Disney Animation excels at a lot of things – fantastic world building, top-tier artwork, and some of the catchiest songs in the world – but the studio’s crowning achievement may just be the exceptional catalogue of villains built up over the last six decades. It’s commonly said that a story is only as strong as it’s antagonist, so it’s no surprise that the foremost leader in children’s storytelling has a pantheon of iconic villainy.
Before we go forward, a few things to keep in mind about the list below:
- We’re sticking to Disney Animated Classics, so that means no live-action and no Pixar (sorry, Lotso).
- This list is not ranked, but compiled in chronological order.
- Finally, this is in no way a comprehensive, definitive, or ultimate list. Disney animation has churned out more than 50 films in as many years, and a stunning amount of them are downright excellent, so these are just the staff’s personal favorite standouts.
Without further ado, check out our picks for the best Disney villains below.
Queen Grimhilde - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
There’s no arguing that the original antagonist from Disney’s first animated feature deserves to be on this list for no reason other than that. The Wicked Queen, known less well by her actual name Queen Grimhilde, singles out the title character of Snow White for no reason other than her relatively superior beauty. While the subjective simplicity of this vendetta isn’t quite as ambitious as the other power-hungry players on this list, one has to admire the Queen’s single-minded dedication to her goal. In fact, Grimhilde already had all the power one could ask for, having married a widowed king and inherited his throne once he died. All that power, however, can’t compete with Grimhilde’s envy over Snow White’s beauty, leading the Wicked Queen to plot the girl’s murder through assassination, deception, and poisoning. Grimhilde ultimately meets her demise through no action on the part of Snow White but rather her friends and protectors, the Seven Dwarves. I like to think that Disney’s original antagonist survived her fall from grace and is biding her time until she’s able to team up with the other villains on our list in order to rule the world in earnest.
Lady Tremaine - Cinderella
Perhaps the most instantly hateable of all the Disney villains, Lady Tremaine, a.k.a. the Wicked Stepmother, has no magical powers or high position of authority, she’s just one of those pathetic, weak-willed people who derive an insane amount of pleasure from their modicum of power. Lady Tremaine is a self-serving social climber with a relentless cruel streak. She ruthlessly victimizes sweet Cinderella for no good reason other than she wants to and she can. The Queen of Hearts decapitates, Cruella De Vil kills puppies, and Ursula steals souls, so it’s a real testament to Lady Tremaine’s well-drawn wickedness that she stands as one of Disney’s most despised villains simply because she’s so damn mean.
Cruella De Vil - 101 Dalmatians
Homegirl wants to make a coat out of puppies, and really, that says it all. Voiced to perfection by Betty Lou Gerson, who brought an old-Hollywood glamor to Cruella’s maniacal self-indulgence, Cruella is downright dispicable, ranging from haughty to downright deranged. She’s vain, condescending, and well, just generally a total beast...and that’s before you find out she wants to skin the most adorable pups in the world - all in the name of fashion. The great thing about Cruella is how blatantly deplorable she is, from her on-the-nose name, to her remarkably superficial motive, to her earworm theme song, there’s nothing remotely sympathetic about her. As she relentlessly hunts down Pongo, Perdita and their litter with bulging, bloodshot eyes, to see her really is to take a sudden chill. Look out for Cruella De Vil.
Ursula - The Little Mermaid
Undersea heroes and villains get a bad rap. Sure, they become incapacitated as soon as they set their fins/scales/tentacles on land, but imagine if roles were reversed and you found yourself in the briny deep of their domain? One deep blue creature you certainly wouldn’t want to cross paths with is Ursula, the fan-favorite antagonist from The Little Mermaid. Taking on the unusual design of a sea witch/Cecelia, Ursula plays the part of the Crossroads Demon, making deals were merpeople in order to help them achieve their hearts’ desire. Sweet of her, right? Well, much like the contracts of demons, there’s always a catch to complicate things, and should one default on the deal, they become Ursula’s possession forever. More than just a hoarder of souls, Ursula also lusts for power, ultimately scheming and maneuvering her way to claiming King Triton’s throne, not through strength of arms but rather a legally binding magical contract. And while the narrative suggests that true love was strong enough to defeat Ursula at the height of her power, getting impaled in the guts by an old, old wooden ship certainly didn’t help.
