- “Rucifee not-a funny! Rucifee mean!”
- ―Jaq to Gus about Lucifer
Lucifer is a major antagonist in Disney's 1950 animated feature film Cinderella. He is the Tremaine family's black cat, with a wicked and conniving personality. Much like his masters, Lucifer is cruel to Cinderella. His plots typically involve sabotaging her bloodhound Bruno, and pursuing the château's mice in attempts to devour them.
Background
Development
Lucifer was largely created for comic relief. Ward Kimball, one of the animators, imagined and was responsible for the comedic subplot of the cat-and-mouse chase scenes between Lucifer vs. Jaq and Gus and the other mice. His design was largely inspired by a pet cat belonging to Kimball himself who had six toes. When Walt Disney came to Kimball's home (who was having a rough time finding out how to model Lucifer), upon meeting his cat, Walt told Kimball, there he had the cat inspiration.
Personality
Lucifer is an extremely spoiled, hateful, pompous, sour, and gluttonous cat. His only loyalty lies with that of his mistress Lady Tremaine, who treats him like royalty and acts as his mother figure because she puts a roof over his head. He is hostile towards Cinderella, constantly trying to sabotage her plans and get her into trouble, with the only apparent motive for making her life harder and more miserable, showing he doesn't, even in the slightest, appreciate Cinderella's kind and caring nature. He even seems to dislike Drizella and Anastasia, as evidenced by his scowling and covering his ears when the two are bickering over trivial things. Lucifer is also very ambitious and ruthless, going to any lengths to kill the mice that are Cinderella's allies, and is sneaky enough to play the victim when he got Bruno in trouble and manipulated Cinderella into sending him outside.
Unlike many Disney villain animal henchmen, Lucifer is clever, cunning, and not at all foolish, contrary to his mistress's daughters. Although he is somewhat clumsy due to his heftiness and can be tricked, he gets back on track extremely quickly. Lucifer can also detect someone's presence. In the original film, whilst trying to gather supplies for Cinderella's dress, Jaq and Gus made an attempt to quietly sneak past Lucifer, and nearly did so without troubles, until the cat almost immediately awakened once the duo passed his way. In the third film, Cinderella was attempting to sneak by Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia. She did without a problem, but once it came to Lucifer, she was almost exposed until Lady Tremaine demanded him to come with her.
Physical appearance
Lucifer is an obese cat with black fur covering most of his body. He has a black ruffled head, a white muzzle, a large pink nose, and green pupils with yellow sclera. He has two long white whiskers on either side of his upper lip, and his mouth is often turned up into a sinister smile. The fur on his belly, his paws, and the tip of his tail are cream-colored. Lucifer's sharp claws are almost always sticking out.
Appearances
Cinderella
Lucifer about to frame Bruno.
Lucifer first appears briefly in the prologue of the film, as a kitten, alongside Lady Tremaine (who is holding and petting him) and a younger Anastasia and Drizella as they all look at Cinderella and her father from a window, hidden by darkness.
Years later, Lucifer has grown into a big obese cat, primarily due to excess eating, sleeping, and a complete lack of exercise. When Cinderella awakens one morning to begin doing her chores, she awakens Lucifer to feed him, per orders that he is to be fed before the rest of the Tremaines. Once in the kitchen, Lucifer tries to get rid of Cinderella's dog Bruno by scratching him painfully and sneakily while Cinderella's back is turned. Bruno then growls loudly and threateningly out of anger and pain, and Lucifer lets out a benign and exaggerated fake shriek of pain as if Bruno scratched him. Cinderella hears Lucifer's fake screech and blames Bruno, bitterly scolding him to go outside and stop causing trouble. Back inside the kitchen, Lucifer wears a wide grin of wicked satisfaction, but is also quickly scolded by Cinderella for not getting along better with Bruno. He then lazily drinks from the milk bowl Cinderella left him while frowning sourly, until Jaq causes a distraction to lure him away from the other mice, in order to create a path to getting their breakfast. While returning with the mice, Gus struggles with carrying his load and easily grabs Lucifer's attention. Fortunately, and unexpectedly, Cinderella enters the room and accidentally takes Gus away on her breakfast trays for Lady Tremaine and her daughters. Lucifer manages to grab him again, but Cinderella forces him to let Gus go soon afterwards.
