My Top Ten Disney Villains
Growing up in the late 80s and 90s I have seen my fair share of Disney movies. I grew up on them and consequently know them very well indeed. I loved all the princesses, the heroes and the funny sidekicks, but something has to be said for the baddies. The villains, those characters who you love to hate. Thus, I have created my own personal list of the baddies I love. My criteria is: lasting scariness, bad and funny, and pure evil. So in last place at number ten:
10. Prince John and Sir Hiss from Robin Hood 1973
These two were menacing, but Prince John sucked his thumb..... not scary scary, they were definitely bad and funny. I loved seeing Prince John being doped over and over again, while Sir Hiss was unable to stop him!
9. Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland 1951
Now she was one scary woman! What made her so scary was her swift mood changes. She could be so nice one moment and “Off With Your Head” the next. She was also voiced by Verna Felton, who was also the voice of the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. She was able to just put the right amount of tenor into her voice that made her sweet, but menacing. She was evil, and you know that she would never change, but she also had great lines, including this one (my fave) “Curtsy while you’re thinking. It saves time.”
8. Evil Queen from Snow White 1937
Just evil. No redeeming qualities. How did Snow White’s father fall in love and marry this woman? I mean sure she was probably hot for awhile, but EVIL. I recently re-watched this movie with my nieces and the whole scene where she ages and creates the apple, gives me the willies still! She is pure evil and scary still.
7. Stromboli from Pinocchio 1940
He was just mean. Talk about a child-snatching/exploiting/con artist! Each of those counts puts him on this list, but I think his scariest quality, was the fact you could completely see him chopping and burning little Pinocchio up! Also when he does his little belly dance..... scary.
6. Gaston from Beauty and the Beast 1991
As a young girl I guess I didn’t realize how misogynistic he was, but as an adult I really see that, and yeah, I hate him now! Of course, he was creepy growing up too. I mean obsessed with Belle and not right for her at all. He was scary/creepy because he was believable. You can meet guys who are still like this, controlling, possessive, mean, and just jerks. He wasn’t really funny though.... his sidekick is what brought him his funny moments, but he was just villainous!
5. Jafar from Aladdin 1992
The man turns into a snake! Scary/Evil/Creepy, and similarly with Gaston, not funny at all. Iago is funny, and in fact he becomes a “good guy” in the cartoon series that followed. (total sidebar here, do you remember the Aladdin cartoon? Classic! That one and The Little Mermaid.... those were awesome). But Jafar, he’s evil, he’s manipulative, and he’s a great villain. I think his best moment is when he tries to wish for Jasmine’s love and she fakes it so well that he is taken in for just a moment, and then when he finds out.... his evilness goes up another 3 notches.
4. Ursula from The Little Mermaid 1989
Another evil woman, but she does it so well. She also uses her great powers of manipulation to achieve her goals, but she does it with such flair and theatricality that you love to hate her for it. She is also able to be funny. I think to be truly evil you have to have that glimmer of funniness coming through, but it’s always a twisted humour. She finds it funny that Ariel loves Eric because she doesn’t believe that love can overcome obstacles. So she is able to poke find humour in the fact that Ariel is a mermaid, and Eric is human. She is evilest when she thinks everything is getting out of her control. She is also the reason why I hated the name Vanessa for many years.
3. Yzma from Emperor’s New Groove 2000
She’s just funny evil. She has the best lines in the movie, and she has the best attitude. Yeah she wants to kill Kuzco, but I don’t really like Kuzco at the beginning of the movie anyways. She and her sidekick Kronk really make the movie, I mean sure Kuzco and Pacha are the heart of the film, but I love Yzma and the irony that is her dependence on Kronk. Just hilarious, but slightly evil. She could maybe do it, Kill Kuzco, but you can sorta see that she likes playing the game of evilness more.
2. Scar from The Lion King 1994
Ah yes, the evil uncle! Shakespearean villain, who uses deception and guile to achieve his goals. He almost succeeds, I mean, if Simba never came back he would have died a winner. He gets my runner up spot because of that. He was so close and he was responsible for killing Simba’s dad. You don’t get that a ton in Disney movies, I mean any meaningful death, but he killed Simba’s dad! Killed him dead! And he was so cold when he did it.... “Long Live the King” still gives me shivers. Evil and Scary, and only a smidgeon of funny, yeah, he’s a pretty evil dude.
1. Chernabog from Fantasia 1940
He’s my number one for one reason. He gave me nightmares. I mean he’s the devil! And he likes summons evil spirits to him and distorts them into disgusting, prostrating pigs! He can’t be funny because he can’t talk, but he is the essence of all evil and fear! Scary stuff. When he unfolds from the mountain and those yellow eyes! Have I mentioned he gave me nightmares as a child? Cuz he did..... bad! But I have to love him as well because I love fantasia and I love the music they have with him. It’s the perfect matching of imagery and sound. Evil!
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