The Road to Disney World was filled with villains. There were sinister nerdowells, comical deviants, and near-demons. And because I live in a society based entirely upon competition, it feels necessary to rank them. I won’t be doing all 59 because that seems absurd but a top twenty feels just right.
Honorable Mentions
Dr. Facilier The Princess and the Frog
Kenai Brother Bear
Jumba Lilo and Stitch
Shere Kahn The Jungle Book
Shan Yu Mulan
Madame Medusa The Rescuers
20. Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove)
Old, decrepit, and short tempered; Yzma is one of Disney’s most well balanced villains. Brought to life by the iconic Eartha Kitt, Yzma manages to act as a sizeable antagonist compared to the also villain Emperor Kuzco. Though she and her minion Kronk are played mostly for laughs, Yzma’s repeated attempts to kill her former boss are a riot to watch.
19. Prince John (Robin Hood)
Another balanced villain and the first of two devious lions on this list, Prince John is the brains behind the regime in Sherwood Forrest. Though his tendency to cry for his mommy keeps him from becoming too sinister, Prince John instills enough fear in his citizens to deserve his reputation for nastiness.
18. Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
One of the most vile of Disney’s Villains, Claude Frollo suffers no fools. He’s a cold, manipulative, bigoted zealot who seeks to destroy those he deems sinful. Yet within his heart rages the very things he preaches against. He’s a very adult villain from one of the most mature of the Disney canon, and a force to be reckoned with.
17. Hades (Hercules)
From the moment his blue flames ignite upon the screen, Hades is instantly iconic. He’s witty, calculating, cunning, and short tempered. Though he may not be a physical challenge to Hercules and the other gods, he manages to challenge them almost to their end. His motivations may be simple, but there are few villains who can do as much with as little as Hades is presented.
16. Edgar Balthazar (The Aristocats)
Disney’s most reasonable villain.
A simple butler, Edgar Balthazar lived a contented life until his mistress decided to leave everything in her will to her cats and to let her loyal butler have the pickings left over after they passed. Edgar doesn’t wish to kill her cats, he simply tries to send them to a far off land because, let’s be honest, what kind of a sane person bequeaths a large fortune to her cats and not her dutiful and only servant?
15. Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)
Though she mostly sticks to the shadows of 1950’s Cinderella, Lady Tremaine uses her little bits of screen time to establish herself as a leading villainous force. A cut-throat widow who manipulates others into doing her dirty work, Lady Tremaine will stop at nothing to get her little girls into the royal family.
14. Mother Gothel (Tangled)
The Queen of Manipulation, Mother Gothel plays Rapunzel and all others like a fiddle. Constantly undermining Rapunzel’s thoughts and feelings with snide comments and backhanded compliments, Mother Gothel will cut anyone who steps in between herself and immortality. There are few villains who manage to pull off this intimate of a relationship with their protagonist.
13. Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
Ursula doesn’t do henchmen or behind the scenes schemes. Always playing chess around her opponent’s checkers, Ursula isn’t afraid to dirty her tentacles. The Sea Witch outwits any who cross her path and knows just how to target the weakness of anyone in her way.
12. Assistant Mayor Bellweather (Zootopia)
A schemer if ever there were one. Bellweather doesn’t seek personal gain, but the absolute acceptance of her own prejudices and fears. Orchestrating one of Disney’s most ornate schemes, Bellweather hopes to distance herself from the animals she fears and isn’t afraid to silence any and all critics.
11. The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland)
Loudmouthed, temperamental, and prone to fits; the Queen of Hearts is nasty. Brought to life by Disney Veteran and comedian extraordinaire, Verna Felton, this is one of my personal favorite villains. Though only appearing in the final fifteen minutes of her movie, The Queen of Hearts almost instantly establishes herself as an icon of angst and her incessant cries for decapitation keep her iconic seventy years later.
10. Mike Yagoobian (Meet the Robinsons)
Known more dis-affectionately as “Bowler Hat Guy”, Goob isn’t the brightest crayon in the Disney box. A perfect balance of sinister and funny, Bowler Hat Guy is a terrific villain because he exhibits the same flaws as the protagonist of his movie. Both characters blame the world for their own faults and refuse to look forward with their lives. Goob is taken in by his hatred for a roommate that caused one too many mistakes and shuts the rest of the world out because of it.
