Many of Disney’s greatest villains are aided by menacing sidekicks, and these lowly goons can sometimes steal the spotlight. Over the decades, Disney villains have become one of the animation studio’s greatest traditions. Icons like Ursula, Jafar and Cruella De Vil wouldn’t be the same without their sidekicks, however, and these lesser characters are just as important to the Disney formula.

Disney’s darkest villains often need a humorous sidekick to take the edge off. For example, Scar would be even more disturbing if he didn’t have a pack of laughing hyenas to provide some comic relief. The best sidekicks bring out the best in their masters, but they should also be their own characters with convincing goals and an interesting personality, otherwise they will be nothing more than faceless goons.

10

The Bensons

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Toy Story does a lot of work trying to make inanimate objects look endearing and friendly. The Bensons are the result of the franchise flipping this formula on its head, creating a creepy and inhuman group of toys that don’t seem to fit in the same world as Woody and Buzz. Gabby Gabby isn’t one of Pixar’s best villains, but her control over the Bensons makes her much more sinister.

Being a group of ventriloquist dummies, the Bensons are unable to talk. This gives them an unsettling presence, especially because they are all identical. They appear to be connected by a malevolent hivemind. Their odd movements and their freakish size make them even more terrifying. When the Bensons are on screen, Toy Story 4 briefly shifts into being a horror movie with Woody and Forky stuck in the middle.

9

LeFou

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

LeFou is Gaston’s dim-witted sidekick, but he’s also his favorite punching bag. If there’s ever a chance to punch him on the top of the head or slap him a little too hard on the back, Gaston will take it. Unfortunately for LeFou, Gaston isn’t the only person who deals out a lot of punishment. LeFou is a clownish figure, seemingly designated by the cosmos as an outlet for everyone else’s frustrations.

It’s no coincidence that LeFou’s name is French for “the fool,” and his constant mishaps make him a somewhat sympathetic figure. He isn’t quite smart enough to qualify as a tragic clown, but there are times when he shows that he’s a little more intelligent than his bumbling antics and general lack of coordination suggest. This sly intelligence also prohibits him from eliciting too much sympathy.

8

Shenzi, Banzai & Ed

The Lion King (1994)

As the stereotypical laughing hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed provide a lot of comic relief during Scar’s darkest moments. However, they can be extremely intimidating whenever they wipe the smiles off their faces. For example, they are the ones who set off the wildebeest stampede that kills Mufasa, and they get straight to business when they eventually turn on Scar and lead the hyenas in mauling him to death.

Ed is the comedic fool of the trio, but his apparent stupidity makes him even more threatening when he shows his dark side. Shenzi and Banzai turn to him when they begin closing in on Scar, proving that he’s the unhinged wildcard in the pack. Ed doesn’t speak, and this makes him seem like a real animal with killer instincts in a fairy tale world of talking creatures. The Lion King remake’s cast features Shenzi alongside two new characters.

7

Flotsam & Jetsam

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Ursula’s moray eels are the underwater equivalent of two serpents, as they tempt Ariel in her time of desperation. Flotsam and Jetsam promise Ariel that Ursula can ease all of her sorrows, and she agrees to go with them to visit the Sea Witch. The eels act as one character, often speaking in unison or finishing each other’s sentences, and this makes them feel more like an extension of Ursula rather than their own beings.

Unlike so many Disney sidekicks, Flotsam and Jetsam are cunning and competent. They aren’t used for comic relief and they aren’t the reason that Ursula’s plans fall apart. Instead, they are just as evil and manipulative as she is. She refers to them multiple times as her babies, and this creates a genuinely shocking moment when she accidentally kills them during her climactic confrontation with Ariel.

6

Sir Hiss

Robin Hood (1973)

Robin Hood may not be one of Disney’s best animated movies, but it has gained a cult following since its release over 50 years ago, and there’s a lot to love about the fun take on the familiar folk tale. In the woodland tale where Robin Hood is a charming fox and Prince John is a cowardly, self-obsessed lion, Sir Hiss is the prince’s cunning right-hand-man. Just like Flotsam and Jetsam, Sir Hiss epitomizes the manipulative serpent archetype.

