Emma Stone Transforms Into 'Cruella' in New Trailer for '101 Dalmatians' Prequel Live-action flick also stars Emma Thompson Jon Blistein, provided by FacebookTwitterEmail 101 Dalmatians prequel, Set in London during the late Seventies, Cruella stars Emma Stone in the titular role. The film follows the character’s rise from a young grifter named Estella to one of the most nefarious and stylish villains in the Disney canon. More from Rolling Stone Per a synopsis, Estella arrives in London with the aim of making a name for herself as a designer. But eventually, “her flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute… But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable, and revenge-bent Cruella.”