When Cinderella is later sent to her stepmother's bedroom after being accused of putting mice into the breakfast trays, Lucifer joins his mistress and sadistically takes great pleasure on hearing the punishments Lady Tremaine places on her stepdaughter. However, his pleasure turns to dismay when Lady Tremaine tells Cinderella to give him a bath, as, being a cat, he does not like water or baths.
Lucifer tormenting Cinderella by messing up her just-cleaned floors with his paws.
Later, while Lady Tremaine and her daughters are practicing their music lesson, Lucifer cannot stand Drizella's off-key singing of "Sing, Sweet Nightingale" and rushes out of the room to see Cinderella singing along while scrubbing the floors of the château's entrance hall. He decides to torment Cinderella by jumping all around the freshly-scrubbed floor with his dust-covered paws, ruining Cinderella's hard work. Noticing the mess Lucifer made, Cinderella intends to 'teach him a lesson' with her broomstick but is distracted by a knock on the door, which is the herald delivering an invitation to the ball at the palace.
A while later, Jaq and Gus plan to grab a sash and a bead necklace from the laundry pile, since this is what the other mice need in order to finish making Cinderella's dress for the ball. It is just their luck that Lucifer is also in the room, sleeping. Jaq and Gus try to quietly retrieve the sash without waking him up but to no avail. Fortunately, Lucifer, now wide awake, can't get a good grip on the sash, and the mice manage to get away with it. When Jaq and Gus then plan to take the bead necklace, Gus blows their cover by yelling excitedly about the beads. Lucifer immediately sits on them and waits for the mice to make their next move. Jaq formulates a plan and starts off for Lucifer. Lucifer readies his paws and accidentally lets Jaq sneak behind him. Jaq, now amidst the laundry pile at the other side of the room, creates a distraction in the hopes of luring Lucifer away from the beads, giving Gus time to grab them and escape. Lucifer figures this out and uses his tail to keep the beads close to him as he moves towards Jaq. Once he gets close enough, Lucifer pounces on Jaq and chases him into the heap of laundry, mainly into a light-blue nightgown.
When the coast is clear, Gus makes his move to get the beads. Once Gus gets them, he heads back to the mouse hole from which he and Jaq came, but unfortunately slips on a bead and slams into the far side wall, briefly getting Lucifer's attention. Jaq immediately intervenes and gets him to chase him into the dress again. This time, Jaq makes an escape out of a sleeve of the dress with Lucifer close behind. Lucifer can only manage to poke his head out of the sleeve. Enraged by the trap he has been put in, Lucifer slithers across the floor aiming for Gus, now picking up the beads with Jaq. Gus barely manages to grab the last bead before Lucifer attempts to bite on him and escapes, leaving Lucifer temporarily trapped in the dress.
Lucifer defeated by Bruno in the original.
That night, Lucifer makes another attempt to catch Gus by trapping him under a bowl, only for the Fairy Godmother to turn Gus into a horse. The newly transformed Gus then whinnies loudly at Lucifer, scaring the cat so much that he runs off. Cinderella feels bad for him, yet the Fairy Godmother says that it serves him right.
