My Top 12 Disney Villains

            As I've stated in a previous list, I love villains of all different types.  However, there's no denying that those at Disney are masters of creating memorable villains.  Their designs, their styles, their personalities, they're very easy to remember and oftentimes can be our very first exposure to villainy.  So with that said and in honor of Disney's latest animated feature Zootopia opening this weekend, I'm going to be counting down My Top 12 Disney Villains.



            For this list, I'm going to be looking at Disney Villains specifically from Disney's animated library, whether they be hand drawn animated or CG animated.  If they have a live action counterpart, I might consider giving that version some mention.  With all that said, this list is strictly for Disney villains, so villains from any of Pixar's movies won't qualify.



            Additionally, it's possible that there might be some talk about the plots of these movies so SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen them (though I'm guessing that y'all most likely have seen at least some of them).  Finally, as I feel I have to mention in every list I make, these are all based off of my opinions.  So, with all that out of the way, sit back and enjoy My Top 12 Disney Villains.







XII.  Gaston - Beauty And The Beast.

            I've mentioned before in my Top 12 Villain Songs list that Gaston is one of the more interesting villains to come out of Disney.  Being the front runner for the "Handsome Villain" character type (that would later be parodied by Prince Charming in the Shrek movies), Gaston has all the local girls swooning over him.  However, he only has his eyes set on Belle, despite the fact that I.  Everyone else sees her as odd (as does Gaston in a sense) and II.  She has absolutely no interest in him.

            Still, even with her not being interested in him, he's willing to go towards any length to try to get her to marry him, even going so far as threatening to have her father, Maurice, committed to the asylum.  In addition to that, he has a pretty strong influence on all the other townspeople who view him as the hero.  Even when he's going off to kill the Beast, he has the full support of them as they stage a full on attack on the Beast's castle.

            However, even when battling the Beast and when the fight turns in the Beast's favor, Gaston is willing to resort to such despicable acts as admitting defeat only to stab him in the back when he's not looking.  I guess Belle was right: The Beast wasn't the monster, Gaston was.

XI.  Cruella de Vil - 101 Dalmatians

            Particularly famous for the song that was written about her, Cruella can often be found swath in fur, her only true love.  She very easily lands on this list for her plan to obtain 99 Dalmatian puppies to turn them into a fur coat.  I mean, how despicable can you get?  Puppies have absolutely no way of defending themselves and, from a business standpoint, it doesn't make much sense.

            Sure, in the 1996 live action version, it's made clear that she's stealing puppies for her coat because their fur is much softer than an adult Dalmatian's which is more coarse, but even taking that out of the equation, she's willing to have domesticated animals slaughtered all for the sake of fashion.  Speaking of the live action version, I feel it only necessary to also bring up Glenn Close's portrayal of the infamous villain (shown below):

            While I do like both portrayals of Cruella from both movies, Glenn Close's version is particularly memorable (and even just as intimidating) because of how batshit crazy she gets in her performance.  Doug Walker put it best when he said that she's almost like a female Tim Curry in this role.  You can just tell that she's having the time of her life yukking it up in this movie.  Nevertheless, with this villainess, we get 2 great portrayals for the price of one.

X.  Professor Ratigan - The Great Mouse Detective

            Certainly one of the more under-appreciated villains to make this list, the evil professor is very unpredictable as there are many occasions where he acts very refined and sophisticated, but you can tell that he's waiting to snap should anyone cross him.  He seems to fight between these 2 sides til the very end in the epic battle on Big Ben between him and his nemesis, Basil Of Baker Street (BTW that fight was soo intense for me to watch as a younger kid and it's still intense even now).

            What makes this villain particularly great is the voice work of the late great Vincent Price, who was perfectly cast in this role.  He skillfully managed to balance the proper and giddy side with the loud and furious side.  He does such a good job with playing this villain that you almost wouldn't be able to notice it's him as he just gets lost in the performance.

