Disney has brought countless stories to life, captivating audiences with timeless heroes and memorable adventures. However, behind every great story is a compelling villain, whose schemes and misdeeds create the tension that drives the narrative forward. They’re one of the four pillars of a successful Disney film. Every Disney fan will agree that the most important elements of a Disney film are the quality of the songs, the believability of the romance, the cuteness of the obligatory character designed to sell toys, and the effectiveness of their villain. From wicked queens and scheming sorcerers to cunning animals and ruthless conquerors, Disney villains are as varied as they are iconic. Their unforgettable personalities, unique motivations, and sinister actions have cemented their places in our hearts and minds. Here’s a look at some of the greatest Disney villains, whose dark deeds and unforgettable personas have left an indelible mark on the world of animation and live-action.
These are the 100 Greatest Disney Villains of All Time.
10. Shere Khan (George Sanders) | The Jungle Book (1967)
Isn’t it odd how some of the greatest Disney villains have the shortest amount of screen time? I offer Shere Khan from The Jungle Book as the prime example. Despite his immense reputation looming over the story from almost the very beginning, remember he’s the reason Mowgli has to leave the jungle in the first place, the infamous tiger doesn’t even appear until two-thirds of the way through the film!
Once he does appear though, Shere Khan easily steals every scene he appears in, particularly during his “discussion” with Kaa about Mowgli’s whereabouts. And who can forget his epic interruption of “That’s What Friends Are For.” For as brief as his overall appearance in the film is, every moment Shere Khan is on screen counts. This makes him one of the more memorable Disney villains in my opinion.
–Becky O’Brien
9. Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) | Aladdin (1992)
The Royal Vizier of Agrabah and the sultan’s most trusted and loyal advisor, Jafar is, in actuality, an imperious schemer who has a passionate disdain for the Sultan and has, from the second he got power, plotted to take over the world by gaining control of the magic lamp. A combination of the sorcerer and vizier from the Aladdin folk tale in the One Thousand and One Nights collection of stories, Jafar is both a megalomaniacal power monger and a powerful alchemist with shape-shifting powers, which makes him one of the most dangerous foes within the Disney villain canon.
–Sailor Monsoon
8. Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) | Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
The crazy origin story of Who Framed Roger Rabbit is damn near the perfect example of art imitating life. Where the film is a groundbreaking amalgamation of live-action and animation, the script is also the byproduct of smashing two unlikely things into each other. One is a novel about a private investigator teaming up with a living Sunday comic strip character and the other is an unused script for the second sequel to Chinatown.
Almost nothing about the film should work but against all odds, it not only works but is frequently cited as one of the best of the ’80s. I believe a lot of that is due to the exceptional performance given by Christopher Lloyd. His Judge Doom was in neither the novel nor the other script and almost wasn’t included at all. But after Lloyd beat out a veritable who’s who of the Hollywood elite, Zemekis rewrote the part to be bigger and (based on a suggestion from Lloyd himself), made the character a toon himself. He’s menacing until he’s over-the-top insane and in an early draft of the script, it was revealed that he was the one that shot Bambi’s mother. Which immediately makes him just the worst person.
–Sailor Monsoon
7. Buddy Pine / Syndrome (Jason Lee) | The Incredibles (2004)
Comic book supervillains are a dime a dozen. Most are either bland CGI monsters that want to destroy the world by punching it to death or are glorified terrorists that have overly complicated plots that usually involve a laser shooting a giant hole in the sky. We’re living through the golden age of superhero films but as big as the budgets get and as fun as the heroes are, the villains almost always get the shaft.
The Incredibles is one of the few exceptions. Syndrome may appear on the surface to be nothing more than another byproduct of the James Bond cliché machine with his elaborate lair and impressive gadgets but it’s his motivations that set him apart from every other Bond or superhero villain. He’s not in it for world domination or a twisted sense of purpose, he’s doing it to be a hero. Every superhero he kills is just another stepping stone on his path to fame and adulation. He’s the dark side of fandom personified.
