the most evil disney villain

Saturday, December 20, 2008

We forget what the precise phrasing of the topic was, but we think we decided on "Who's the Most Evil Disney Villain?"

Our sister says it's Maleficent. As does this list she sent us:

"Those horns on her head, and the combination of black and purple in her costume (and as a dragon) are simply wonderful!"

"Maleficent is evil in every source of the word. From her lavishly gothic costume to her deadly powers, there is nothing to hate about her - except well, she tries to kill a princess."

"Now, I call Maleficent a true Disney villain. She gets both Aurora and Phillip and could have won if she just killed Phillip but villains never win. Maleficent does everything in her power to stop Phillip from reaching Aurora. Maleficent last battle was the best Disney fight ever."

"A powerful presence, Maleficent inspires fear and demands respect. She puts a curse on Princess Aurora merely for not getting an invite. That's wicked."

But we're not convinced. For one, the comments on the link say nothing for the villains' evil-ity--looks and powers are not indicators of evil, actions are--specifically actions that aggress against others. So where does Maleficent fall? She puts Sleeping Beauty into a coma and tries to kill Prince Dude. Okay, that's pretty evil, but what about some of the other choices?

Kaa: Assault

Shere Kahn: Assault

The Queen of Hearts: Voluntary manslaughter

Claude Frollo--I have no idea who that is

Lady Tremaine: Involuntary servitude

The Wicked Queen: Murder

Cruell De Vil: Grand theft puppies

Ursula: Fraud

Scar: Murder; assault; involuntary servitude

Jafar: Fraud; aggravated assault

King John: Does he actually do anything bad?

Madame Medusa: Kidnapping; who cares? The Rescuers sucked

Out of all those, Scar has the most impressive rap sheet, which includes fratricide, regicide, attempted...uh...filial-fratricide? installing himself as tyrant, and enslaving Rowan Atkinson. Utilitarianally--and barring unforeseen externalities--Scar takes it.

We posed the question on Facebook, too:

The most evil Disney villain is Dori. She's constantly getting marlin in trouble. She is the most vile because she's smiles and pretends to help but is secretly plotting to kill him. That's why there isn't a FInding Nemo 2 (lost again). Because she eats hiim. YEP!

I like Ursula just b/c she sounds evil...but stealing souls and being an all around bitch...sounds like a good candidate. Second choice is Walt Disney himself for always making his characters lose a parent! The big Meany!

I vote for Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. That guy was a total ass hole.

I agree, Gaston was a pretty big jerk. Scar from The Lion King was quite evil, too.

You know, if Something Wicked This Way Comes was a Disney feature, I would put Professor Dark right up there.

After viewing Sleeping Beauty last night, I maintain my stance on Malelificent and all of her glorious evil wickedness.
What if Disney did a film with Gordon Ramsey as the villain?!

Your thoughts?