Cruella de Vil, Marc Davis, and New Guinea

In an episode of the Disney Family Album devoted to animator Marc Davis, the scene opens with a display of Davis' collection of New Guinea art. "It has a vitality, shape, and form," says Davis. "It has an inventiveness of design that is like no other art in the world."

From Davis' collection, as seen in episode 17 of Disney Family Album

When I was watching 101 Dalmatians in a dog park in Bloomington recently, I could not help but marvel over the design of Cruella de Vil. There was a mask-like quality to her that I had not recognized before. Indeed, it appeared very reminiscent of the New Guinea masks that Davis was so fond of. This not only includes the high cheek bones, but also the arched eyebrows and the turned up nose.

In particular I want to emphasize the cheek bones and turned up nose, since it also seemed very similar to Lon Chaney's makeup design for Erik in The Phantom of the Opera, giving it a skull-like appearance.

I wondered just how much influence Davis had in the animation of de Vil in 101 Dalmatians. Animation is a collaborative medium, much more so than live action film. It is therefore often difficult to pinpoint who did what without relying on some sort of studio documentation. Some people have become very skilled recognizing animators' work (i.e. Mark Kausler), but most of us laymen are simply unable to do that. Therefore, one of the best pieces of documentation to look for are what are called drafts. Drafts indicate what scenes animators animated on.

As it turns out, seven years ago animator Hans Perk published the drafts of 101 Dalmatians on his blog. Historian Mark Mayerson then followed up with screen captures of the scenes the animators worked on. The result is a more firm understanding of who animated on which scene. As the drafts confirm, de Vil was almost entirely Davis' creation.

But to get back to the New Guinea influence, I want to show one last image. This is the infamous scene number 171, where we cut to a closeup of Cruella as she is about to ram the truck full of dalmatians.

Feel free to continue scrolling down in fear.

Besides resembling a flaming skull, I think this further demonstrates the mask-like qualities of her facial design. The head is a notably rectangular shape rather than an ovular shape. Also, the eyes contain a series of circles that emphasize the psychotic drive in her to "get those puppies." Those circular lines can also be found in a number of New Guinea masks. Indeed, Cruella's head certainly has "vitality, shape, and form" and this, combined with a desire to kill puppies and use their skins as coats, certainly makes for a most frightening villain.

We will have more posts to come on 101 Dalmatians. I apologize for any nightmares.