The next day, Lucifer attempts to catch Jaq and Gus, who have arrived with a key they have stolen from Lady Tremaine, while they try to free Cinderella from her locked room (while that is happening, Anastasia and Drizella are being tested as the girl with whom Prince Charming is enamored, though they both fail). He succeeds in trapping Gus, who has the key, beneath a bowl and fights back at the mice and the birds as they attack him. However, Bruno is summoned by the birds on Cinderella's request, knowing he is the only one who can get rid of Lucifer. Bruno races up to the tower, where he catches Lucifer outside of Cinderella's room. He then lets out a growl, scaring Lucifer so much that he moves away from the door and leaps up on to the tower window. Bruno jumps on the windowsill, attempting to bite Lucifer before the latter falls to the ground far below (though he presumably survives as cats always land on their feet), defeated. Subsequently, Cinderella is freed from her room, with her being found out by the Grand Duke as the girl from the ball.
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True
Lucifer in Cinderella II: Dreams Come True.
Lucifer returns for the first sequel, however with less screen time though a fair role. He only appears in the final segment of the second film, An Uncommon Romance as a supporting character and a minor antagonist.
In the final segment, he falls in love with the snobby palace cat of the King, Pom-Pom, to the point that he makes a deal with the mice never to chase them again if they help him win over Pom-Pom. The plan works, but Pom-Pom goads Lucifer into helping her catch and eat the mice. His treachery backfires and Pom-Pom dumps him. The mice, who are upset with Lucifer breaking his promise, whack him over the head with a broom knocking the cat unconscious (who was fancily dressed), with Jaq telling Lucifer that "The deal is off!" alongside the other mice, with them all seeming angry with Lucifer.
Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
- “Lucifer, make absolutely certain they don't come back alive.”
- ―Lady Tremaine's order to Lucifer before his human transformation
Lucifer in Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.
Lucifer also returns for the third film, this time as a major antagonist.
Lucifer is first seen begging Anastasia and Drizella for some food, but they unknowingly throw his bowl in the sink. Later, when Anastasia brings the Fairy Godmother's wand to the house, the Godmother and she get into a fight, accidentally turning Lucifer into a goose in the process. After Lady Tremaine reverses time with the Fairy Godmother's wand, Lucifer resumes his role as adversary to both Cinderella and the mice. When Anastasia fits the slipper, she is seen picking up Lucifer and dancing with him, him seeming annoyed, When the Jaq and Gus are stalking the key to saving the wand, they unknowingly put Lucifer's tail in the fireplace, putting the cat into a screaming fit. When it comes to Cinderella being chased by the palace guards, the mice use the wand on Lucifer, turning him into a jack-in-the-box, but he still continues to chase them. Then they shrink the cat, but he chases the mice in a mouse hole, and when they run out, Jaq and Gus turn Lucifer back into his normal size and run for their lives, leaving him stuck in the hole.
Lucifer tormenting Gus as a human coachman in A Twist in Time
Later, in his most notable scene, Lucifer is transformed into a human coachman by Lady Tremaine's magic. He is ordered to send Cinderella, Jaq, and Gus as far away from the palace as possible, preferably to their deaths. The heroes retaliate, however, and battle Lucifer during the high-speed carriage ride. Eventually, Cinderella is able to knock Lucifer off the carriage, who falls into a lake deep within the woods. By the time he swims to safety, the spell has worn off, turning him back into a cat. Lucifer is not seen or mentioned for the remainder of the film, leaving his fate unknown.
House of Mouse
Lucifer with Drizella and Anastasia in House of Mouse.
Lucifer has made numerous cameos in the television series House of Mouse. In the episode "Jiminy Cricket", Lucifer can be seen at a table with Drizella and Anastasia, seeming startled by the remarks of Jiminy Cricket.
In "Goofy's Menu Magic", Lucifer is seen at a table imagining Jaq and Gus as cooked chickens after not receiving his evening meal. In "Goofy's Valentine Date", Lucifer attacked Mortimer after he attempted to flirt with Anastasia and Drizella.
Lucifer also makes an appearance/cameo, dancing in the conga line alongside many other Disney Villains in Mickey's House of Villains where Jafar alongside the other villains take over the House of Mouse night club from Mickey and his friends.
