Admittedly this week is a wide category of villain, but one that has come to define the childhoods of many millions of children around the world for decades. Starting back in 1937, one company has turned villainy into a multi-billion dollar industry. Meaning they know how to make a good villain on the big screen.
Disney Villains — Walt Disney Pictures
As a general rule, the typical Disney villain is a larger than life figure that draws attention while on screen and leaves a lasting impression when the movie ends. No villains have drawn the same kind of wide embrace by the viewing public, a fact that Disney has capitalized heavily on. The villains receive the same billing and merchandising as the main characters, with several becoming roles for cast members at the parks around the world. For the sake of categorization, we’ll be splitting them into three categories: Classic, 90s, and Contemporary
Classic Villains
The classic villains are the ones that Disney made their mark with, from the 1930s to I would argue roughly the 1980s. Evil for evil’s sake, plotting and scheming and making no bones about their being the bad guy. The overall design philosophy on these characters can roughly be boiled down to; “Make them colorful, and give them an appetite for scenery”.
The Evil Queen — Also known in her earlier days as “Queen Grimhilde”, the Evil Queen was the first full-length animated antagonist known to the world. Regal, striking, with a mean streak a mile wide capable of committing any act in accordance with remaining the “fairest of them all”. She was also the first “cleaning up” job of a Disney translation of an old fairy tale. Instead of being forced to dance to her death in red-hot iron shoes the queen is forced off a cliff. Though lacking character, the Evil Queen’s actions and characterization set the stage for later villains as the jumping off point for how they should act and be modeled.
Lady Tremaine — Many people’s first idea of the “evil stepmother” (And undoubtedly sadly coloring many children’s ideas of stepmothers; nice job Walt), Lady Tremaine was more subtle than the Evil Queen, simply working Cinderella down and doing her best to force the child to meekly accept her lot in life. Of course, realizing that she has a chance to marry into royalty is also enough to convince her to literally imprison a young woman, showing that dangerously evil streak as well.
The Queen of Hearts — Perfectly fitting with Wonderland’s mad sense of life, the Queen of Hearts brings enjoyable strife. She does everything from demand the white roses be red to ordering constantly, “Off with her head!” Is there a good reason this description’s all rhyme-y? I don’t know, but her madness all seems rather timely. Of course, as a villain, she’s also for comedy. Though in terms of villain worship, she don’t quite get a homily.
Captain Hook — The first truly memorable male villain (The Coachman was just...I don’t even know people, he was weird), Capt. Hook became the eternal nemesis of the Boy the Never Grew Up by being a foppish, self-important pirate that would devilishly scheme if he could help it and throw down when he couldn’t. Drawn with the same striking design rules as previous villains, there was clearly the same style of evil as the Evil Queen, but mixed with a mad breakdown when finally defeated.
Maleficent — The fairy queen that cursed Princess Aurora to be the sleeping beauty, Maleficent can be argued as the first villain with a true personality. Of course, that personality is the personification of pure evil. Maleficent was also a step up from the Evil Queen and Lady Tremaine, becoming a shouting and larger-than-life being who is a manipulating fae one second before screaming about all the powers of Hell.
Cruella de Vil — Certainly one of the most memorable villains before the start of what’s known as Disney’s Dark Age, Cruella in a more slimy idea of a villain with less lofty goals as royal rule or marrying into power. She wants to make a coat, a fur coat. Of course, fur is now seen as an unnecessary means of making clothes, but overall the style of Cruella slowly going from suave and slimy to outright crazy over the movie made her a memorable villain to all.
90s Villains
Starting with roughly The Little Mermaid, Disney’s villains underwent a subtle shift. While still central to the story, villains gained new personalities. No longer were they obviously evil beings, but they gained larger musical numbers with more nuanced protagonists to go up against. Of course, the design rules still stuck, meaning that the villains were still on-par for the purposes of the story.
Ursula — The Sea-Witch of the Little Mermaid and designed off of a famous drag queen (Make your own presumptions folks), Ursula ushered in a new era of Disney villain that was slick, quick, and still the bad guy. Like an octopus, she slips from smooth deal-maker to romantic rival to discount Cthulhu, all in under 82 minutes.
Gaston — Possibly the first children’s animated depiction of toxic masculinity, Gaston is at first the striking hero of any other story; striking looks, good at hunting, strong and forceful, the story turns these ideas on their head by pointing out that he also is an obsessive monster who slips to villainy after he is “rejected” by Belle. By the end, the veneer of man has given to monster, and to a very Disney death.
Jafar — The evil vizier of Aladdin, Jafar didn’t get a full villain song but also gained a memorable role. Able to play the sultan of Agrabah and eventually even win for a short time, Jafar remains in the villain pantheon because of his manipulations. Though unable to truly fool Jasmine, to be able to rise to vizier and his skills with sorcery for his own gain rather than “evil” made an impression on many children.
