Disney just wouldn’t be Disney without those larger than life villains. They’ve given us schemes, songs, board games, interesting boss fights in Kingdom Hearts… .

Still, while we all know about the big names like Maleficent and Jafar, there are some villains who just don’t get the infamy they deserve.

Here are ten of our favorites, rated from least to most underrated, and why we love to hate them.

10. Syndrome (The Incredibles)

Syndrome is pretty popular among the fandom, with countless memes dedicated to some of his iconic lines, particularly the famous “When everyone is super, no one will be” monologue.

However, there’s a lot more to him than memorable lines and a freakishly large chin. Syndrome is a commentary on how toxic fandom can get. He doesn’t hate superheroes, despite having killed many of Mr. Incredible’s former allies. He loves them. He wants to be them. But when Mr. Incredible rejects him as his sidekick for his reckless behavior, he decides the best course of action is to become the only superhero. He’ll tear the entire system down for his benefit and amusement, heedless of how it affects the people he once looked up to. Then, when he’s bored with that, he’ll throw it all away. It’s a problem that Disney creatives have had to deal with often, as they’re often harassed by fans for deviating from their (often self-serving) expectations. Brad Bird channels it brilliantly in Syndrome’s character, making him one of the most iconic and memorable villains of all time.

9. Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove)

Yzma, the hilarious villain of The Emperor’s New Groove is far from unpopular, but she’s definitely underplayed compared to other classic villains.

In part, it’s because her tone is so bombastic and hilarious compared to the more nuanced characters of Maleficent or Ursula. Eartha Kitt is clearly having a blast playing her Looney Tunes like antics. Plus, in a tribute to her voice actress, her fate is to turn into a cat. Then, in the Direct-to-Video sequel, she comes back as a human-cat hybrid… a Catwoman if you will. It’s a shame that it’s so difficult to replicate her skeletal frame because she would make the BEST face character.

8. Randall Boggs (Monsters, Inc.)

While Mr. Waternoose is the real villain of the film, Randall is a monster we would NOT want to find in our room at night.

His reptilian design and callous willingness to harm a child make him the most sinister monster on the Scare Floor, especially compared to the relatively cute Mike and Sully. Plus his chameleon powers can lead to some surprising appearances… or funny moments, like the GIF above.

Also, unlike many other villains, we get to see him before his fall to darkness… and he’s ADORABLE.

It’s interesting that Randall wasn’t originally a bad person; he’s one who happened to live in a toxic society that encouraged (and rewarded) all of his worst impulses. From gaining acceptance by becoming a campus bully to joining a company that encourages its employees to be as sinister and frightening as possible, Monsters University makes Randall one of the most nuanced Disney villains of all time.

7. Tamatoa (Moana)

Moana is a big deviation from the normal Disney Princess formula. The princess is the protagonist the whole time and consistently gets herself out of peril, there’s no love interest, and there’s no archetypal villain. But Tamatoa does his best to serve some villainy!

Lalotai is another world and a huge and surreal deviation from the normal rules and tone of Moana, which makes Tamatoa’s trippy musical number feel oddly appropriate, at odds as it is with the rest of the movie. This giant decapod sings a sinister pop single while using his own shell as a disco ball, before transitioning to a bioluminescent nightmare. He only appears in one scene, but it is by far the most memorable musical number in the film. You might be more familiar with the words of “How Far I’ll Go” or “You’re Welcome”, but you likely remember every moment of this beautifully animated sequence.

6. Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)

Shere Khan is interesting as, despite being a superbly acted and animated character, he didn’t get much screen time in his own film.

That’s largely a matter of adaptation. Kipling wrote a character whose primary function was to be a predator, while Disney created a character who had so much more potential than just wanting to eat Mowgli and being scared of fire. In fact… can we start this entry over? I have an idea.

…wait for it…

6.  Shere Khan (Talespin)

That’s better. TaleSpin is a concept that is, quite honestly, bonkers. …

Not Bonkers because that’s a different cartoon, but still pretty bonkers.  Take the animal characters from The Jungle Book, make them anthropomorphic, stick them in the 1930s, and make an action adventure series in the vein of Indiana Jones? Where did that come from? Not that I’m complaining.

But the best thing it did was take Shere Khan’s most interesting character traits — his suave personality, ruthlessness, and predatory nature — and put them into a context that was far more interesting than “I’m a tiger, rawr”. In Cape Suzette, he’s a sinister business tycoon that holds Higher for Hire, Baloo’s delivery service, in perpetual debt. Sometimes he engages in sinister schemes for his own gain. In other cases, he reluctantly teams up with Baloo and company. This Disney Afternoon adaptation gave him a lot more screen time… and a lot more nuance.

5. Magica de Spell (Ducktales)

You know, let’s just stay in the Disney Afternoon since we’re already here. Magica de Spell originates from Carl Barks’s Scrooge McDuck comics, but you probably know her from her depiction in the original iteration of Ducktales. 