            Ratigan himself is a very diabolical character with his complex plan to rule over all the mice in England by ousting the queen and having a mechanized version of her declare him the new ruler.  He's everything you'd expect to find in a classic Sherlock Holmes villain, just as a rat.  But don't let him catch you calling him a rat.

IX.  Scar - The Lion King

            Scar definitely ranks pretty highly for most in the realm of memorable Disney villains.  He was inspired by the character of Claudius from Hamlet, he's a skilled manipulator, and he's one of the few villains to actually get a kill in the form of his brother, Mufasa, leading to him taking over the Pridelands.

            So, most of you are probably wondering, why do I have him this low on the list?  Because he stops being very interesting after getting what he wants.  He was diabolical in the fact that he killed his own brother, tricked his nephew, Simba, into thinking he killed him, and then banished Simba, leaving him to be killed by his hyena lackeys, but, once he becomes ruler of the Pridelands, he turns into a prissy little diva.

            Still, even with that said, he deserves to be talked about for the interesting aspects about him.  He has a great voice actor in Jeremy Irons, has one of the most memorable villain songs ever with Be Prepared, like I said, he killed his own brother off (scarring young me in the process, no pun intended), and he manipulated young Simba into thinking that Mufasa's death was his fault, which continued to haunt him even into maturity.

            Scar is kind of incompetent though in the sense that he passes the job of killing Simba off to his hyenas who failed the first time around.  Not to mention, when he's about to kill Simba off at the end, he decides to tell him that he killed Mufasa, which then backfires when Simba turns the tables on him.  Scar then continues to lie when Simba seems to be about to kill him just so that he can save his own skin, but even when Simba spares his life and banishes him, Scar continues to fight dirty by kicking embers in Simba's face and then attacking him like a bastard while he's distracted.  Although, he does get what's coming to him in the end (a list for another time).

VIII.  Mother Gothel - Tangled

            Yeah.  I know I know.  Many of you are probably shocked to see this entry on the list.  Mother Gothel is remembered by most people for having a particularly snarky relationship with Rapunzel that could get pretty grating at many times.  She's also determined to keep Rapunzel as close to her as possible as she only wants to use her hair to stay young forever, which might not be particularly interesting for most.  So why do I even have her on my list?

            The reason (courtesy of Chad Lewis AKA LewToons on YouTube) is that Mother Gothel is quite possibly the most murderous Disney villain on the list.  I mean, think about it.  It was stated early on in the movie through narration that she hoarded the magical golden flower for herself to stay young for hundreds upon hundreds of years.  Can you imagine how many people she's inadvertently killed by keeping the flower to herself for that whole time?  She's probably prevented the salvation of hundreds if not thousands of people with illnesses or infirmities that could've easily been cured.  What a bitch.

            Mother Gothel also is one of 2 villains on this list to resort to manipulating the young individual in their charge into staying with them under the false pretense that it's in that individual's best interest, leading said individual to develop Stockholm Syndrome in the process.  I remember a quote from the movie Sleepy Hollow where Ichabod Crane said "Villainy wears many masks.  None as dangerous as the mask of virtue." and Mother Gothel seems to fit that phrase to a "T" (as does another villain to make this list later on).

VII.  Hades - Hercules

            As much as I didn't like Hercules the way many others did, I can't deny that Hades was the most enjoyable part of the movie.  But the truth is that he almost didn't end up the way he did when the movie was being made.  Hercules producer, Alice Dewey, originally intended for the character to be a very slow, sinister, overall menacing character, but Hades' voice actor, James Woods, turned the character into more of a fast talking, Hollywood agent type of guy, ad-libbing most of his lines to the point that it took animator, Nik Ranieri, 2 weeks just to animate a one second scene with Hades.

            Even though the movie deviates very heavily from the Greek Myths it was based on, Hades was a ton of fun to watch.  He's also very famous for making deals with certain characters, including Hercules, which he uses in his attempts to overthrow Zeus and the other gods and take control of Mount Olympus.  This ends up proving to be his downfall as he keeps making deal after deal when things suddenly go south for him.  Either way, Hades is still enjoyable nonetheless.

