Similar to the Disney Princesses, the Disney Villains have their own franchise. The franchise consists of Disney's most well-known and beloved villains and span from various forms of media and merchandise, typically aimed at an older audience.
Members[]
Over its more than 90 year history, Disney has brought to life more than 127 different villains from films, sequels, television, video games, books, and even the Disney theme parks. Although many different evil characters and enemies have been created, not all of them are official members of the Disney Villains franchise.
Conversely, some of the "villains" that are marketed are antagonists but not necessarily villains since they are not evil characters, sometimes not fully agreeing with other antagonists or redeeming themselves in the end, but they still cause trouble to the protagonists; Sour Bill being one such example ("villain" and "antagonist" are not the same thing).
Primary members[]
Villain | Year |
---|---|
The Evil Queen[2][3] | 1937 |
Chernabog[2][3] | 1940 |
Queen of Hearts[2] | 1951 |
Captain Hook[2][3] | 1953 |
Maleficent[2][3] | 1959 |
Cruella De Vil[2][3] | 1961 |
Ursula[2][3] | 1989 |
Jafar[2][3] | 1992 |
Scar[2][3][4] | 1994 |
Hades[2][3] | 1997 |
Dr. Facilier[5] | 2009 |
Recurring members[]
Sub-franchises[]
Disney's Divas of Darkness[]
Disney's Divas of Darkness (also shortened to Disney Divas, DDD, or Disney's Bad Girls) is a sub-franchise consisting of the most recognizable female Disney Villains (or Disney villainesses). It can be seen as a counterpart to the Disney Princess franchise because it too targets a female audience but consists of evil characters instead.
Members[]
- The Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
- Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)
- Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland)
- Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
- Cruella De Vil (One Hundred and One Dalmatians)
- Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone)
- Madame Medusa (The Rescuers)
- Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
- Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove)
- Mother Gothel (Tangled)
Disney's Sinister Cats[]
Disney's Sinister Cats is a lesser known sub-franchise consisting of felines. It should be noted that several of its members were not the main antagonists of their respective films. This franchise is also known as Disney Cats, but it should be noted that the franchise does not include feline protagonists like Oliver or Thomas O'Malley under this banner. Felines with more evident anthropomorphic features like Pete, Gideon or Prince John are also not included.
Members[]
- Lucifer (Cinderella)
- Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)
- Si and Am (Lady and the Tramp)
- Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)
- Felicia (The Great Mouse Detective)
- Scar (The Lion King)
The Thirteen Reflections of Evil[]
The Thirteen Reflections of Evil was a Disney Villain group made for the Epcot pin trading event in the September of 2013. In the story, the Evil Queen found an incantation which if performed with a magic mirror on Friday the Thirteenth, would summon 13 of the most powerful and evil villains from across time and space. The villains then broke the mirror and hid the thirteen shards so no one could use it against them.
Members[]
- Chernabog
- Maleficent
- The Evil Queen
- Jafar
- Ursula
- Cruella De Vil
- Dr. Facilier
- Hades
- Scar
- Captain Hook
- Queen of Hearts
- Gaston
- Oogie Boogie
Leaders[]
In most crossover appearances featuring the villains, a specific villain would act as the leader, or the central figure of the project to whom the others are (more or less) subservient.
- Maleficent - The most frequent and quintessential leader of the Disney Villains. She led the villains in several park attractions, promotional material, the Kingdom Hearts series, and was the second-in-command of the Kingdom Keepers novels. She is also the leader of the Villains in Descendants.
- Pete - The leader of the villains in the House of Mouse episode "Pete's House of Villains" and second-in-command in the Kingdom Hearts series.
- The Evil Queen - Led the villains in Fantasmic!, Cinderella's Surprise Celebration and One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On! She also led the villains along with Jafar in Villains Night Out! at Hong Kong Disneyland. She has also served as the centerpiece in various forms of merchandise and marketing.
- Chernabog - Led the villains in the Kingdom Keepers novels, as well as being the centerpiece of several Disney Villain related merchandise and promotional material.
