Ever since the cold-blooded Evil Queen from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” first terrified moviegoers in 1937, Disney Animation Studios has continually demonstrated expertise in crafting classic film villains. The best Disney villains range from from tragically misunderstood to irredeemably wicked. Who makes our Top 10 ranked list?
Sizing up the animated Disney villains requires one to consider not only how evil each one is, but also how well-designed they are as characters. In addition to judging them by the darkness of their deeds, one should also analyze their appearances and be able to recognize their entertainment value. Some who commit worse crimes than others may not be as morbidly fun to watch (a good villain song never hurts).
Only the 60 feature films that make up the Disney Animation Studios canon were considered in compiling this ranking. This excludes direct-to-video continuation films, non-canonical specials, and live action features, including those like “Maleficent” (2014) and “Cruella” (2021) that flesh out certain villains to the point of redemption.
10. Claude Frollo (‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’)
Voiced by Tony Jay
This 19th century French judge is religious tyranny personified. His crimes against humanity extend far beyond his imprisonment of the film’s hero, Quasimodo, as he is shown to always be working toward his genocidal goals and further targeting anyone who does not bend to his whims.
Gothel is the latest (but hopefully not last) non-twist villain in the Disney animated canon, meaning that her villainy is made clear to the audience from the get-go. What makes her one of the studio’s all-time great antagonists is her fabulously wicked panache and her terrifyingly fine-tuned skills as a gaslighter extraordinaire.
8. Horned King (‘The Black Cauldron’)
Voiced by John Hurt
Although his film has been largely forgotten, the Horned King is undoubtedly one of the scariest animated villains ever created. Just about every other Disney baddie is at least approachable to a degree, but the skeletal, sour-voiced Horned King elicits nothing but immediate terror, and has absolutely no redeeming qualities to boot.
7. Cruella de Vil (‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’)
Voiced by Betty Lou Gerson
She may not do much of her own dirty work (her stooges, Horace and Jasper, appear in more of the film than she does), but Cruella is the one calling the shots in a massive plot to kidnap and kill innocent puppies. Once things go awry and she is forced to take the reins, she becomes a horrifying huntress who will clearly stop at nothing until she gets her way.
6. Gaston (‘Beauty and the Beast’)
Voiced by Richard White
Gaston’s steady progression into more and more of an outright villain serves as a universal warning sign against the potential horrors of unchecked toxic masculinity. He holds no mystical or even political power, but the influence he has over those enticed by his hollow charisma is scary enough, as is the fact that men just like him exist in every corner of the world.
5. Evil Queen (‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’)
Voiced by Lucille La Verne
Nearly nine decades after she first graced movie screens, the nameless Queen is still one of the most delightfully detestable Disney villains. Her darkly fascinating obsession with Snow White and impressive sorcery skills (demonstrated in one of the most gorgeously animated sequences in the canon) ultimately make one wonder what terrible things she would do with her time if she weren’t so distracted by vanity.
4. Ursula (‘The Little Mermaid’)
Voiced by Pat Carroll
No one ever crosses paths with this sea witch for a good reason, and none should expect to come out a winner by entering into her debt. Ursula is an artfully designed and well-written villain who preys on the vulnerable, feeding off of their helplessness and cheating them out of any chance to benefit from her powers.
3. Governor Ratcliffe (‘Pocahontas’)
Voiced by David Ogden Stiers
John Ratcliffe was a real person who played a major role in the barbarous colonization of the Americas (which is, of course, toned down here). The Disneyfied Ratcliffe is like Gaston in that he is scary because he is realistic, but unlike him in that he actually does have political power and slight intelligence. As someone who goes through life fueled by greed and bigotry, he really shows his colors with the song “Savages,” in which he refers to Native Americans as “barely even human” and much worse.
2. Maleficent (‘Sleeping Beauty’)
Voiced by Eleanor Audley
She refers to herself as “the mistress of all evil,” and it’s hard to disagree. Thanks to a curse from Maleficent, Princess Aurora’s parents are forced to hide their only child away for 16 years, ultimately learning that she was never safe from the vigilant sorceress. Even before she transforms into a terrifying dragon, Maleficent strikes fear into the heart of every mortal she meets, largely because she has more power than most Disney villains combined to back her up.
1. Scar (‘The Lion King’)
Voiced by Jeremy Irons
Everything about Scar, from his fearsome design to Irons’s Annie Award-winning voice work to his very name, screams classic villain. Based on Claudius from “Hamlet,” the passed-over royal has a wickedly brilliant mind and knows just how to enact his ego-driven plans, which primarily involve him wiping out his own family. In terms of being a character Disney audiences love to hate, he has yet to meet his match.
Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) is one classic villainess, the queen of sorcery and the master of revenge. Sure, Disney made a spin-off about Maleficent and even called its title character “Disney's greatest villain” to paint her another “misunderstood-villain” story.
Strategy. Ultron is both the easiest and fastest Villain to win with. Considered as the best Villain for beginners. Because of his difficulty, he will be targeted by Fate actions the most.
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.
Interesting findings. 10 states chose Scar as the class favorite of all the villains. The 1994 premiere of The Lion King did well, but the 2019 remake did even better. The modern-day rendition brought in $1.3 billion — that's more than Frozen 2's earnings.
While The Princess and the Frog (2009) and Tangled (2010) gave us Dr. Facilier and Mother Gothel respectively, we haven't seen a traditional villain since 2013.
Disney's fat villains include, but are not limited to: Ursula (The Little Mermaid), the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland), Governor Ratcliffe (Pocahontas), Lawrence (The Princess and the Frog), and Pete (Mickey Mouse universe).
Once Maleficent starts her turn with a "Curse" card at each location, she wins the game. While her "Fate" deck can truly destroy her progress, her "Curses" can be stacked to protect themselves ensuring her villainous scheme is completed.
There is currently one base set of six villains, five expansions of three villains each, one expansion of one villain, and one expansion of two villains, any of which can be played without the base game or other expansions.
Though he might not be the first baddie to spring to mind for many, Lyle Rourke is notable for being Disney's first real foray into twist villain territory, so he's getting a nod.
While The Princess and the Frog (2009) and Tangled (2010) gave us Dr.Facilier and Mother Gothel respectively, we haven't seen a traditional villain since 2013.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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