With her implacable accent and wacky sinister schemes, she’s one of the more memorable characters in the comics. However, her modern incarnation really ups the melodrama, becoming a major threat to Duckberg and a huge part of Webby’s new character arc in the form of Lena. …Though, as always, she still gets her comeuppance. For all her mystical knowledge, she ends up as a birthday party clown, doomed to make balloon snakes while declaring magical war on the day manager of Funzo’s Fun Zone. Few characters can blend melodrama and comedic incompetence with such flair.

4. Negaduck (Darkwing Duck)

Our last entry in the Disney Afternoon trio is Negaduck, who has an interesting origin story. Negaduck first appeared as Darkwing Duck’s “evil side”, after an accident split him into a violent “Negaduck” and a comically pacifist “Posiduck”.

The “evil Darkwing Duck” concept was so popular they eventually made him a recurring character, now explained as being from an evil mirror universe.  Jim Cummings channels his full charisma, turning DW’s nasally squawk into a sinister growl and engaging in a level of violence that would have been horrifying in a normal superhero story. In the cartoon world of St. Canard, however, it’s hilarious.

Once again, Negaduck gets an awesome new characterization in the 2017 rendition of Ducktales. Darkwing Duck makes several cameos as an in-universe TV series, complete with voice acting by Jim Cummings. When Launchpad finally meets Jim Starling, Darkwing’s in-universe actor, things quickly turn into a case of “never meet your heroes”, as Starling embodies all of Darkwing’s worst traits; his enormous ego and his insatiable desire for fame and glory. When a new actor takes over the role, Starling is driven to madness trying to reclaim his fame, even enlisting Launchpad as a “sidekick”. The episode ends with a clash between the new actor (stepping into the roll of Darkwing Duck to save his friends), and Starling, obsessed with fame, blows up the whole set. In the end, the new actor (who happens to be named Drake Mallard) saves the day, while a discolored Jim Starling cackles in the sewers, his costume changed to Negaduck’s yellow and black. Talk about a comic book origin story!

3. Master Control Program (TRON)

In TRON, the main plot is kicked off when Kevin Flynn’s video game designs are stolen, leading him to investigate ENCOM’s mainframes.

Little does he know that a chess-program has been upgraded into a maliciously intelligent being with plans on world domination… and the power to drag real people into the system. The MCP would be defeated with a floppy disk or hacking sequence in a normal film, but here he rules the digital world as a god-like tyrant. Also he uses those stolen video games as gladiatorial competitions. He might be a giant red top, but his actions led to one of the most unique movies of all time.

2. Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective)

This rodent take on Professor Moriarty (voiced by none other than Vincent Price) is one of the most stylish Disney villain to ever exist.

Packed with more ham than an Easter brunch buffet, the world’s greatest criminal mind carries out his plot with cunning and style, successfully luring Basil of Baker Street into a death trap and replacing the queen of Mouse London with a robot duplicate. When he jumps out on stage with those ridiculous royal robes, even though it’s definitely the hero’s darkest hour, it’s hard not to grin at how over the top he is.

But he has a dark side… I mean, a darker than normal side. Once Ratigan’s plot is foiled, he drops all pretences of being a member of civilized mouse society and turns into a savage brute bent on killing Basil. The result is one of the most dramatic fight scenes you’ll ever see in a Disney movie, as Basil and Ratigan get into an all out brawl in the clockwork of Big Ben!

1. The Horned King (The Black Cauldron)

Straight from the D&D Monster Manual and into our nightmares, the Horned King is one of the most irredeemably evil Disney characters. Obsessed with extending his life, this sinister lich seeks to conquer the world with the power of the titular Black Cauldron, unleashing an army of the dead across the world.

This guy is on the same level of spooky sinister as Chernabog, except he actually does something. Of course, his death (while beautifully animated) is rather anemic; he sort of just… accidentally walks too close to the cauldron and dies. His real claim to fame, though? The scariest attraction in Disney history. So scary we forgot to put it in our last article about scary attractions because we had repressed the memory… the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour.

Located at Tokyo Disneyland, this ride was inspired by Japanese ghost houses; mazes filled with scenes of horror and macabre displays. If this sounds more like a Halloween Horror Nights maze than a Disney ride, you’d be right. This was a full-fledged haunted house set in the castle dungeons. The finale features an encounter with the Horned King and his Black Cauldron. A guest carries the Sword of Light into the chamber, as a large animatronic version of the Horned King invokes Satan and threatens to toss the guests into his cauldron as human sacrifices. At Disneyland. It was eventually replaced with tamer walkthrough attraction focusing on the story of Cinderella, but if it wasn’t for this creepy fellow, the most frightening ride in Disney history would have never existed.

That’s our list, folks. Did we leave out any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

 

 

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