- “I'm proud. Proud to have you inherit my fortune. You showed real DeVil backbone.”
- ―Malevola choosing Cruella as her heir
Malevola De Vil is Cruella De Vil's mother from 101 Dalmatians: The Series.
Appearances
101 Dalmatians: The Series
Malevola and her husband neglected Cruella when she was young, always spending Christmas away and even seemed to hint not remembering their own daughter's name. Due to this neglect, the young Cruella wanted a Dalmatian puppy to give her the love and affection her father and mother never did. A buildup of neglected Christmases is what caused Cruella to go mad ("A Christmas Cruella"). Thus, if The Series was meant to somewhat share the continuity of the animated films, Malevola can the considered the great responsible for all the misventures, as if she had not constantly mistreated Cruella chances are she never would have snapped in the first place.
Malevola shows little love for her descendants, except for Ivy De Vil. She has two big, fierce dogs named Cerberus and Cujo. She appeared in the episode "Coup DeVil," where she called a family reunion at Villa De Vil to give the other De Vils a chance to get the Dearly Farm, and the one who succeed would be Malevola's heir. It is revealed that the only reason Cruella wants to buy the farm is to please her mother.
After many failed attempts, Cruella snaps and stands up to her mother by lamenting about all that she hates about her. Her ranting, however, pleases Malevola, as she believes it takes some guts to stand up to one's own mother. As a result, this finally earns Cruella her mother's respect and make Malevola choose Cruella as her heir.
Disney Villains: The Top Secret Files
In this book, Cruella's mother appears in a picture with her daughter. It is revealed that she worked as a fashion designer.
Trivia
- In original concept art for Malevola, she was shown to be a rather obese but younger looking woman, similar to Cruella. However, in the actual episode, she is shown to be old and frail.
- Character designer Eugene Salandra claims this concept design was based upon a "Zaftig Margarita Dûment" type.
- Malevola may have served as a source of inspiration for Azma from The Emperor's New School; both characters have a similar physical appearance, role purpose and character background.
- In the TV series Once Upon A Time, Cruella's mother appears in one episode ("Sympathy for the De Vil"). Her name is Madeline De Vil and she tries to stop Cruella from killing people (her fathers), but then, she got kill by Cruella when she obtain the power to control the animals.
- An image of her can be seen in the De Vil family gallery as Spot looks up Judge Dimsdale De Vil in "DeVil-Age Elder".
- In Disney Villains: The Top Secret Files, Cruella's mother is named "Dementia."
- In Brazil, Maleficent is known as "Malevola."
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