Judge Dimsdale De Vil is the main antagonist of the 101 Dalmatians: The Series episode "DeVil-Age Elder". He is the ancestor of Cruella De Vil born in 1631, and still alive because of a curse.
Appearances[]
101 Dalmatians: The Series[]
Dimsdale was appointed the tax collector of De Vil Ville over 300 years before the series. Because he was so ruthless, he soon gained more titles, including the sheriff, notary public, judge, bail bondsman, birthday clown, dog catcher, comedy driving, school, and Lord Mayor. Like a true De Vil, he ran the town with an iron fist, and (literally) squeezed every bit of money out of the locals. Sometime after (exactly three-hundred years before the episode took place), Hester Hen, the town witch, showed up and, realizing that the judge will not rest until he owns the whole world, casts a spell over Dimsdale and the whole town, so that it would disappear from the earth, to return for one day every 100 years, to keep the world safe from De Vil's evil. The curse also bound De Vil to the town, on the risk of death, and made the townspeople bewitched and mindlessly happy, to make him all the more miserable in comparison. The only exception to this spell was chickens (which is to avoid cursing Hester Hen's: Katrina).
The third day after Hester Hen's curse was cast (i.e. 300 years later for the rest of the world), Roger and Anita Dearly, along with Lucky, Rolly, Cadpig, and Spot, wandered into De Vil Ville. All except Spot fell under Hester's curse. Cruella De Vil, Dimsdale's great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter, found her way into De Vil Ville as well. She persuaded Dimsdale to lock the Dearlys in the town jail so that when she returned to Grutely, they'd disappear for the next 100 years, so she could claim their farm. Dimsdale, however, as he realized that, when Hester had cursed the town, she had just said "The evil De Vil will be bound within the town's borders" and hadn't specified which evil De Vil. Seeing that Cruella was just as evil as he was, he locked her in stocks and made to leave the town.
While he was collecting his gold, Spot kissed the puppies and the Dearlys, breaking the curse, and, in turn, allowing Anita to free Cruella. Cruella tackled Dimsdale as he headed for the town's exit, and they fought. When Cruella saw the sun setting, she ran for the exit, but Dimsdale grabbed her legs and pulled her back. Roger and Anita tried to pull Cruella free, but all three started to get pulled back in. Remembering that chickens were invulnerable to Hester's curse, Spot flew at Dimsdale and caused him to let go of Cruellla. When the village vanished, Spot was left behind, as she protected, and Dimsdale was still trapped within the town.
Notes[]
- Much like Malevola De Vil, Dimsdale was featured only in one episode in which he is the main antagonist. However, he is far more ruthless than Malevola did not care to make Cruella suffer the curse in his place.
- Assuming The Series takes place between 1997 and 1998 (the two years it was originally aired), Dimsdale is 366 or 367 years old, but because of the curse, his body and conscience are of 66 or 67 years old.
