After looking at the 12 best villains in Japanese animation, we wanted to pay tribute to a studio that has done so much for our representation of villains in cinema, through a ranking of the 20 best villains from classic Disney animation.
#20 The Dark Lord (Taram and the Magic Cauldron, 1985)
Cursed film inspired by Lloyd's Chronicles of Prydain Alexander, Taram and the Magic Cauldron was a flop upon its theatrical release; it was considered too terrifying for children. The Dark Lord plays a large part in this reputation. This evil being is a horned, hooded skeleton, inspired in particular by the Celtic god Cernunos, who seeks to steal the Magic Cauldron to create an army of zombies. Yes, in a Disney film!
#19 The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland, 1951)
Ruling like a tyrant over Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts is as angry as she is castrating with her husband.The despot spreads terror among her subjects, threatening to behead anyone who contradicts her. Have you planted white rose bushes instead of red ones? Woe betide you, your shoulders are likely to be lightened...
#18 Gaston (Beauty and the Beast, 1991)
Renowned as the greatest hunter in the world, Gaston is loved by all of Belle's village. The men take him for a role model and the women are all in love with him. But this boastful, heavy-handed, and arrogant being only has eyes for Belle, whom he simply desires to possess, according to his archaic vision of relationships between men and women. A odious character!
#17 Yzma (Kuzko, the Emperor's New Groove, 2000)
Yzma is Emperor Kuzko's former advisor. Fired, she seeks to get rid of her former boss in order to take his place. The witch with a terrible temperament forms a formidable comic duo with Kronk, her assistant who is as idiotic as he is sympathetic. Yzma remains one of the most successful villains of the 2000s at Disney!
#16 John Ratcliffe (Pocahontas, 1995)
Governor John Ratcliffe is the main villain of the animated film Pocahontas: An American Indian Legend. Greedy and tyrannical with his men, who exhaust themselves finding gold in the New World while he lives in opulence, Ratcliffe is also out to eradicate an entire people out of pure racial hatred. A terrifying being!
#15 Dr. Facilier (The Princess and the Frog, 2009)
Recognizable by his top hat, his cane, and his sly smile, the charismatic Dr. Facilier is a great success. Inspired by voodoo, this devious and manipulative villain doesn't hesitate to use his magic and talismans to achieve his ends. The song My Friends from Beyond, with its mix of jazz, voodoo, and psychedelic animation, perfectly sums up the character!
#14 Captain Hook (Peter Pan, 1953)
Living off the coast of Neverland on his pirate ship, Captain Hook has a fierce hatred for Peter Pan. While he can sometimes be mean, even cruel, Captain Hook is a pathetic villain to say the least; Obsessed with revenge against children, he also experiences a terrifying fear of the crocodile that devoured the hand Peter cut off. So much so that one might almost wonder if he isn't simply the victim in the story...
#13 Madame Medusa (The Adventures of Bernard and Bianca, 1977)
Reminiscent in many ways of Cruella de Vil (1961), Madame Medusa impressed viewers with her outrageous makeup and hysterical behavior. As cruel as she is greedy, she kidnaps the young orphan Penny (whom she mistreats, naturally), in order to find the precious Devil's Eye Diamond. Desperate, the unfortunate child calls on the S.O.S. Society, which sends Bernard and Bianca to her rescue.
#12 Lady Tremaine (Cinderella, 1950)
As in Charles Perrault's tale, poor Cinderella is enslaved by her stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and her two daughters, Javotte and Anastasia. The stepmother is as evil as she is lazy, two flaws that she encourages in her offspring. She never hesitates to sacrifice the young woman's happiness for the happiness of her two incompetent daughters. Fortunately, Cinderella will manage to escape this nightmare by putting on the Prince's glass slipper!
#11 Ursula (The Little Mermaid, 1989)
Inspired by the drag queen Divine, Ursula is a half-woman, half-octopus creature whose design immediately strikes the eye. Her exaggerated makeup, tentacles, purple skin, size, and generous curves make her an undeniably striking visual creation. To overthrow King Triton, she doesn't hesitate to manipulate young Ariel by stealing her voice. Queen of deception and cruelty, she briefly becomes the Queen of the Seven Seas, and grows to gigantic size. Nevertheless, her reign was quite fleeting, we grant you that!
#10 Shan-Yu (Mulan, 1998)
Shan-Yu is the leader of the Huns who invade the Chinese Empire. Blessed with a warrior's build, his charisma and evil demeanor make him a particularly memorable villain. He is also extremely cruel, and does not hesitate to set fire to entire villages and put their inhabitants to the sword, as illustrated by the doll Mulan finds in the snow. His defeat by Mulan is all the more satisfying!