Sir Hiss is similar in some ways to Kaa from The Jungle Book. Both are conniving snakes who can use their powers of hypnosis to lull people into a trance. The difference is that Kaa uses his powers to hunt, while Sir Hiss uses his hypnosis to tighten he and Prince John’s stranglehold on the crown. Kaa is often on the receiving end of John’s temper tantrums, but he would be completely ineffective without him.

5

Pain & Panic

Hercules (1997)

Pain and Panic are a miniature silent comedy group. Their best moments are reminiscent of the Three Stooges, but they also have the stout and slender physical difference of Laurel and Hardy. Pain, as his name suggests, is always getting injured while serving Hades, while Panic is usually alert enough to just narrowly escape any real harm. Together, the duo pack a comedic one-two punch.

Casting Pain and Panic for the upcoming live-action Hercules remake could be difficult, because they are throwbacks to classic cartoons. It’s unclear how exactly their antics will work in live-action, since they draw from Tom and Jerry and classic Looney Tunes short films. Pain and Panic don’t impact the plot as much as many other sidekicks, but they’re still an important part of Hercules.

4

Mr. Smee

Peter Pan (1953)

Captain Hook’s bumbling first mate Mr. Smee doesn’t seem to have the heart of a pirate. He sticks out from the rest of the crew, who are much more in line with the tough guy stereotype. Smee mainly seems to love his life as a pirate because he likes helping people and being part of a team. This makes him an easy target for his crewmates to pick on him, but he takes it all in good humor.

Mr. Smee was one of Disney’s first great villain sidekicks. He isn’t just an extension of Captain Hook’s will; he’s a fully realized character in his own right. Smee is gentle and soft-spoken when Captain Hook is brash and violent, but this unlikely combination makes them inseparable. Captain Hook could probably find a more suitable first mate among his crew, but he repays Smee’s loyalty.

3

Jasper & Horace

101 Dalmatians (1961)

Jasper and Horace are Cruella De Vil’s personal goons, so it’s fitting that one of Disney’s best villains has some of the best sidekicks too. They follow the same comedic blueprint as Pain and Panic in some ways, especially with their big-man-little-man dynamic, but they are far more menacing. The immoral crooks-for-hire will do anything for a buck, so they represent the dark side that Cruella tries to hide behind her facade as a connoisseur of haute couture.

For all Cruella’s vain posturing, Jasper and Horace are the unglamorous means by which she strives to achieve her ends. Jasper is the de facto leader, being slightly more intelligent, and he is even more crooked and greedy than Horace. He often manipulates or bullies Horace into doing his job, rebuffing his moral objections. Together, the duo are a dysfunctional but nonetheless threatening team.

2

Kronk

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

Kronk is a rare example of a sidekick who outshines the main villain, and this can be partially attributed to Patrick Warburton’s deadpan delivery. Yzma is prone to fits of rage and melodrama, so Kronk’s perennially level-headed demeanor makes him the perfect foil for her. Everything about him seems to be designed to make her even more infuriated than she usually is.

Although Kronk works for Yzma, he doesn’t have the heart of an evil henchman. In another life he would probably be a baker, and he is frequently shown to care for others around him, regardless of his role. Kronk’s internal moral conflict manifests as a miniature angel and devil that advise him from his shoulders. He gets into lengthy debates with these two sides of his personality even though nobody else can see them.

1

Iago

Aladdin (1992)

Iago is Disney’s greatest villainous sidekick, and he makes a brilliant duo with Jafar. Voiced by the iconic Gilbert Gottfried, Iago is constantly yelling and screaming in Jafar’s ear about how they need to ramp up their evil plans and hit Aladdin and the Sultan where it hurts. If Iago had his way, Jafar would be much more liberal with the use of his dark powers, and the duo would adopt a more violent approach.

Iago’s short stature makes his violent diatribes easy to ignore, as Jafar tries to tell him to be more patient. This is one piece of advice that Iago never takes. The parrot’s comedic rage is the perfect foil to his master’s self-serious villainy. Iago is like an eager child who doesn’t have the patience to appreciate Jafar’s long-game. He wants everything done immediately so that he can luxuriate in the palace with his choice of the finest crackers in the land.