Cruella De Vil (obviously a play on cruel and devil) is the villain in 101 Dalmatians who kidnaps (dognaps) the puppies for their fur. She is described as having one half of her hair white and the other half black, an extreme fondness for pepper and a preference for elevated temperatures.
In the 1961 Disney animated movie her voice was played by Betty Lou Gerson. The film featured a song about her sung by Roger whose lyrics begin:
- Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil, If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will.
Later, in the 1996 live-action remake, and its 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians, she was played by Glenn Close. Shortly afterward, Cruella was a regular antagonist in 101 Dalmatians: The Series, where she was voiced by April Winchell . This time, though, her aim was to steal the Dearly Farm, seeing how killing animals for fashion was deemed politically incorrect. However, she returned to hunting dogs in House of Mouse (which features a running gag in which she inspects dogs from other Disney films with a measuring ruler) and 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure, both of which had Susanne Blakeslee as her voice.
