Naoko Ken was the Japanese-dub voice actress for this classic antagonist, and she shows she can look the part too.
Respect for one’s elders is a tenet of Japanese society. Respect doesn’t always equal popularity, though, and so many Japanese celebrities, especially female ones, fade away into obscurity at a young age.
67-year-old Naoko Ken, though, is an exception. Debuting as a singer in 1971, the Shizuoka native later become a popular TV personality, and more recently has been wowing the Internet with her makeup videos. Earlier this month we took a look at how she creates her personal look, and now she’s back again, this time to cosplay as Disney villain Cruella de Vil, of 101 Dalmatians infamy.
▼ “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do a good job,” Ken says as she starts off.
Ken starts off with a hefty amount of foundation, adjusting her visual skin tone to match what she describes as Cruella’s “stark white” complexion. After that, she’s on to crafting the devious fashionista’s unnervingly long and expressive eyebrows.
“This would actually be easier if I didn’t have eyebrows of my own,” Ken murmurs, but she’s obviously not about to shave her natural ones clean off for a little Disney cosplay. So instead, she cleverly incorporates her actual eyebrows into Cruella’s heavily shadowed eyelids.
“This is starting to come together,” Ken self-evaluates while applying a pair of lavishly long eyelash extensions. Then it’s time for the finishing touch of attention-commanding bright red lipstick.
With her makeup sorted, Ken slips into costume and puts on her wig, and the transformation is complete, and also completely perfect.
▼ Though she does say that smiling like this gave her sore jaw muscles.
Reactions to the video have included:
“Whoa, she looks exactly like Cruella!”
“I figure she’s primarily going for comedy here, but she also looks incredibly fashionable.”
“When I watched the 101 Dalmatians cartoon, I remember thinking ‘Naoko Ken could play her in a live-action version.’”
“She should dress like this the next time she has a concert!”
Ken probably gets a bit of a boost from the fact that she’s served as the Japanese-dub voice actress for Cruella in the 101 Dalmatians animation. Even without that mental connection, though, her cosplay is convincing enough to leave Disney fans breathless, and dog-lovers worried that she might be scheming to get her hands on their pets.
Source: YouTube/研ナオコ Naoko Ken via Hachima Kiko, Crank In
Images: YouTube/研ナオコ Naoko Ken
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