Gaston - Beauty and the Beast
What a delightful caricature of an idiotic jock. Aside from his eponymous song being fantastic, Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston is a character who goes from buffoonish to quickly showing that he’s the true monster. What makes Gaston so dangerous isn’t that he’s got biceps to spare; it’s that he’s popular and ruthless. Is he the product of the writers taking out some anger on a high-school bully? Perhaps. But for kids who saw this movie, it added some specificity in how not to be a jerk. Even better, his awfulness further highlights why Belle is such a strong, independent character because she doesn’t fall for his “charms”. Not everyone is impressed that he uses antlers in all of his decorating.
Jafar - Aladdin
If ever the Disney villains decided to team up (Kingdom Hearts, anyone?), Aladdin’s Jafar would win my vote for team captain. He’s cold, calculating, and charismatic. He has no problem killing street rats, manipulating sultans, kidnapping princesses, or imprisoning supernatural creatures in order to harness their powers. Equal parts psychopath, sadist, and narcissist, Jafar also has a darkly humorous side missing in many of Disney’s one-note villains. Rather than simply being evil for evil’s sake, Jafar’s villainous faults are rooted in an unquenchable thirst for power and a willingness to cut corners and sacrifice others in order to obtain it. Narratively, this lust for power without the earned knowledge necessary to achieve it was ultimately his undoing. But anyone who can climb the ranks of villainy from street rat, to Royal Vizier, to sorcerer, to evil genie is a powerful foe to be reckoned with.
Scar - The Lion King
This is about as close to Shakespearean as a Disney Villain gets. He’s a riff on Iago (from Othello, not Aladdin)—the bad guy who doesn’t need to attack you head on, but instead will plant a seed of doubt and despair in your mind and watch it grow. Jeremy Irons’ poisoned, honeyed voice was perfect for a baddie whose “words are a matter of pride.” Speaking of “Be Prepared”, you know a guy is bad when his musical number borrows visuals from Nazi propaganda. When he and Simba finally fight at the movie, it’s almost a betrayal of the character because Scar’s not a warrior. He was far more dangerous than that.
Claude Frollo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Disney villains are a lot of things - vain, despicable, duplicitous, greedy, selfish, etc – however, Frollo is one of the few who are truly terrifying. Generally speaking, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a bit darker than your standard Disney fare, but Frollo is next level. As a man vindicated by his belief that he’s “so much purer than the common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd”, he’s an all too realistic depiction of the old-school patriarchal idea that a man’s uncontrollable and sinful lust is the fault of the woman he desires. Backed by the gorgeous, robust voice of Tony Jay, he’s formidable and commanding. And Frollo is the reigning champ of “If I can’t have you, no one can”, willing to burn Esmeralda at the stake (and all of Paris along with her) for her failure to reciprocate his desire. Ultimately there’s nothing more frightening than a man in a position of authority empowered by the self-righteous belief that he’s doing the virtuous work of god.
Hades - Hercules
Ah, Hades. Charming, sassy as hell, but ultimately evil, Hades is one of Disney’s most lovable villains. He’s is a quick-witted Machiavellian manipulator of the highest caliber, willing to do whatever it takes to get out of his gloomy position as king of the Underworld. Sure, Hades has some serious anger-management problems and he’s totally willing to murder his infant nephew, but he’s ultimately overworked, under-rewarded, and – as he points out in the beginning of the film – not too crazy about his job. And who would be? While all the Gods are living the life up on Mount Olympus, he was relegated to the dreary Underworld with nothing but sad, swimming souls and incompetent minions to keep him company. Voiced by the unfailingly charismatic James Woods, Hades is a villain you want to party with even though you know you’d probably end up trapped in the Underworld for eternity.
Source: Collider
Share It To Your Friends!
Loading...