While nearly every Disney villain is a pretty notable figure, not all of them are as brutal as they might like. Maleficent, though iconic, really just puts a young girl into a much-needed nap. Ursula makes a skeezy contract deal and tries to get the hot boy who can’t identify his “one true love” (really, it was Ariel’s fault for not reading the fine print). And poor Captain Hook keeps getting himself chased after by a hungry crocodile.
Disney villains are meant to be the fun antagonists to kid-friendly Disney films. They occasionally get to have the best musical number in the film that typically explains their evil plan (like “Be Prepared”) or why they are planning it (like “Hellfire”). But sometimes, those villains go a little too far, their actions become well – actually evil.
Edgar Balthazar (The Aristocats)
Edgar Balthazar is the main antagonist in The Aristocats. Edgar is the butler to the wealthy cat-owner and ex-opera diva, Madame Adelaide Bonfamille. She absolutely adores her cats Duchess and Duchess’s three kittens, Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse; so much so that she plans on leaving all her wealth and belongings to the cats when she passes. Only after each of the cats pass will Edgar then receive the inheritance, something he believes he deserves.
While it can definitely be argued that maybe Madame Bonfamille has a few loose screws to leave money for her cats, Edgar takes his villainy too far. Edgar sedates the cats and tries to dump them far into the countryside. He doesn’t care what happens to them and drops the basket of kittens near a river. He later throws them into an oven for “safekeeping,” locks them in a box to ship them to Timbuktu, and then tries to stab O’Malley with a pitchfork.
Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)
Lady Tremaine, also known as the Step-Mother in Cinderella is another really good example of some brutal Disney villains. She mentally abused Cinderella for years and years, treated her like a slave, and stole what was rightfully her’s the entire time.
She treated her horribly and constantly gave the young girl false hope to believe that things would get better. She encouraged her daughters, who were revealed to not be as bad in later films, to be just as vile and wicked to the young, kind-hearted, girl.
Mother Gothel (Tangled)
Mother Gothel was another excellent example of some serious mental abuse on Rapunzel. Not only did she steal the young princess from her actual family, but Gothel also locked her away in a tower and instilled utter fear of the world into Rapunzel to make sure she wouldn’t leave.
Gothel was a master manipulator, which she proved time and time again throughout the film. There were several moments in which Mother Gothel did, however, show love and affection to Rapunzel, though it was later pointed out that affection was always seemingly directed at the girl’s magical hair which gave Gothel her youth and life.
The Evil Queen (Snow White and The Seven Dwarves)
The Evil Queen from Snow White and The Seven Dwarves may possibly be one of the worst villains on this list due to the fact that she actually succeeds in killing the main character. The Evil Queen is deeply vain and relentless. She wants to kill her stepdaughter due to the fact that she is prettier than her. She is consumed by jealousy and forces the princess to live a horrible life until she eventually commands her Huntsman to take Snow White into the forest and kill her, take out her heart, and put it in a box. Talk about brutal.
He eventually realizes that he can’t do it and has her run away. Refusing to give up, the Queen comes back to Snow White much later, disguised as an old woman which when she gives the young girl the fateful apple that successfully kills her (until her prince kills her and she wakes up, of course).
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)
Gaston is another one of the big baddies. This guy has so much pride. Too much. If Disney Villains were listed as the Seven Deadly Sins, The Evil Queen would be Envy, and Gaston would be Pride. He simply cannot take no for an answer and feels like he deserves everything in the world. Not to mention all his oozing toxic-masculinity.
Gaston gets so fed up that Belle isn’t interested in him, that he attempts to throw her father into an insane asylum, have her committed as well so that he can later take her for himself, and then also try to savagely kill the Beast. Gaston manages to manipulate the whole town into it as well, by telling them horror stories of the Beast to instill utter fear into them all. But like all of the other villains, he too meets his fate.
Jafar (Aladdin)
Jafar is very similar to Gaston but is a lot quieter about his evil deeds. While he creepily lusted after Jasmine, he also was attempting a political takeover. Jafar wanted it all, he wanted the best girl in the kingdom, wanted all the power, all the glory and wealth.
Of course, all of that eventually got to his head. Like all the other villains, Jafar was a master manipulator, so much so that he actually could mind control people and used it in his fight against Aladdin. Also, he tried to kill both Aladdin and Jasmine when he didn’t get what he wanted, and almost succeeded.
Clayton (Tarzan)
Clayton is the main antagonist in 1999’s Tarzan, and he is one awful guy. Clayton joins Jane and her father on their exploration into the jungle as a “bodyguard” of sorts and guides. At first, he simply seemed short-tempered but that quickly changed into a ruthless and crazed demeanor.
What was meant to be a simple scientific exploration turned into more of a hunting trip as time went on and Clayton became abusive, vicious, and animalistic. He wanted to seel the gorillas for money and was attempting to smuggle them out of their home. He also was totally trigger-happy and didn’t mind shooting anything-or anyone-in the process. By the time of his demise, he seemed to have lost all sense of humanity.
Scar (The Lion King)
Scar is the lion-version of Hamlet‘s Claudius. He is Simba’s evil uncle who kills his bother in order to claim the throne. Scar was always jealous and simply wanted more out of life. He was the eldest, but for some reason was passed on the throne. He was scraggly and physically looked like the omega of the lion pride, and liked to act as such. It seemed like, however, that Mufasa totally accepted Scar, so its possible that Scar’s outcasting was totally on himself.
Either way, Scar was ruthless. He planned on killing Simba too when he was just a cub and tried multiple times to do so throughout his life. After becoming king, Scar proved to be a pretty awful ruler. He starved his people and dried up the land. He was just scummy all around.
Curella de Vil (101 Dalmations)
Curella may just deserve the title of the most brutal Disney villain for her murderous rampage of attempting to kill puppies for a fur coat.
Curella was so incredibly materialistic, it was sickening. She didn’t even have a need for another fur coat since she wore one all movie, she simply just wanted one. She tried to buy puppies off of Roger and Anita and once they said no, she hires criminals to steal them for her.
Frollo (The Hunckback of Notre Dame)
Frollo is an underrated Disney villain but is also easily the worst of the lot. He is a massive hypocrite who is obsessed with a woman he has sworn to hate. Frollo is the justice minister in The Hunckback of Notre Dame and the caretaker of Quasimodo.
Not only does he treat the boy awfully, making the boy believe he is an ugly monster, Frollo also is a religious zealot who scorns his own lust for the beautiful Esmeralda and blames the Romani woman, as if it were she and the devil who cast the spell on him. He is an incredibly dark character who wishes for nothing but power and genocide and ends up falling to hell.
