10 Darkest Disney Villains Of All Time, Ranked

There have been so many incredible dark and sinister Disney villains over the years who have left their mark on children’s entertainment. While Walt Disney Pictures often told the stories of heroic protagonists, they were also just as known for creating deeply complex and interesting villains with incredibly detailed and dark backstories that influenced their menacing motivations. From supernatural supervillains to horrifically real human characters, the darkest of Disney villains took many forms as they plotted their evil and deceitful ways.

The darkest Disney villains all had one thing in common, and that’s that they were deeply interesting characters who were far more than one-dimensional antagonists who were evil for the sake of being evil. The best Disney villains had motivations that could be understood by the audience as this made the actions that they carried out far more disturbing. Many varied aspects made up the darkest Disney villains, but one thing united them all and that was their fearsome presence.

10

Syndrome

The Incredibles (2004)

As a former super fan of Mr. Incredible in The Incredibles, the kid previously known as Buddy Pine and IncrediBoy, later grew into a hate-fueled villain with a distain for superheroes called Syndrome. While other Disney villains may have darker backstories, the disappointing use of Syndrome’s incredible potential was a tragic tale. As a highly intelligent boy genius who grew up to invent incredible weapons, high-tech vehicles, and an array of marvelous technological wonders, Syndrome easily could have used powers for good instead of evil, but he let revenge and pettiness get in the way of his better nature.

Initially, Buddy wanted to be Mr. Incredible’s sidekick, and for this reason forged a new identity as IncrediBoy, before Mr. Incredible denied his offer and cast him aside. After 15 years, Buddy still had a heart that raged with fury at the thought of Mr. Incredible’s dismissal of him and he reinvented himself as a supervillain to take out Mr. Incredible, his family, and all the other superheroes of the world. As a character whose primary motivation came from anger and bitterness, Syndrome’s story was quite dark.

9

Sid Philips

Toy Story (1995)

In a world where toys were sentient beings with the full emotional range of real humans, the aggressive and disturbed 11-year-old boy next door became something far more sinister than it at first appeared. Sid Philips was a major antagonist in Toy Story who took extreme pleasure out doing horrid things to toys, such as exploding, burning, and dismembering them as he pretended to be a mad doctor. In the real world, Sid’s actions could be viewed as quite creative, but in Toy Story they were the qualities of a true maniac.

The toys feared Sid and the consequences of his actions were frighteningly dark for those who met him. Sid was not a true Disney villain, as, in Toy Story, he was unaware that the toys could think, feel, and fear his treatment of them. Sid even changed his darkly horrific ways after the toys, for a brief moment, revealed themselves to him, making him potentially the only human who learned that toys were alive.

8

Hades

Hercules (1997)

In terms of dark Disney backstories, it’s hard to come up with anything more sinister than the literal god of the Underworld Hades in Hercules. As the fast-talking, underappreciated brother of Zeus, Hades felt like he had been given a bad lot in life and, for this reason, plotted a scheme to take over Mount Olympus and the cosmos to grant himself the title of King of the Deities. Although incredibly powerful in his own right, Hades could never live up to his brother and truly despised his job and the gloomy and depressing nature of the Underworld.

As the ruler of the hellish plain seen in Hercules and Greek mythology, everything that surrounded Hades was bleak, brutal, and often boring. An immortal god who cursed his own existence was about as dark a backstory as could be expected from a Disney movie, and Hades depressed nature and sinister scheming meant he cursed each day of his never-ending life. Hades’ story became even more abysmal when his plan to take over Mount Olympus was foiled by a half-human demi-god of all people.

7

Scar

The Lion King (1994)

Stories of banishment, bitterness, and betrayal were even more effective when they were tied up with family resentments, like in the story of Scar in The Lion King. As the unfortunate brother of Mufasa, the King of the Jungle, Scar was always forced to play second fiddle and lived a life seething with jealousy, resentment, and a sense of entitlement. The long-festering hate in Scar’s heart led him to plot his revenge, murder his brother, and take over the crown.

This willingness to kill his sibling and betray the natural order of the jungle was a deeply dark backstory for Scar as his entire life was portrayed as one spent in depressed rage. Things did not get much better for Scar after he usurped the throne and he proved that he was a lackluster leader as the jungle became drought-ridden under his reign. With a major inferiority complex, Scar’s story of betrayal and the disintegration of family connections was a truly dark one for a Disney villain.

6

Ursula the Sea Witch

The Little Mermaid (1989)

The villainous sea witch Ursula in The Little Mermaid was a truly malevolent creature who portrayed herself as a maker of dreams only to then strike unfortunate deals that created misery among merfolk. Having been banished and exiled by the orders of King Triton, Ursula had extra motivation to ruin the life of Triton’s daughter Ariel in The Little Mermaid when she stripped her of her voice and made her appear as a human. With a darkly menacing presence and octopus-like tentacles, Ursula could strike fear into those she encountered through appearance alone.