VI.  Yzma and Kronk - The Emperor's New Groove

            To be completely honest with you guys, I almost entirely forgot to put these 2 on the list which would've been a shame as they're easily the most enjoyable part of the movie.  The Emperor's New Groove was a movie that I felt was O.K., but wouldn't necessarily put it up there as a favorite of mine (at least, it wouldn't make a Top 12 list).  However, easily the best part of the movie is Yzma and Kronk.

            These 2 are an absolute riot anytime they're onscreen.  They literally steal the movie from every other character involved.  Their back and forth banter, their complex chemistry, the hilarious situations they find themselves in, even the moments when they're by themselves they're such a delight to watch.  Kronk even has some funny moments in which he debates on what he should do while listening to the urgings of his "shoulder angel" and "shoulder devil".

           The late great Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton brought soo much to these characters that you're always wanting more, waiting for the next time they're onscreen again.  With a villainous duo like them, what more could you ask for?

V.  Shere Khan - The Jungle Book

           In my honest opinion, Shere Khan is the type of Disney villain that Scar should've been.  This character has a pretty good amount of the movie dedicated to just building him up (much like Fire Lord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender) with many characters talking about him with a fearful tone and, when he's finally revealed in the end, he's a very intimidating character.  He has a very proper tone to his voice (thanks in part to his voice actor, the late George Sanders), but won't hesitate to kill any man he comes across.

            He's easily one of those characters who has absolutely no fear of anything (except for fire but hey what animal wouldn't be) and has a very sinister aura to him.  Even when Kaa the snake is lying to his face about Mowgli's whereabouts, Shere Khan just smiles and nods, all the while knowing that he's being lied to.  You just know that he's in full control of the situation.  He even makes Mowgli regret not running for his life when he nearly lunges at him.  Had Baloo not been there, it wouldn't have been a pretty picture for Mowgli.  Sinister and yet ever polite, Shere Khan makes the #5 spot.

IV.  The Queen Of Hearts - Alice In Wonderland

             NO not that one!!!  That's not even the Queen Of Hearts.  That's the Red Queen.  Look it up there is a difference.

            There.  That's better.

            The Queen Of Hearts isn't often mentioned in many Disney Villain lists which is kind of sad because she's such a fun character.  She's a grown woman who rules over Wonderland and yet she has the mentality and temper of a child.  Quick to demand that a character's head gets chopped off, she is completely ruled by her emotions.

            One of the most enjoyable scenes is at the very end with the courtroom scene with Alice where the queen is soo focused on having Alice sentenced before there's even a verdict, but then she'll get distracted by the fact that it's her un-birthday and almost ends up liking Alice.  She just switches back and forth between the 2 soo easily.

            It gets even funnier though when Alice becomes larger than the queen and starts badmouthing her.  Meanwhile, the queen is completely fearful that Alice is going to bite her head off, but Alice continuously insults her as she's getting smaller, only making it worse for herself.  It's easily the best scene in the movie.  The queen herself is just a very hilarious character and definitely better than the Burton version.

III.  Ursula - The Little Mermaid

            Easily one of the more iconic Disney villains, Ursula has a design that is swiftly recognizable with a half-human, half-octopus look that works out very well.  She's also very similar to Hades in the sense that she likes to make deals.  She famously sings the song Poor Unfortunate Souls in which she presents the deal to Ariel: give her legs in place of her voice and get a kiss of true love before 3 days are up or else she belongs to Ursula.

            Ursula is also a very sneaky villain as she keeps a close eye on Ariel's time with Prince Eric, even going soo far as to have her pet eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, sabotage a perfect moment for Ariel to get her kiss and then show up on land to steal Eric from Ariel, fucking her over in the process which actually results in her fucking over King Triton as Ariel was simply a means to an end in this elaborate game of Mousetrap.

