Skinner is the tertiary antagonist in the 1996 live-action film 101 Dalmatians. He was portrayed by John Shrapnel.
Role in the film
In the movie, Skinner is a taxidermist and skinner who often kills his own animals to make the products. He was attacked by his own dog when he was young and got his vocal chords ripped out, leaving him with a bad scar on his neck. He can't speak at all because of this. He is the one responsible for killing the female white tiger at the London Zoo and makes it into a rug for Cruella De Vil. When Jasper and Horace come to pick it up, Horace makes an unnecessary 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 hires Skinner to turn the puppies into a 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, 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 brought a real skunk (instead of her purse) into the paddy wagon, and she, Skinner, Jasper and Horace are all sprayed by the skunk, to which they all scream in fear.
Trivia
- John Shrapnel who plays Skinner and Tim McInnerny who plays Cruella's butler Alonzo later starred in the 1999 movie Notting Hill together. Shrapnel played the P.R. Chief and McInnerny played Will's best friend Max.
- 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.