Emma Stone, Emma Thompson play 2 fierce foes in Disney's 'Cruella'

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Cruella de Vil is one of Disney's most storied villains, but for the first time, we're finding out more on how she came to be so wicked.

I chatted with the star-studded cast of "Cruella," hitting theaters and Disney+ on Friday.

And that's the question: why do villains turn to the dark side? Were they born bad?

In "Cruella," there's more than one fierce female to contend with.

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I talked to on-screen foes Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, two Oscar winners in one thrillingly wicked live-action prequel to 101 Dalmatians.

"This is sort of the backstory of how she became this way," Stone said.

This may be her back story, but Cruella de Vil is hardly the only woman with a dark side.

"I play the Baroness who is wickedly brilliant," Thompson says. "She will stop at nothing to retain her place at the top of the food chain in the fashion world, which as you know, is a pretty vicious chain."

These leading ladies are in a high fashion face-off in 1970s London.

"It was popular for men to be geniuses, but it was not popular for women to be geniuses," Thompson says. "It's great to see two in the same movie."

And while these two foes would have you think there's only room for one woman at the top, the two Emmas hope this film leaves you with an even more powerful lesson.

"Just bring the really great women around you and make the space bigger, because then you'll get greater and greater and greater," Thompson says, inspiring women to lift each other to the top.