With no limit to how low she would stoop to achieve her goals, Ursula was a truly sinister villain who relied on deception and sorcery to get what she needed. Ursula fed off the misfortune of others and this personality trait was made even darker as she often presented herself as the resolution to all the merfolk’s problems. However, rather than make good on her bargains, she ensured that they failed and then stripped them of their souls, showing no remorse or regret for the pain she had caused.

5

Man

Bambi (1942)

Although he was entirely unseen in Bambi, the hunter, who has come to be known simply as Man, was the instigator of one of the most devastatingly sad events that ever occurred in a Disney movie. This hunter was the killer of Bambi’s mother who, although he may not be considered truly evil by human standards, within the movie was the most dark, devastating, and depressing presence in Bambi. Although a silent character in Bambi, the heart-wrenching consequences of Man’s actions were truly deafening.

A sneaky, cruel, and destructive presence, Man in Bambi appeared to have no regard for the sanctity of animal welfare as he hunted Bambi’s mother for sport and left the young white-tailed deer without their caring and loving mom. The presentation of Man in Bambi felt even darker due to the depressing reality that it represented, as real hunters often shoot and kill deer that leave their offspring without a parent. A shocking, albeit realistic, depiction of life in nature, the Man in Bambi was one of the darkest and most devesting of all Disney villains.

4

Maleficent

Sleeping Beauty (1957)

The darkly elegant fairy Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty was an ominous character whose disdainful nature drove the misfortune seen in the kingdom of King Stefan. As the ‘Mistress of All Evil’, Maleficent was driven by anger and, after taking offense for not being invited to the christening party of Princess Aurora, she decided to jinx the innocent child with a deathly curse. With a sinister plan to have Aurora “prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die” before the sun on her sixteenth birthday, Maleficent had no issue planning the long game for her evil ways.

A truly wicked fairy, Maleficent was dark and devious with a highly entitled disposition that led her to refer to her closest allies as “pets” in a way that made it seem she felt she was above everybody. With the power to shapeshift and cast dark and powerful spells, Maleficent was one of the most powerful Disney villains who used her skills with reckless abandon and for selfish means. While Maleficent was the antagonist of Sleeping Beauty, her story was retold from her perspective in the live-action film Maleficent and its sequel, which starred Angelina Jolie.

3

Cruella de Vil

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

While most stories of dark Disney villains involved supernatural entities who were determined to carry out their evil nature, Curella de Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians became far more sinister due to the fact she was just an everyday person. As a fashion-obsessed socialite, Cruella’s goal was to skin dozens of Dalmatian puppies to create a spotted fur coat for herself. True to her name, Cruella had plenty of wretched quotes and had no issues with being the source of such a murderous, hateful, and frighteningly immoral act as this.

Portrayed with half-black and half-white hair, her signature mink coat, and consistently smoking, Cruella’s skeleton-like figure and gaunt demeanor made her appear even more sinister as she plotted her evil ways. With a flamboyant and narcissistic personality, Cruella adored attention and showed no sympathy or caring for the well-being of others. Curella was portrayed just as horrifically in subsequent live-action adaptations of her story and has been played by Glenn Close and Emma Stone.

2

Judge Claude Frollo

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

The central theme of The Hunchback of Notre Dame related to whether what made a man a monster was their appearance or the way they acted and treated others. This was juxtaposed through the deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo and the darkly sinister and villainous religious minister Judge Claude Frollo. Frollo was truly one of the darkest Disney villains as he used his power to manipulate others, cast Quasimodo aside, and even kill Quasimodo’s mother. With no redeeming qualities, Frollo was even more despicable as he carried out his evil ways in the name of God.

Frollo was ruthless, self-righteous, self-centred, and narcissistic, as he lived a hypocritical life where he put others down just to prop himself up. A complex and dark Disney villain, Frollo was driven by intolerance and showcased massive misanthropy towards society in general. Frollo’s dark nature was made even more contemptible as he believed himself to be a good person and was so overwhelmed by his superiority complex that he did not even see how twisted and loathsome he became.

1

Mother Gothel

Tangled

The main villain of Disney’s Tangled, Mother Gothel stood as the very darkest of all Disney antagonists primarily because her goals and ambitions felt real and believable in a way many other villains have not. As a vain and deceitful woman, Gothel hoarded a magical flower to remain young and beautiful forever, and, to continue utilizing its magic, was forced to kidnap the young Rapunzel and hold her captive in a tower for years on end. Gothel’s dark nature was even more effective as, rather than through outrightly evil acts, she maintained her hold over Rapunzel through guilt, shame, and gaslighting.

As an effective characterization of an overbearing parent, Mother Gothel in Tangled was a complex villainess who added nuance and depth to the long and acclaimed catalog of Disney antagonists. Gothel was greedy, selfish, and passive-aggressive, as she was seen consistently lying to Rapunzel and undermining her intelligence and potential. Gothel stood as the darkest of all Disney villains because her actions mimicked that of so many parents who held their children back, made them feel less than, or laughed in the face of their ambitions.