Since Disney began producing their first animated movies, villains have been a major part of the story. From the Evil Queen to newer villains like Doctor Facilier, these characters battle our heroes and add the crucial antagonist to the battle of good and evil. In the years since, Disney villains have come to captivate audiences, with some viewers even enjoying the villains more than the heroes. While many of these villains are truly evil, there are some that have proven a little more sympathetic. Here are nine Disney villains we feel for.
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9 Lotso – Toy Story 3 (2010)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Toy Story 3 sees Woody, Buzz, and the other beloved toys accidentally sent to Sunnyside Daycare prior to Andy starting college. One new toy they meet is Lotso the bear, who leads the group and is often angry. He reveals that he was accidentally left behind by his kid, Daisy. He worked tirelessly to get back to her, only to find that she had replaced him with new toys. It certainly doesn’t excuse him for leaving the toys to burn in the incinerator, which is an emotional scene worthy of a horror movie. However, it is easy to see how his abandonment made him so bitter.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 The Evil Queen – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
RKO Radio Pictures
In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Queen is certainly a scary villain. However, it doesn’t mean that she’s without sympathy. Told for years that she is the “fairest of them all,” she finds that title suddenly taken by her stepdaughter, Snow White. This causes her to first send a Huntsman to kill Snow White; when this doesn’t work, she then uses a poisoned apple to put Snow White into a death-like sleep. It’s a definite overreaction, but she had based her life on the knowledge of her beauty giving her power, and having that taken from her is an understandable cause of action.
7 Edgar Balthazar – The Aristocats (1970)
Buena Vista Distribution
In the underrated movie The Aristocats, Edgar Balthazar serves as the villain, though he is far from a typical Disney villain. The movie centers around the cats belonging to a retired opera singer, Madame Adelaide. Edgar has served as her butler tirelessly, and when he finds out she means to leave her inheritance to her cats, he tries to kill them. Like Lotso, it doesn’t excuse his cruelty towards the animals. However, anyone could feel his anger at losing that amount of money to a group of cats.
6 Captain Hook – Peter Pan (1953)
Peter Pan is one of the best adaptations of the classic novel, per Bustle. The adaptation includes the classic villain of Captain Hook, who often fights with Peter. It’s unclear how their rivalry started, but Peter is responsible for cutting off Hook’s hand. This has led to Hook being pursued by the Tick-Tock the Crocodile, who wants to eat more of him. By the end, Hook isn’t much of a villain – instead, he’s a pitiful man fearing for his life and exhausted from constantly fighting Peter. It’s easy to sympathize with him and his anger toward Peter because of this.
5 Syndrome – The Incredibles (2004)
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
In The Incredibles, Syndrome’s journey actually starts as one of a wannabe hero. As a kid named Buddy, he hopes to aid his favorite hero, Mr. Incredible. He puts on his own costume to “help” Mr. Incredible save a man. Mr. Incredible, however, angrily tells him to go home – reasonably so, as the danger of hero work is not for a kid. Buddy later becomes Syndrome, a villain intent on taking down Mr. Incredible and his family as payback. His turn from hopeful kid hero into a full-blown supervillain may be a little over-the-top. However, in the eyes of a young boy, being shut down by your personal hero has to hurt.
4 Ursula – The Little Mermaid (1989)
In The Little Mermaid, mermaid Ariel’s quest to be human and meet Prince Eric leads her to the sea witch, Ursula, who ScreenRant considers one of Disney’s all-time best villains. Ursula was banished by King Triton, Ariel’s father, and forced to live alone. It’s easy to sympathize with this loneliness and anger. Ursula makes an agreement with Ariel: Ariel will be human for three days, in exchange for her voice. It’s notable that when it comes to their agreement, Ursula fulfills her side, with no tricks. The spell does exactly what she says it will, and she warns Ariel of this. Yes, she uses Ariel’s stolen voice to sabotage her relationship with Eric and take Triton’s throne, but her anger and jealousy towards the family are understandable.
3 Yzma – The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
The Emperor’s New Groove centers around Kuzco, an arrogant Incan emperor who misuses his power. To remove him from the throne, his former advisor, Yzma, plans to poison him, only for a mix-up to turn him into a llama. Murder plot aside, it’s easy to see Yzma’s frustration at dealing with such a bad leader, and anger at having been dismissed by him. In addition, Yzma’s sarcasm and dry humor give her major points in relatability and fun, despite her evil sides.
2 Te Kā – Moana (2016)
In Moana, the title hero sails off to return the heart of Te Fiti, the nature goddess who brought the ocean to life. With her heart missing, the ocean is growing unsafe, and Moana’s island is falling prey to a darkness from the volcano goddess, Te Kā. However, Moana later finds out that Te Kā really is Te Fiti, who became angry and diseased without her heart. Her villainy isn’t really her fault, and Moana acknowledges this. She gives Te Fiti her heart back, and tells her that what was done to her in the past doesn’t need to define her.
1 Maleficent – Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Sleeping Beauty features the villain Maleficent, who curses Princess Aurora to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die before her 16th birthday ends. She places the curse because she wasn’t invited to Aurora’s christening, and is clearly a hated outcast among the kingdom. Cursing a baby is extreme, but loneliness and hatred make for a compelling motivation. Despite her death in the movie, Maleficent’s story proved so interesting that there were two live-action movies made, sympathetically exploring her side of the tale.