Other appearances
A brown fat cat resembling Lucifer makes a cameo at one scene of the one-shot featurette, Ben and Me, chasing Christopher Mouse. June Foray reprises her role as a the cat who his possibly/likely Lucifer in that short film.
Lucifer was briefly seen on Weebo the Robot's monitor in the live-action film Flubber via archive footage from the original film. An emoticon version of Lucifer also appeared in the Cinderella entry of the As Told by Emoji short series. During the end credits, he chases Jaq and Gus through the phone screen.
A monstrous green version of Lucifer appears in the Legend of the Three Caballeros episode "Stonehenge Your Bets" when the goblins demonstrate a flaming catapult to Lord Felldrake. He also makes a brief appearance in "Sheldgoose Square Dance" along with the goblins helping the Three Caballeros.
Live-action appearances
Cinderella (2015)
Lucifer in the live-action film.
Lucifer appears in the live-action adaptation of the 1950 classic, reprising his role as Lady Tremaine's cat, though he plays a much smaller role in this film compared to the animated version.
Lucifer was first seen during the Tremaines' arrival at Cinderella's home, upon his mistress' introduction. Throughout the remake, he made brief appearances in cutaway shots, where his rivalry with the mice was shown to be consistent, and he made several attempts at their lives, only to be stopped by Cinderella and his own clumsiness.
At the end of the film, Lucifer is last seen when the Royal family visits the home to find the girl who fit the Glass Slipper, in which the Captain of the Royal guards overhears singing, and openly, and sarcastically, contemplates on whether there is another maiden in the household, or if Lucifer suddenly learned to sing, after Lady Tremaine claimed Anastasia and Drizella (named Drisella in the live-action-film) were the only young women in the home. It is presumed that Lady Tremaine takes Lucifer with her when she, alongside her daughters and the Grand Duke, leave the kingdom.
Printed media
Comics
Lucifer with Grandma Duck and Uncle Scrooge in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 123 (1950).
When Jaq and Gus moved into the King's castle with Cinderella in the comics, Lucifer followed them and attempted to continue tormenting them, but as a result, by royal decree, cats were banned from within the castle walls. One particular story, published in Four Color Comics #982, sees a surprisingly articulate and intelligent Lucifer hoodwinking Tinker Bell into flying him into the Castle.
After they come to live on Grandma Duck's farm, Lucifer eventually returns to antagonize Jaq and Gus again, as shown in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 123 (1950). Here, Scrooge McDuck visits Grandma's farm to test how well his cat Lucifer is at catching mice. Unlike other appearances, Lucifer has orange fur (pictured in the comic strip here) instead of his usual black fur. Lucifer also appears as a minor antagonist in the manga series, Kilala Princess. He appears during Kilala Reno's visit to the world of Cinderella, where he causes a mess alongside Anastasia and Drizella to further Cinderella's list of chores.
In My Fair Grand Duke, a story featured in the fourth issue of the Disney Princess series, Lucifer somehow found himself under Cinderella's supervision and became subject in her quest to promote proper etiquette. Though visibly annoyed with serving Jaq and Gus as part of his teachings, Cinderella notes that he's come a long way since the beginning.
Descendants: Isle of the Lost
Lucifer is one of the villains imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost. He has had numerous litters of kittens and one of them is owned by Carlos De Vil, whom he named Beelzebub. He is also the mascot of Dragon Hall.
Video game appearances
Disney Princess
Lucifer was an obstacle during Cinderella's stage. While Cinderella was in Lady Tremaine's home as a maid. To defeat Lucifer, Gus threw down plates while Cinderella caught most. The other plates would knock Lucifer unconscious (as tried by the mice in the film, though it failed).
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
Lucifer is featured as a boss in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. In the game, Lucifer is on a self-assigned mission to keep Ventus and the mice from collecting materials for Cinderella's ball gown, just as he did in the classic film.
