Mr. L Skinner (also known as "Skinner") is a major antagonist in the 1996 live-action film, 101 Dalmatians.
Background[]
Personality[]
Ever since a dog ripped out his vocal cords which left him with a bad scar and mute (and can only wheeze), Skinner strongly dislikes all animals, especially dogs. As a result, he enjoys killing them and skinning them, as he did to the white tiger from the London Zoo. He also doesn’t like his scar being mentioned.
Role in the film[]
In the film, Mr. Skinner, as his name suggests, is a skinner and taxidermist who often kills animals to make products out of them. When he was young, a dog attacked him by tearing open his throat and ripping out his vocal cords in the process, leaving him with a bad scar on his neck. Due to this, he cannot speak at all. He is the one responsible for killing the female white Siberian tiger known as Sue-Ling at the London Zoo (which the "novelization" shows him doing) and makes her into a rug for Cruella. When Jasper and Horace come to pick it up, Horace makes a comment about Skinner's scar and why he can't talk; despite Jasper warning him not to do so, resulting in Jasper hitting his brother. Later on, when Jasper and Horace kidnap the puppies and take them to De Vil Manor, Cruella calls Skinner and hires him to kill the puppies and turn them into a fur coat. When Skinner arrives at De Vil Manor, Jasper and Horace have already left and all the puppies except for Lucky have escaped. Just as Skinner is about to grab Lucky, another dog named Kipper comes and bites Skinner's butt and fights with him, saving Lucky. The police later find Skinner and put him in the paddy wagon along with Jasper, Horace, and Cruella, who are all taken to jail. On the way, Cruella finds out that she has accidentally brought a real skunk (instead of her purse) into the paddy wagon, and she, Skinner, Jasper, and Horace are all sprayed by the skunk, causing them to all scream in terror, while Horace holds his nose. Skinner also tries to bang the roof of the paddy wagon open to get the skunk out but has no luck.
Trivia[]
- Skinner is based loosely on Cruella's husband, Mr. De Vil, from the original story, who was also a skinner but could talk, except he had a more weak-willed personality, while Skinner has a more menacing personality.
- Skinner gets bitten on his butt, which actually happened to Jasper in the 1961 animated film.
- John Shrapnel (who portrays Skinner) and Tim McInnerny (who portrays Alonzo) later starred in Notting Hill together. In said film, Shrapnel portrayed the P. R. Chief and McInnerny portrayed Will's best friend Max.
- In the "novelization" of the live-action film, Skinner's address is: "152 Merton Road, London, SW1 9EH", with Horace describing his building as a red brick townhouse with a black door.
- Skinner is the first live-action Disney villain who doesn't speak. In one instance, he communicates with Cruella over the phone by morse code- tapping a knife against the receiver, which Cruella surprisingly understood as a response translated as, "How should I kill them?" when discussing the Dalmatian puppies.
- Ironically, despite being unable to speak, Skinner screams really loud when a real skunk (which Cruella had accidentally brought with her) sprays its odor fumes while in the paddy wagon.
- Skinner did not appear in 102 Dalmatians, which implies that he is still in prison with Jasper and Horace.
- Skinner is the first Disney villain who doesn't speak, the second being Zoff from Treasure Planet, the third (a protagonist) being Red from Cars.
- According to a comic book adaptation of the movie, his given name is Lionel.
- Skinner, in his black suit and hat, closely resembles Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Gallery[]
