When It Comes to Disney's 101 Dalmatians, the 'de Vil' Is in the Details (ENTERTAINMENT)
It was actually Marc Davis' masterful work on the Mistress of All Evil for Sleeping Beauty that led to his being assigned Cruella de Vil. But given that 101 Dalmatians was Walt Disney Animation Studios' first film to be set in a contemporary setting, well, Davis wanted Cruella to be a real departure from everything that he'd done with Maleficent. He wanted her to be the first modern-day Disney villain.