Scar — Ruling the Pridelands, Scar stood out because he was even more slimy than Jafar, playing the Claudius to Mufasa’s King Hamlet. In frankness, it can be argued that Scar was only at the top of his game during the first half of the movie; his plans against Mufasa and Simba clearly good and dangerously deniable. In the second half though, it does admittedly show what happens when such a villain wins. What was once the Pridelands becomes Detroit, ruled by a tyrant with no care for his subjects. (Apologies to anyone from Detroit)
Frollo — Possibly the most daring villain from Disney thanks to his subject matter, Judge Claude Frollo hits many high notes as a villain. He is a figure of authority that abuses it, a religious man that falls to lust, and a man who, as his description states, “Sees corruption everywhere except within”. At first simply a drool bad guy, his growing lust for the gypsy Esmeralda drives him to madness and eventually, literally, to a fiery hell.
Hades — A massive departure from the typical Disney villain thanks to the incredible performance of James Woods, Hades isn’t trying to be evil or diabolical. Still keeping to the striking design style of other Disney villains, Hades is muted in dark blues and carries himself like a used car salesman. Still recognizable as a villain, Hades left his impression more as a smooth-talking con man willing to make any deal. Also incredible is that the role left an impression on the actor, Woods stating that he has wished to do as much voicework as Hades as possible.
Shan Yu — Shan Yu was another massive departure, for the opposite reasons of Hades. Shan Yu is a conquering warrior, leading his massive army of Huns through China to force the Emperor into submission. Not even singing a note during the movie, Shan Yu’s antagonism was something real, something dangerous. It wasn’t about being “evil” for him any more than Jafar, and the second you first see him on screen you recognize this is not a villain who will toy with the hero.
Contemporary Villains
Moving into the new millennium, Disney’s villains turned again. While still dangerous, Disney recognized that the obvious “Good, Evil” dynamic wasn’t holding their audiences anymore and knew that it had long since become a punchline. So, Disney went to the drawing boards (literally) and set to work on a new style of villain.
Commander Rourke — Admittedly a personal choice for this piece, Rourke wasn’t a villain who was gleefully dangerous. For the first half of the movie you don’t even realize he’s a villain, the audience only given extremely subtle foreshadowing on his true nature. At first, Rourke is just a military man on a mission, but as time goes on his facade slips away until it’s revealed that the treasure of Atlantis to him is just a massive payday, and he will do anything to push aside what gets in his way.
Dr. Facilier — While at first a seeming return to the more classical villain, Keith David’s Dr. Facilier is an enjoyable and memorable finale for Disney’s hand-drawn legacy. A voodoo practitioner with designs on power, David’s powerful voicework and Facilier’s slick design coupled with one of Disney’s best modern villain songs have safely secured Facilier’s place among the pantheon of villains.
Mother Gothel — Obvious as a villain to the audience but not to our protagonist, Mother Gothel is a frighteningly accurate portrayal of emotional abuse as well. Manipulating Rapunzel’s emotions and constantly reinforcing the idea that only she can protect the young girl from a dangerous world, Gothel’s role in the story only makes you cheer when she meets her eventual fate.
Prince Hans — Now, if you haven’t seen Frozen, well, too bad on that spoiler right there. If you have, you see the ultimate culmination of Disney’s efforts to rework the villain paradigm. While the weaselly Duke of Weaselton (That’s Weselton!) takes up the majority of the movie as an antagonist, the real screen-stealing moment of Hans’ reveal as a villain shocked audiences and set a new paradigm for Disney villains; just because your prince wears white does not promise he won’t have a black heart.
Of course, Disney’s properties stretch from film to TV to books to games to comic books and I don’t even have the time to list just all their canon villains. Suffice to say, the Disney villain is forever ingrained into our public consciousness. They are larger than life, strikingly designed, and gorgeously acted by their voice actors. Many have outright admitted that they love doing work as the villain, and such love is gleefully obvious in their work.
Admittedly, there is no “reality” segment for this week’s piece, but the Disney villain does serve as a jumping off point for children to learn the ways to watch out for the bad guy. Like all classic fairy tales, they serve as the barometer of social morals and warnings for the younger ones to heed. Which is why it’s for the best that over time it’s gone from a villain that might as well advertise “VILLAIN HERE: ASK ABOUT MY HOURLY RATE” to something more devious and cunning that we should all watch out for at any age.
The Nostalgia Critic also has a piece on Disney’s villains, though I must disagree with him on the point that somehow the villains have become less “memorable”. If anything, the villains have just become more subtle. That isn’t a bad thing, and the esteemed Critic isn’t wrong that Disney’s efforts have been focusing more and more on the main characters. Which is both the point, and gives Disney a chance to make ever more dangerous and wily villains than we’ve seen before. With Prince Hans back off to the Southern Isles and the Evil Queen holding the start line, only time will show what Disney has in store next.