            I remembered seeing a piece of concept art from earlier versions of The Little Mermaid that actually had Ursula having more of a half-human, half-lionfish appearance, which looked good, but the final version is best.  Her voice actress, Pat Carroll, would go on to voice Ursula's sister, Morgana, in the movie's sequel, though, sadly, a song for Morgana was cut from the movie as Carroll's voice had sadly deteriorated by that point.  Still, we have this memorable villainess crawling her way to #3.

II.  Dr. Facilier (AKA The Shadowman) - The Princess And The Frog

AND

Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty

            NO DAMMIT!!!  Why is it that just because I showed ONE live action Disney villain ONE time that now this has to pop up?  Can we PLEASE get back to regular animation here!?!

            Thank you.

            It might seem very odd for me to have Dr. Facilier this high up on the list, let alone have him paired up with someone as popular as Maleficent, but I actually paired these 2 together as I found them to be pretty similar.  Both of them are clothed in black and purple, both use magic, and both are very striking in their respective appearances.

            Facilier is a voodoo witch doctor who scams people with promises to make their dreams real with help from his "friends on the other side".  He also proves to be very slick and charismatic with a silver tongue (a huge part of that coming from his voice actor, Keith David), which is how he convinces most people to accept his "services".

            Of course, his whole plan for trying to take over New Orleans is pretty convoluted, but even then he's still enjoyable.  His song is particularly fun as his movements are soo enjoyably cartoony.  He's such a smooth talker that he almost convinces Tiana to give him his talisman back with the promise that he'll give her the restaurant that she and her dad had always wanted to open (which I'll bring up more about it some other time).

            Maleficent is without a doubt one of the most easily recognizable villains with her clever design by one of Disney's "Nine Old Men", late animator Marc Davis, famous for creating such characters as Snow White, Alice, Tinkerbell, and Cruella de Vil among others.  Something quite intimidating about her is the fact that she puts a death curse on a baby just because she wasn't invited to her birthday party.  DAYUM!!!  She makes that one little snub look like an act of war.

            The voice actress for Maleficent was Eleanor Audley (famous for another villainess who I'll mention later as well as Madame Leota in The Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland and Disney World) who also served as the live action model for the character.  Her voice for the character was absolutely perfect as it adds a very dignified yet equally sinister feel to Maleficent herself.

           So yeah.  Couldn't decide between one or the other, but I feel confident with this selection.

            Before I reveal the possibly obvious #1 pick, I'd first like to bring up some Honorable Mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

Stromboli and The Coachman - Pinocchio

            Two villains from the same movie who often (once again) aren't typically brought up in many Disney Villain lists.  What gives them my mention is the fact that both of them are the rare few villains in Disney's history who aren't defeated in the end.  Stromboli actually won against Pinocchio by locking him up where even Jiminy Cricket couldn't bust him out and he would've been stuck there had it not been for the "Deus Ex Machina" Blue Fairy to release him.



            As for the Coachman, he gets off completely scot free as well.  When Pinocchio witnesses Lampwick turning into a jackass at Pleasure Island and he himself begins to turn, he gets the fuck out of Dodge, leaving all the other boys to their fate so, for all we know, the Coachman could just still be bringing boys there to become jackasses to be sold off for manual labor.  This is part of what makes Pinocchio one of Disney's greatest movies ever in that it doesn't all end happily for everyone.  So that's why they make this category.

King Candy (AKA Turbo) - Wreck-It Ralph

            This is a character that I've often heard described as a candy-flavored Mad Hatter if he were a villain.  Formerly known as Turbo, the hero of racing game Turbo Time, King Candy is hilariously diabolical as he attempted to take over Sugar Rush by trying to delete Vanellope's code (turning her into a glitch in the process) and stealing everyone's memories, appointing himself as the new ruler afterwards.  The twist during the race where it's revealed that he's actually Turbo is still one of my favorites to this day as I never saw it coming.

The Horned King - The Black Cauldron

            Considered to be the "black sheep" of Disney Villains, The Horned King is still an intimidating figure as he appears to just be a walking skeleton with skin on it.  Whenever he appears in a room, everyone just goes silent.  John Hurt (famous for roles like Kane from Alien and Spaceballs, Harold Oxley from Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, and Ollivander from the Harry Potter series) voices this character with much eeriness and fear invoking.  While The Black Cauldron was a box office bomb, it has gotten a strong cult following, as it should, and the Horned King is definitely a good reason why.