Lucifer is shown sleeping in the dressing room next to the last pearl (which he may or not be guarding) for Ventus to gather for Cinderella's gown. As Ventus takes it and creeps back for the mouse hole, Lucifer wakes up and prepares to strike Ventus from behind, but Jaq warns Ventus at the last minute and throws balls of string at Lucifer to distract him, but Lucifer rams himself into the cabinet where Jaq was standing, causing Jaq to fall onto the floor. As Lucifer prepares to kill Jaq, Ventus intervenes and strikes Lucifer's paw. Angered, Lucifer engages Ventus in a battle, which Ventus wins. Lucifer subsequently runs off and isn't seen again.
Disney Emoji Blitz
- “Gus hides from Lucifer under the teacups! Tap a teacup to reveal what's inside.”
- ―Lucifer's Power description.
Lucifer appears as a Villain Emoji, requiring the player to defeat him in his own Villain Survival Event to collect and upgrade him, or randomly obtain him in a Villain Box. When Lucifer's Power is activated, Gus scurries onto the board and hides behind one of three teacups. After the teacups randomly shuffle, the player must correctly choose the teacup Gus is hiding under. If successful, Lucifer will chase Gus off the board, and powerups will be left in place of the teacups. Lucifer is part of the Cinderella Villains group collection (alongside Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella), requiring the player the unlock and upgrade all four Cinderella villains to receive a Villain Box containing a different Disney Villain.
Other games
Lucifer is one of the enemies in Cinderella: Magical Dreams, often dealing with the mice when playable. In Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure, Lucifer appears in the Cinderella stage as a secret boss battle, where the objective is to sneak through the mouse-accessible walls while avoiding the devious cat.
In Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, Lucifer is mentioned by Cinderella during a meet and greets from afar, calling him a fat cat, and defending his enemy Bruno, alongside calling him mischievous.
Disney Parks
Lucifer with Lady Tremaine in Twice Charmed.
Walt Disney World
A statue of Lucifer can be seen attached to the Cinderella's Wishing Well statue in the Magic Kingdom.
Tokyo Disney Resort
In Tokyo Disneyland Resort, Lucifer's likeness is seen in the attraction Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall.
Lucifer also accompanies Lady Tremaine in the attraction Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour, also in Tokyo Disneyland.
Disney Cruise Line
Lucifer makes an appearance on Twice Charmed, a show aboard the Disney Magic. During the song "Chasing a Dream", Lady Tremaine strolls through the town with her daughters while holding Lucifer.
Gallery
Trivia
- The name "Lucifer" is one of the many names of Satan.
- Lucifer appears to share some similar physical properties with the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland: they both are rather fat, both have a rather large grin at most points, and both have rather sharp claws, and sometimes show opposable toes on each of their hind feet. However, while Lucifer is evil, doesn't talk, and has black fur, the Cheshire Cat is more neutral, sometimes good, has the ability to talk, and has pink-and-purple striped fur. This may be because the two films were produced a year next to each other (1950 and 1951).
- In the earlier scripts, Lucifer was actually going to be Cinderella's cat, instead of being Lady Tremaine's, which is a reference to the original story, in which Fairy Godmother transforms him into a coachman, but in some versions, he is female.
- Lucifer does become a human coachman by Lady Tremaine in A Twist in Time, although ironically, he fights against Cinderella.
- Lucifer's name, translated into Greek, is Αφροδίτη, which is also the name of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. This is ironic considering his actual personality.
- In all of his appearances, Lucifer has four claws, but during the scene in which he protects the beads and is preparing to kill Jaq or Gus, he has five claws.
- Despite his journal entry giving him the name "Lucifer", his name is never pronounced correctly in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, to the point that even Ventus refers to him as "Roosifee", due to the fact that this is how Jaq pronounces it.
- As seen in a few roles, Lucifer's killing method consists of silently approaching the victim and then striking them with his claws once close enough.
External links
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