Most, if not all, of us grew up watching Disney movies at some point. Though it can be said that some of these old films, due to things that would come to be perceived as racist and sexist overtones over time, didn’t really age well, they’ve all helped contribute to a lasting influence that had a big role in shaping my childhood as well as the childhoods of many others.
A lot of these movies also featured sinister villains that had their own role in driving the plot along and their own reasons for wanting to attempt to sabotage the goals and wellbeing of the film’s protagonist. A truly good villain will seem to steal the show at times. In this list, I will outline who I think were the greatest and most sinister Disney villains.
11. Captain Hook-Peter Pan(1953)
Peter Pan was one of my favorite movies as a child, but if I’m being honest, Captain Hook wasn’t always as menacing as he was a bumbling comic relief at times. Still, his constant attempts to kill Peter and his companions deserve some merit in terms of evilness.
10. Wicked Stepmother-Cinderella(1950)
As if naming your cat “Lucifer” wasn’t enough, Cinderella’s wicked stepmother forces her to do all the housework for her while she uses her two daughters to try to climb the social ladder. While she may be a bit tame in that she’s not actively be trying to kill anyone in the movie, the lengths to which she’ll go to keep Cinderella around as a slave once she finds out she’s the one the prince is looking for are those of a tyrant looking to stay in a position of domineering power.
9. Evil Queen-Snow White(1937)
Snow White admittedly isn’t my favorite of these movies, but the villain of this story isn’t someone I want to leave out. While she’s supposed to be “the fairest in the land,” her determination to keep that superficial title lends her a lot of ugliness underneath. In addition to having a creepy and practically robotic magic mirror to talk to all the time, she commits a lot of heinous acts like sending a servant to kill Snow White and bring her heart back to her. What I didn’t get as a child, however, was how truly horrible her plan was in the end. Her plan, after putting Snow White into a deep sleep, was to have the dwarves think she was dead and bury her alive…ugh! That makes me shiver just thinking about it now.
8. Shere Khan-The Jungle Book(1967)
Shere Khan packs a kind of ferocity and menace in this movie that the other villain in the movie, Kaa, can’t even hold a candle to. His claws and predatoriness make him a natural predator and a scary one at that.
7. Ursula-The Little Mermaid(1989)
Where do I begin with Ursula? Technically, she did give Ariel what she wanted, but twisted it to serve her own nefarious desires. She had an awesome musical number and emerged as such a truly terrifying figure towards the end of the film that I remember her making a few appearances in my nightmares.
6. Cruella De Vil-101 Dalmatians(1961)
Anyone whose main goal is to kill puppies has already breached an almost unspeakable level of evil, in my book. Cruella, with her vain personality and bizarre appearance, sports an iconic look that sets her apart from other villains. Her love of fashion, however, ends up being intense enough to drive her to commit heinous crimes.
5. Jafar-Alladin(1992)
Even if he weren’t engaged in a maniacal plot to take over the kingdom, Jafar, with his creepy demeanor and belittling attitude towards others(like this misogyny-laced example: “You’re speechless, I see. A fine quality of wife”), would already be an unlikeable character. What makes him that much more unlikeable is his opposition to, in my opinion, two of the most likeable characters in any disney movie. He’s willing to do most anything, including send a man to his death in the Cave of Wonders at the beginning of the movie, in his quest for power.
4. Frollo-The Hunchback of Notre Dame(1996)
I didn’t see The Hunchback of Notre Dame until a bit later in my childhood and Frollo was an eye-catching villain then with his association with fiery imagery and commendable(in my opinion) musical number. I can’t imagine how he would have seemed to me as a younger child. He’s cruel and hypocritical, but the scary thing is that he is so taken in with the fanaticism with which he views the world that he truly believes himself to be in the right.
3. Gaston-Beauty and the Beast(1991)
Gaston’s arrogance, narcissism, and inability to take no for an answer make him an easily detestable villain, but he’s revered and admired by most of the other characters in the movie, which can be seen as social commentary in some aspects. Like Frollo, he also believes himself to be in the right when he goes after the Beast, which he views as a fearsome creature to be put down. His arrogance and misogynistic treatment of Belle make him a bit hard for me to empathize with, though.
2. Scar-The Lion King(1994)
It can almost objectively be said that The Lion King is one of the best Disney movies of all time, part of which is because of the nefarious and conniving villain Scar turns out to be. With a stunningly eerie musical number, Scar’s performance is a tour de force of villainy and by murdering his brother Mufasa in order to seize the throne, he establishes himself as one of the cruelest and most wicked villains on this list.
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Maleficent-Sleeping Beauty(1959)
Maleficent is definitely not a villain that one forgets anytime soon. She’s a menacing figure that evokes terror and awe with her dark and gothic motif, but what truly sets her apart, in my opinion, is in her motivation. Other villains were motivated by things like power and material wealth while Maleficent seemed to be evil just for the sake of being evil. It’s implied that she condemned Aurora to death because she didn’t receive an invitation to the king and queen’s party, but her actions seemed to be about more than just that. Her villainy is unmatched by any other Disney villain.