Lady Tremaine - Cinderella

            ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?!  Why does this keep going to the live action portrayals?  I'm NOT doing anymore of these!!!  GOT IT?!?

            Sorry about that.  This is the last time that'll happen.  Let's continue on then.


            This was the other Disney Villain to be voiced by Eleanor Audley.  Lady Tremaine may not have magic or anything along those lines like other villains have, but what she does have is complete control over Cinderella's life and she loves to take advantage of it whenever she gets the opportunity, turning Cinderella's world into a living hell.  Why?  To quote The Nostalgia Critic "All because she didn't push Cinderella out of her cooch".  Her character is actually quite similar to Maleficent with the only major difference being that Maleficent has the power to control just about anything, but Lady Tremaine still deserves to be mentioned nonetheless.

And finally...

Jafar - Aladdin

            Another pretty popular villain from Disney's catalog, Jafar has a very striking appearance as a, in the words of the Genie, "tall, dark, and sinister, ugly man".  XD  Aside from that though, he doesn't have much other than his constant hunger for more power.  First becoming a Sultan, then becoming the most powerful sorcerer in the world, before ultimately wishing to have the unlimited power of a Genie.  This would prove to be his undoing as he is bound by the laws of all Genies, going to show that, in the words of Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon A Time, "all magic comes with a price".

            So we've gone through a great number of popular, and even lesser known, Disney Villains and it all comes down to this.  Many of you might have figured it out by now, but for those of you who haven't, let's not waste any more time.  And with that, my #1 Disney Villain is...

I.  Judge Claude Frollo - The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

            The name Frollo may not be a particularly intimidating name to many people, but everyone who knows about him knows that he's the worst of the worst.  Ranking very highly on many peoples' lists of Disney Villains, Frollo is a judge who views himself to be very holy to the point where he tries to justify his actions through either the law or the church.  One of those actions in particular is his attempts to commit genocide against the Gypsies (though he's willing to let some like Esmeralda live if they agree to sleep with him).



            I had mentioned before about how despicable Cruella de Vil was in the sense that she was going to kill off puppies for her fur coat, but Frollo goes even further by attempting to drown baby Quasimodo in a well and this happening just after he killed Quasimodo's mother on the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral while she was trying to claim "Sanctuary".  As I watched this scene playing out with the Latin Choir in the background as he's about to drop the infant in the well, I could hardly believe what I was seeing.  Good thing that the priest showed up to stop him, resulting in me breathing a massive sigh of relief.



            Even when Frollo is charged with raising Quasimodo as his own as penance for his actions, he continues to be heartless towards him in that he lies about his mother, continues to point out his hideousness, and refuses to let him go outside the cathedral, saying that he'll never be accepted (proving to be much like Mother Gothel in the sense of creating Stockholm Syndrome in the individual under his care as well as the Sleepy Hollow quote I mentioned earlier applying here also), while only utilizing him when "the time is right".  Even the name that Frollo gave him, Quasimodo, means "half-formed", a cruel joke to play on his deformity.



            I also feel like I should talk about the spectacular voice work by the late great Tony Jay who amazingly managed to make him sound threatening even with his deep monotone voice.  Because Frollo tries to justify his actions and even struggles with his lustful desires, he's undoubtedly one of the most 3-dimensional and well developed villains that Disney has ever put out and, while there may be many more villains to come down the line, few (if any) will ever compare to Frollo which is why he is my #1 Favorite Disney Villain of all time.







            And that was my list of the Top 12 Disney Villains.  I hope you enjoyed it and I'd like to know what your thoughts were on the list.  Did you agree with my selections?  Disagree?  Do you feel like another villain should've been mentioned?  I'm sure that with all the Disney movies that have come out that I must have forgotten some so feel free to comment below with your favorites and I'll see you on the next post.  Later.