- Jafar - Jafar was the leader in the direct-to-video film Mickey's House of Villains. He also led the villains along with the Evil Queen in Villains Night Out! at Hong Kong Disneyland.
- Hades - Hades serves as the ringleader in the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom attraction, the central villain in the Disney Cruise Line’s Villains Tonight!, and was the host of Disney's Unleash the Villains event in 2013 and 2014. Hades also serves as the protagonist of Villains Unite the Night at the Magic Kingdom.
- Captain Hook - Led the villains in the Disneyland Paris show Disney Dreams! and was the second-in-command in Mickey's House of Villains.
- Ursula - Led the villains in the Disney Cruise Line show, The Golden Mickeys.
- Dr. Facilier - Facilier served as the central villain in Disney's Maleficious Halloween Party, Villains Mix and Mingle from 2011 to 2014, and served as the host of the villain-centric event Club Villain.
- Lady Tremaine - Tremaine led the villains during the Sinister Soiree character dining event in Cinderella's Royal Table during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2014.
- Cruella De Vil - Led the villains in the Halloween segment of Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate!.
- Oogie Boogie - Led the villains in Disney's Not So Spooky Spectacular and served as the host and narrator of World of Color: Villainous!.
- Tamatoa - Tamatoa was featured as the central villain in Wonderful World of Animation.
Other media[]
Television specials[]
In the Disney's Scary Tales (1981) episode special as part of The Wonderful World of Disney, Hans Conried (voice of the Evil Queen's Magic Mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) hosts the special with Disney Villains in eight segments including Captain Hook from Peter Pan, Edgar Balthazar the Bulter from The Aristocats, Willie the Giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk, Kaa and Shere Khan from The Jungle Book, the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cruella De Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Madame Medusa from The Rescuers, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.
Mickey's House of Villains[]
The Disney Villains guest star in this House of Mouse with Jafar as the leader. He and the rest of the villains overthrow Mickey Mouse and locks all the heroes in the kitchen and kick Mickey and friends out forcing them to fight to get the club back.
Disney's Villains' Revenge[]
In this computer game, Captain Hook, the Evil Queen, the Queen of Hearts, and the Ringmaster change their respective stories to their own advantage.
Kingdom Hearts[]
The Disney Villains are antagonists in the game series, with the Disney Villain Council led by Maleficent being a prominent force. All of the members command the Heartless horde as a means of controlling their respective worlds, and in turn help Maleficent in locating the Keyblade. The council consisted of Maleficent, Pete, Jafar, Hades, Captain Hook, Oogie Boogie, and Ursula. Captain Barbossa, Scar, and Riku were also members for brief periods of time. Most of the members meet their demise, although Hades, Captain Hook, and Pete are the only ones to survive; while Maleficent is later resurrected, Pete is the only one to rejoin her. In the Kingdom Hearts manga series by Shiro Amano, it is revealed that a spot on the Disney Villain Council was offered to the Cheshire Cat, though he saw their goals as beneath him and refused.
Other villains also appear in the series though not connected to the council, including Clayton, Chernabog, Shan Yu, Master Control Program, Monstro, the Evil Queen, Lady Tremaine, Gantu, Claude Frollo, CLU, Mother Gothel, Hans, Randall Boggs, and Davy Jones. Gaston and King Candy also appear in the mobile games Kingdom Hearts χ and Union χ, respectively.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Almost all Disney Villains wear mostly red, black, and purple. By contrast, white, blue, and gold are the traditional "good" colors.
- Most villains appear to have either green, yellow or black (no iris) eyes.
- Green eyes were considered to be a sign of either magic, evil and/or witchcraft during the Middle Ages, yellow eyes are often common in animals but not humans, and villains' eyes are generally smaller than those of heroic characters and tend to not reflect any light at all, giving them a rather soulless look.
- Occasionally, there are villains with blue eyes (Gaston), brown eyes (Stromboli, Jafar, King Candy), gray eyes (Ursula, Mother Gothel), or violet/purple eyes (Vanessa, Doctor Facilier).
- Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and Hans from Frozen are currently the youngest Disney Villains to date, with Hans being 23 and Gaston being around his mid-20s.
- Scar from The Lion King and Hades from Hercules are currently the only Disney Villains to be biologically related to the main protagonist of the movie. (Scar is Simba's uncle and Hades is Hercules' uncle.)
- Prince John from Robin Hood is also the uncle of the film's female lead, Maid Marian.
- Ursula from The Little Mermaid was originally intended to be Ariel's aunt.
- Despite this, the live action remake reused this idea.
- In the novel Tarzan of the Apes, Clayton was Tarzan's biological cousin.
- Edgar Balthazar from The Aristocats seems to have more morality than most Disney Villains. When he was getting rid of Duchess and her kittens, he could've just killed them, but he chose to abandon them in the woods.
- Prince John from Robin Hood and Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahontas are the only Disney Villains to be based on actual people.
- Several Disney villains were inspired by real-life figures and celebrities, such as:
- Pete (Wallace Beery)
- Ursula (Divine)
- Scar (Adolf Hitler)
- Claude Frollo (Amon Göth)
- Mother Gothel (Cher)
- King Candy (Ed Wynn)
- Tamatoa (David Bowie)
- Several Disney villains were inspired by real-life figures and celebrities, such as:
- Hades is presumably the oldest of the Disney Villains, being an immortal god. Mother Gothel from Tangled, while she's not immortal, is presumably the oldest human Disney Villain.
- Gaston, Jafar, and Judge Claude Frollo are currently the only three male Disney Villains to have an obsession with the female lead of their respective films.
- In deleted versions of The Lion King, Scar was to fall into lust with Nala at one point.
- Ursula, Gaston, and Jafar are currently the only Disney Villains who try to marry the lead character of their respective films.
- Maleficent and Cruella De Vil are currently the only Disney Villains to serve as the protagonist of their own theatrical feature films.
- Both Iago and Kronk have led their own direct-to-video features in The Return of Jafar and Kronk's New Groove, respectively.
- Captain Hook from Peter Pan is the only villain to be a part of the Disney Adventurers line-up.
- Dr. Facilier is the first black Disney Villain.
- Amos Slade, John Silver, and Yokai are so far the only Disney Villains who redeem and learn the errors of their ways.
- However, Shere Khan was originally intended to reform in the cancelled third Jungle Book movie, whereas King Candy was at one point considered to reform as well when he and Turbo were conceived as different characters.
- Hans is the first Disney Villain to be a love interest to a Disney protagonist. However, it might not count, since Hans never really loved Princess Anna in the first place, and Anna's interest in Hans was more like a naive infatuation than actual love.
- Prince John, Ursula, Jafar, Scar, Sid Phillips, Hades, Hopper, Clayton, Mor'du, Hans, and Evelyn Deavor are the only Disney Villains to have known siblings (King Richard, Morgana, Nasira, Mufasa, Hannah Phillips, Zeus & Poseidon, Molt, Lady Waltham, The Three Brothers, the twelve princes of the Southern Isles, and Winston Deavor respectively).
- Although Aunt Sarah and Randall Boggs have no known sibling, it is known that they must have at least one sibling.
- Of the eleven primary members of the franchise, only five are known to have died during their film: the Evil Queen, Maleficent, Ursula, Scar, and Dr. Facilier. Jafar is killed in the sequel to Aladdin. Chernabog, the Queen of Hearts, Hook, Cruella, and Hades all survive their films.
- Jafar, Governor Ratcliffe, Captain Hook, Lady Tremaine, Cruella, Shere Khan, Gantu, and Yzma are the only villains who return as the main antagonist in a sequel of their films.
