sequel. There were some rumors that Cruella 2 might be a musical—which, given Stone's La La Land background, makes total sense—but Disney has been pretty tight-lipped.
What we do know is that the sequel will likely have to bridge the gap between "Revolutionary Fashion Icon" and "Puppy-Stealing Maniac." Or, they might just ignore the original story entirely and do their own thing. Honestly, fans seem to prefer the "Anti-Hero" version anyway.
Everything You Need to Know About the Emma Stone Version
The Style Over Substance Debate
Some critics felt the movie was a bit too long (it clocks in at 134 minutes). Others thought the soundtrack—which is basically a "Best of the 70s" playlist—did a lot of the heavy lifting. But you can't deny the costumes. Jenny Beavan won an Oscar for the costume design, and for good reason. That dress made of garbage? The "Future" makeup written across Stone's face? It was a visual feast.
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The Problem With Prequels
The biggest limitation of Cruella is that it’s tied to a character we already know. When you name your movie after a woman who eventually tries to kill 99 puppies, the audience is always waiting for that "dark turn." When it doesn't happen, it can feel a little bit like a bait-and-switch.
But if you view it as a standalone fashion-crime movie, it’s actually one of Disney’s best live-action attempts. It has more personality than the "shot-for-shot" remakes like The Lion King.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into this specific version of the story, here is what you should do:
- Watch the Mid-Credits Scene Again: It’s the only part that really connects to the Emma Stone 101 Dalmatians future. It sets up Roger (played by Kayvan Novak) and Anita (Kirby Howell-Baptiste).
- Check Out the Soundtrack: If you like punk and glam rock, the Cruella soundtrack is actually a great gateway to 70s London music.
- Keep an Eye on 2026 Production News: With the sequel back in active development, we're likely to get a release date by the end of this year.
- Don't Expect "Dog Murder": If you're looking for the classic "I want a fur coat" plot, you won't find it here. This is a story about a girl named Estella finding out who she really is.
The connection between Emma Stone and the 101 Dalmatians universe is definitely more of a "spiritual prequel" than a direct setup, but it gave the character a depth she never had in the cartoons. Whether she'll ever actually go "full villain" remains to be seen.