Which villain appears in Disney's 1961 film One Hundred and One Dalmatians?

Cruella de Vil is the villain who appears in Disney’s 1961 animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Cruella is a wealthy, flamboyant London socialite obsessed with fur coats. She visits the home of Pongo and Perdita, whose owners have recently welcomed a litter of Dalmatian puppies, and soon reveals her plan to buy the puppies and turn their spotted coats into clothing. When the purchase is refused, she arranges their kidnapping, setting the film’s rescue adventure in motion.

The character was created for Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, which Disney adapted into animation five years later. In the film, Cruella’s dramatic black-and-white hair, red clothing, sharp features, and extravagant car make her instantly recognizable. Betty Lou Gerson provided her speaking voice, while Bill Peet wrote the screenplay and developed much of the adaptation.

Cruella is sometimes confused with other Disney villains, especially Maleficent, Ursula, or Madame Medusa. Those characters belong to different stories: Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and The Rescuers respectively. Cruella’s defining obsession is Dalmatian fur, not magic or the sea.