- Music plays a significant part in the role of a Disney Villain. Villains engaging in song and dance traces all the way back to 1940's Pinocchio, with Honest John's "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee", though the staple was truly popularized as a centerpiece of a Disney animated musical with Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in 1989. However, whether they perform a song or not, villains are commonly represented by a leitmotif featured in the scores of their respective film. These villains include:
- The Evil Queen ("A Special Sort of Death")
- Chernabog ("Night on Bald Mountain")
- Captain Hook ("A Pirate's Life (Is a Wonderful Life)"/"Never Smile at a Crocodile")
- The Queen of Hearts ("March of the Cards")
- Maleficent ("Maleficent Appears")
- Cruella De Vil ("Cruella De Vil")
- Horned King ("The Horned King")
- Professor Ratigan ("The World's Greatest Criminal Mind")
- Ursula ("Poor Unfortunate Souls")
- Gaston ("Gaston")
- Jafar ("On a Dark Night")
- Oogie Boogie ("Oogie Boogie's Song")
- Scar (“Didn’t Your Mother Tell You Not to Play With Your Food”/"Be Prepared")
- Governor Ratcliffe ("Mine, Mine, Mine")
- Judge Claude Frollo ("Hellfire")
- Hades ("Speak of the Devil")
- Shan Yu ("The Huns Attack")
- Yzma ("Beware the Groove")
- Queen Narissa ("Narissa Arrives")
- Dr. Facilier ("Tiana’s Bad Dream"/"Friends on the Other Side")
- Mother Gothel ("Mother Knows Best")
- King Candy ("Messing with the Program")
- Hans ("Hans")
- Yokai ("The Masked Man")
- Tamatoa ("Shiny")
- Scar, Clayton, Lyle Tiberius Rourke, Dr. Facilier, Yokai, and Ernesto de la Cruz are the only villains to have permanently killed off a major character in their respective films.
- An argument could be made for the Headless Horseman, who possibly killed Ichabod Crane when the former spirited the latter away. However, Ichabod's final fate was left ambiguous.
References[]
- ↑ Often cited as the most popular of the villains, these villains are seen in most, if not all, current Disney Villain related productions, merchandise, attractions, etc.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 Smith, Dave. Disney Archive's List of Disney Villains. Disney Archives. Disney. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved on February 20, 2017.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 Disney Villains Panorama
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Disney's Sinister Cats
- ↑ Friday the 13th Mischief is Bi-Coastal at Disney Parks "Notorious Disney villains, including Maleficent, Captain Hook and Hades will host a wicked dance party"
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 File:Villian02-500.jpg
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 Mickey's House of Villains
- ↑ Mortimer Vinylmation
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 File:Villaintines 2016-613x1004.jpg
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 10.25 10.26 10.27 10.28 10.29 Disney Villains: The Essential Guide to the Evilest of Them All
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Disney Villains Monopoly
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 File:Year of 2015 Disney Villains calender pins.jpg
- ↑ Coachman Vinylmation
- ↑ Disney's Villains' Revenge
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Happy Hallowishes
- ↑ Disney Treasures Heroes & Villains
- ↑ Villain Sculpture
- ↑ File:Disney-villains.jpg
- ↑ 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 File:Disney Villains Valentinee.jpg
- ↑ File:Disney Villains -Fire Wallpaper- copy.jpg
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 File:DizVillainsPostcard.jpeg
- ↑ Disney Villains: Big Best Book to Color
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Disney Villains Vinylmation
- ↑ The Rescuers (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ Pocahontas (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Villains Tonight!
- ↑ Official Disney Villains Instagram
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 28.6 28.7 28.8 Disney Villains: The Essential Guide
- ↑ Lilo & Stitch (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ Once Upon a Halloween
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Unleash the Villains
- ↑ Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
- ↑ Tangled (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ Wreck-It Ralph (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ Disney Official Instagram, Villain Henchmen
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Hans Villains Pin
- ↑ Official Disney Villains Instagram
- ↑ Wonderful World of Animation
- ↑ Official Disney Villains Instagram
- ↑ Official Disney Villains Instagram
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 Pixar Villains Vinylmation
- ↑ Al McWhiggin Vinylmation
- ↑ Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
- ↑ The Thirteen Reflections of Evil
- ↑ Enchanted (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ Oz the Great and Powerful (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ Planes (Disney Villains Edition)
- ↑ File:AllDisneyVillainsDVDSleeves.jpg