#9 Shere Khan (The Jungle Book, 1967)
On his return, the man-eating tiger Shere Khan turns Mowgli's life upside down, and he must leave the wolves who raised him as one of their own to avoid ending up under the cruel feline's sharp fangs. As charismatic as he is evil, the predator haunts the minds of animals and the viewer throughout the animated film. The voice of Jean Martinelli, of course, contributed to the success of Shere Khan.
#8 Hades (Hercules, 1997)
Feeling resentment against his brother Zeus, who relegated him to the Underworld, Hades wants to seize Olympus. If, like many of the villains in our selection, Hades is very cunning, he stands out for his character, both sarcastic and casual. The God of Hell is indeed the funniest villain in the history of the Disney studio!
#7 The Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsunquestionably revolutionized cinema, since it was the first animated feature film of all time. If the technical revolution and the visual beauty of the project are enough to make it a timeless masterpiece, the first Disney animated classic can boast of having one of the most iconic antagonists of the Seventh Art: the Evil Queen. Hating Snow White because she surpasses her in beauty, the stepmother seeks to eliminate her in order to become the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom. Her transformation into a witch remains one of the most memorable scenes in Disney history!
#6 Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians, 1961)
Characterized by her hair dye, white on one side and black on the other, Cruella de Vil is a terrifying woman obsessed with furs. When she learns that her friend Anita and her husband Roger have just had puppies, she offers them a phenomenal sum of money to get them. Faced with their refusal, she decides to kidnap them. Her inhumanity and selfishness completely disinterest her in the tragic fate to which her fashion whims destined the poor animals. The live-action film Cruella, released in 2021 and very popular with audiences, humanized Cruella. Perhaps a little too much for her own good?
#5 The Coachman (Pinocchio, 1940)
The success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and its Evil Queen convinced Walt Disney of the importance of villains. This is why his next film, Pinocchio, has five of them: Big Bad, Gideon, Monstro, Stromboli, and The Coachman. The latter is much more impressive in the Disney classic than in the Carlo Collodi novel from which it comes. Behind his friendly exterior hides an absolutely diabolical being, who wants to kidnap disobedient children to embark on the Enchanted Island and transform them into donkeys. Terrifying! p>
#4 Jafar (Aladdin, 1992) h2>
Sorcerer and grand vizier of the Sultan of Agrabah, Jafar is very ambitious, and he is ready to do anything to achieve his ends... He notably orders the capture of the young Aladdin in order to send him to fetch the magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Deeply evil, Jafar is also very charismatic. He has no trouble subjugating almost everyone, except Princess Jasmine and her lover Aladdin, those preventers of usurpation-in-the-round. His dynamic with the parrot Iago makes them one of Disney's best duos. It's also worth noting that his transformation into a king cobra continues to be one of the highlights of American animated cinema of the 1990s.
#3 Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty, 1959)
Because she wasn't invited to the christening of the young Princess Aurora, Maleficent is a wounded woman seeking revenge. While the animated film Sleeping Beauty was heavily criticized upon its release in 1959, Maleficent immediately established herself as the main force of the feature film. Her design, her charisma, her ability to cast curses and transform into a dragon, all contribute to making her one of the most memorable villains in the history of the Disney studio. It is not for nothing that she was entitled to her own live-action feature films, in 2014 and 2019. Simba's uncle. The lion is distinguished from the other felines in the film by his slimmer build, brown mane, darker fur, green eyes, and scar on his eye. Charismatic, sly, and sarcastic, he reigns supreme over the hyenas and yearns to take his brother's place. He kills Mufasa, blaming his nephew for the tragic incident. He manipulates Simba, leading to his exile. Scar is a frustrated villain, paradoxically unforgivable, and adored by fans. attempting to kill the infant; he is stopped in his act by the Bishop of Notre-Dame de Paris, who forces him to keep and raise the child. Not content with making him his handyman, Frollo locks him in the Parisian cathedral, convincing him both of his own monstrosity and of the moral baseness of men. When the beautiful Esmeralda refuses him, he launches an inquisition against the Bohemians. He is in fact the cruelest villain, but also the most complex in the history of Disney. Moreover, he is also responsible for the studio's best song, all animated classics combined: Infernal.
And you, who are your favorite Disney villains? Feel free to tell us in the comments section. And if you found this article interesting, we encourage you to discover the ideal route to see as many attractions as possible at Disneyland Paris in 2025.
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