This 6 second clip sums it up perfectly.
9. Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
Possessed by his dueling infatuations with himself and his need to be the best, Gaston will stop at nothing to marry a girl he doesn’t even like. Gaston is another dimmer crayon within the Disney box but that does not inhibit his viciousness. Gaston gaslights an entire village to go kill a beast they neither know nor understand and attempts to again kill the man who just offered him mercy. He also has an absolute classic of an introductory song.
8. Jafar (Aladdin)
Cunning, manipulative, and snakelike, Jafar will throw any and all under the bus if it gets him more power. Though somewhat afraid to dirty his own hands, Jafar has a knack for playing those close to him against one another. His thirst for power is never quenched as he gets sucked into a lamp as the most powerful being on earth, yet still wanting more.
7. The Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
Having a henchman fail her once, The Evil Queen is a down to business kind of villain. Unsatisfied with being only the second most beautiful, The Evil Queen will kill even her own step daughter without a second’s hesitation. Clever, magically skilled, and ruthlessly cutthroat, The Evil Queen needs neither name nor complex motivation to be an icon of villainy.
6. Chernabog (Fantasia)
The brainchild of one of Disney’s first wave of animators, titan of the industry Bill Tytla, Chernabog was the embodiment of pure evil. Without a line of dialogue and buried in a single sequence of the original Fantasia, Chernabog proves that looks can indeed kill. Raising his armies of ghosts and ghouls upon the Earth, Chernabog is a daunting character whose legacy stretches into countless movies, shows, and video games. He’s effortlessly iconic and his design instantly communicates all you need to know about this titan from under the earth.
5. Prince Hans (Frozen)
Charming, intelligent, and adaptable, Prince Hans is a formidable foe before he even lifts a finger. Taking one princess in under his charms and pushing another out of the good graces of her people, Prince Hans undermines and outplays both leads in a scheme that few villains on this list would be capable of even imagining. Prince Hans aims for the heart and gets far closer than most to achieving his dreams of domination.
4. Peter Pan (Peter Pan)
Make no mistake, Peter Pan is far more of a villain than Captain Hook could ever be. He kidnaps children from their home and almost immediately gets them killed in a “prank” from his lost boys. He cuts Captain Hook’s hand from his wrist as a joke and feeds it to a crocodile for added effect. Peter Pan is the absolute worst and its time that the record is set straight.
3. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
The title “Mistress of Evil” is not one given lightly. After the King and Queen forget to invite her to their baby shower, Maleficent casts a spell on their child that shall result in death by the child’s sixteenth birthday. And when the Fairies belay that curse from death to endless sleep, Maleficent spends the next fifteen years hunting for the child to ensure her revenge.
From design alone, Maleficent could claim this spot on the best villain list. Her horns, sharp nails, and gaunt-like design create a villain that has a legacy greater than the film she hails from. There’s a reason why Disney still uses her as the figurehead of their villains after 60 years and countless potential successors.
2. Scar (The Lion King)
Though not much of a physical force, Scar grows bitter in the shadow of his older brother. Persuasive, ruthless, and maniacal, Scar knows how to make allies and shatter his sense of strength. With words he can cripple even the mighty Mufasa and make the loyal lions question the return of their lost Simba.
Scar is one of the most developed of Disney’s villains and his genuine belief that he could be greater of a king than Mufasa makes him compelling, despite the earth-shattering death he wreaks upon his brother and the audience. He also takes the cake for villain songs with Be Prepared.
1. Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmatians)
“If she doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will.”
Cruella doesn’t have a backstory. There’s no deeper motivation or tragically lost friendship. Cruella shows up to her friends house one day and decides that she’d like to turn that friend’s puppies into a fur coat. Cruella is menacing because she is vile above all other things. There’s no attempt to humanize this inhuman beast.
Cruella shares a class with Maleficent where she has greatly eclipsed the impact of her film. She’s a villain that has remained iconic despite the fact that there are many more popular films and villains more seen.
Collin Willis 