–Sailor Monsoon
6. Ursula (Pat Carroll) | The Little Mermaid (1989)
After being banished from Atlantica by her longstanding rival, King Triton, the villainous Ursula vowed vengeance by harnessing the power of the King’s trident and installing herself as ruler of the ocean. Based in part on Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard and the drag performer Divine, Ursula is a deliciously over-the-top sea witch who uses powerful black magic to seduce and corrupt all around her. With her two eel henchmen named Flotsam and Jetsom, she preys upon the vulnerable with the promise of granting them their heart’s desire but unlike other villains, she actually plays fair. I mean, she does try and win but she doesn’t break the rules of her contracts. And can we talk about her human form Vanessa? I’m not going to say she’s way hotter than Ariel but I doubt she needed to hypnotize him into picking her. I’m just saying.
–Sailor Monsoon
5. Evil Queen (Lucille La Verne) | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
It’s easy to forget that the legacy of Disney is built upon the back of a film that’s plot boils down to a boss bitch hating another chick so much that she wants to cut out her heart or poison her ass dead. Her hateful vendetta is built upon nothing but extreme jealousy. A magic mirror told her that she wasn’t the prettiest anymore and that was enough to drive her to murder. This crazy bitch set the standard all other Disney villains would follow. Before the Wicked Stepmother relegated Cinderella to a life of slavery and before Maleficent crashed a party and cursed a baby in order to “keep it real,” the Evil Queen was there.
–Sailor Monsoon
4. Scar (Jeremy Irons) | The Lion King (1994)
Even though the film could easily be dismissed as a lazy retelling of Hamlet by way of Kimba the White Lion, The Lion King was undeniably ambitious. It was Disney’s attempt to animate Shakespeare and although there’s plenty for cynics to attack, even the detractors have to admit that casting Irons in the role of the villainous Scar was a stroke of brilliance. Every line he utters is dripping with sarcastic menace.
Even though his motivation may be standard ‘usurp the king’, his plan and its execution are burned into the retinas of every kid who grew up in the 90’s. He’s also one of the only villains that actually gets what he wants. He doesn’t ultimately win in the end but the film shows us what happens when the villain’s plan finally succeeds for once. And it’s bleak.
–Sailor Monsoon
3. Cruella De Vil (Betty Lou Gerson) | One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
Only Walt Disney was crazy enough to see the money in adapting a novel about a crazy woman who kidnaps over ninety puppies with the sole purpose of skinning them to make a fur coat. The film stops at the puppy murder (thank god) but the novel involves her drowning multiple litters of kitties for no real reason other than the fact they were deemed “unwanted.” Let me repeat that for the cheap seats: Cruella De Vil owns a cat whose sole purpose in the narrative of the novel is to explain to the audience, who are children, that she wants to escape because De Vil keeps drowning her babies. And Disney read that and saw nothing but dollar bills falling from the heavens. Cruella De Vil is an actual devil, but sweet baby Jesus could she have been a lot worse.
–Sailor Monsoon
2. Hades (James Woods) | Hercules (1997)
When it comes to Disney actors, I put them into two categories: famous and not famous. Or more accurately: Pre-Robin Williams and Post-Robin Williams. Before Aladdin, the studio skewed towards unknown actors or at the very least, actors who weren’t movie stars but after the release of Aladdin, they started going for bigger stars. Eddie Murphy. Mel Gibson. Rosie O’Donnell. James Woods. And out of all of them, the only one in my opinion, that holds a candle to Williams, was Woods. There has never been a better use of his fast-talking, asshole schtick than this. He owns the role of Hades as much as Williams does with Genie and since I’m not one to shy away from controversy I might as well add that I think he’s funnier too.
–Sailor Monsoon
1. Maleficent (Eleanor Audley) | Sleeping Beauty (1959)
The Black Cauldron’s Horned King and Fantasia’s Chernabog may look evil but Maleficent is evil. She curses a young princess for no other reason than because she can. Using the pretense of taking offense at not being invited to the christening, she makes up some bullshit as to why she’s fucking everything up because she knows they’d understand a woman scorned and all that. She doesn’t care about the christening, she doesn’t care about Aurora, all she cares about is creating havoc. She’s a tornado of evil, spreading misfortune and unhappiness throughout the kingdom. And yet, she’s as beloved as any Disney Princess. Whenever Disney does something like a cartoon or videogame that involves all the villains, she’s always put front and center. She’s the villain all the other villains aspire to be.
–Sailor Monsoon
20-11 | Experience the Magic Again?
What did you think of our latest Top 100? Were there some Disney characters that didn’t make the cut that you thought should have made the list? Share them with us down in the comments!