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Is Emma Stone playing memorable villainess Cruella de Vil?

Emma Stone may portray the 'Dalmations' character in an upcoming Disney film. The movie would be the newest in a collection of various live-action adaptations of Disney animated films, with recent hits including 'The Jungle Book' and 'Cinderella.'

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Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/File
Emma Stone arrives at the premiere of 'Magic In The Moonlight' in New York in 2014. The actress may appear as Disney villain Cruella de Vil in a live-action movie adaptation of '101 Dalmations.'

Emma Stone may be appearing as Disney villain Cruella de Vil in a live-action movie based on the character from the animated film "101 Dalmations." 

The original "101" animation was released in 1961 and centers on a family of dogs who are attempting to escape the clutches of Cruella, who wants to use the dogs' fur to make black-and-white spotted coats. The movie was previously adapted as a live-action film starring actress Glenn Close as Cruella in 1996. This latest announcement from Disney adds to the growing trend of taking characters from much-loved classics and further developing their stories.

Disney recently announced various upcoming live-action versions of their animated films, a genre with which the studio has had success, Variety reports. The studio will be making a film centering on Cruella, starring Ms. Stone, as well as new movies about the world of "The Jungle Book" (which was just released earlier this month), "Sleeping Beauty" villain Maleficent, and a movie about Mary Poppins starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda of "Hamilton," according to Variety.

Ms. Stone has previously appeared in such films as "Irrational Man," "Birdman," and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

Disney's previous live-action takes on their animated films include "Cinderella" (2015), "Maleficent" (2014), and "Alice in Wonderland" (2010). All of these, including this year's "Jungle Book," were financial successes. 

In general, Disney's efforts at transforming its classic animations into live-action films have been met with approval by fans and critics alike.

If Stone is officially on board for "Dalmations," some cultural commentators seem pleased with the selection, with Lauren Brown of Glamour saying she is "particularly psyched" for Stone's casting and Forbes writer Scott Mendelson writing that "Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil is perfect 'star+concept' casting."

While the appeal of Disney live-action adaptations of course has other likely origins, including the familiarity of the tales, these movies may have succeeded so far in part because of the casting choices. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer wrote of "Maleficent," in which actress Angelina Jolie portrayed the villainess: "Disney was smart enough to cast Jolie. She has a genuinely heroic presence."

Mr. Rainer also approved of the actors brought on board to voice various animal characters in "Jungle," writing that the characters are "wonderfully voiced."

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