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50 Scariest Disney Villains

Features
By Joshua Winning published 7 May 2014

House of horror...

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The Evil Queen - Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The Movie: Young princess Snow White escapes the clutches of her stepmother, the Evil Queen, and finds solace in the home of seven unusual little fellows.

Most Evil Act: Though the Evil Queen stops short of all-out murder, she's not above poisoning somebody - namely Snow White, whom she tricks into eating a poisoned apple while disguised as a hideous old crone.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: If Disney knows how to do one thing, it's terrifying female villains, and the Evil Queen's no exception. With her cape and crown, she's also hella stylish.

Shan-Yu - Mulan (1998)

The Movie: Inspired by the legend of Hua Mulan, we follow Mulan, who replaces her father when he's enlisted to join the Chinese army and goes up against the power-mad Shan-Yu.

Most Evil Act: Most of Shan-Yu's evil acts are just SO evil that we don't even see them on-screen (in case they give the kiddies nightmares).

That includes the merciless slaying of General Li and his entire encampment, which we discover burnt to the ground.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: Shan-Yu's pretty hateable. Unlike other villains on this list, there's pretty much nothing likable about him…

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Scar - The Lion King (1994)

The Movie: Epic animation following the growing pains of cub Simba, the heir to the throne on Pride Rock.

Most Evil Act: It's not often that a character is actually permitted to kill in a Disney film, but Scar's one of the most terrifying exceptions, unforgettably doing away with his brother King Mufasa during a wildebeest run.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: Jeremy Irons brings an oily menace as he voices Scar, and the bit where Scar toys with a mouse is brilliantly, darkly funny.

Kaa - The Jungle Book (1967)

The Movie: Adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's book about orphan Mowgli, who lives in the jungle.

Most Evil Act:
Kaa hypnotises Mowgli and attempts to eat the man-cub in one jaw-snapping go. Mowgli's only saved when Shere Khan unexpectedly intervenes.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: Sure, Kaa's innately evil, but we can't help liking him. And his song, 'Trust In Me', is both hummable and hilarious.

Sid - Toy Story (1995)

The Movie: Groundbreaking CGI animation following a group of toys that come to life when their owner, Andy, isn't looking. Luckily they're not owned by Andy's neighbour, Sid, who delights in destroying toys.

Most Evil Act: Sid's MO is butchering toys and then stitching them back together again in weird combinations that look like something Dr Frankenstein would be proud of. He also plans on blowing up Buzz Lightyear using a rocket.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: Admit it, we've all been that kid, haven't we? Ruining our toys because we know they're not real. Right?

The Hunter - Bambi (1942)

The Movie: Weep-inducing animation based on Felix Salten's book. When baby Bambi's mother is killed by a hunter, he's left to fend for himself in the forest.

Most Evil Act: Killing Bambi's mother, obviously. Though we never see The Hunter, he's pivotal to Disney's most upsetting film.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: Without The Hunter, we'd never have had Bambi's story. Harsh but true.

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Hook - Peter Pan (1953)

The Movie: Based on the book by JM Barrie. Peter Pan is the boy who wouldn't grow up, instead having adventures - and fighting against Captain Hook - in Neverland.

Most Evil Act: Hook spends pretty much all of his time planning ways to kill Pan, which is pretty mean considering he's only a kid, after all.

Why It's Good To Be Bad:
Hook's hand was eaten by a crocodile, which means he's now terrified of anything that slithers. Which is awesome.

The Horned King - The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Movie: A surprisingly dark and twisted animation from the House of Mouse. Youngsters Taran and Princess Eilonwy go up against the terrifying Horned King.

Most Evil Act: Summoning a dark army in order to track down the black cauldron, which will grant him unimaginable power.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: The Horned King is so scary that he puts most other Disney villains in the shade. Except these last two…

Cruella De Vil - One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961)

The Movie: Dalmatians Pongo and Perdita rush into action when their litter of puppies are kidnapped - and they know just who the culprit is.

Most Evil Act: True to her name, Cruella De Vil delights in devilish behaviour, including stealing puppies so she can skin them for their pelts. It's fashion road kill, literally.

Why It's Good To Be Bad: Cruella seems to revel in her wickedness, which makes her all the more appealing. We'd love to see her take a lunch meeting with Anna Wintour.

Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty (1959)

The Movie: King Stefan and Queen Leah welcome their baby daughter, Princess Aurora, into the world, only to have to give her up when evil fairy Maleficent curses her.

Most Evil Act: Cursing a baby just because her parents didn't invite you to her birthday is pretty harsh - as is following up on that curse 16 years later. Talk about holding a grudge.

Why It's Good To Be Bad:
There's no denying Maleficent has serious style - and the fact that she can transform herself into a dragon at will means she also boasts serious cool points.

In short: Maleficent is magnificent.

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Joshua Winning
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Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

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