The Top 5 Most Successful Disney Villains
In some cases, Disney’s villains are just as memorable as the heroes they face off against. However, there are a few fiendish felons that rise above the rest in their craftiness. So, to be fair to these guys, we’ve compiled a list of who we think are the most successful Disney animated villains; regardless of how good of a villain they are or their actual level of popularity. This list is based solely upon the villain’s individual level of success in a film’s plot; even if they remain unmemorable for the audience!
Warning: ‘Be prepared’ for a spoiler alert (but you already knew that!)
#5: Doris the Evil Bowler Hat
Meet the Robinsons is a lesser known Disney movie and the villains are therefore often overlooked by Disney fans at large. However, there is still no denying the success which that film’s villain obtained. Doris, a multitasking super-hat that somehow controls minds (don’t ask), was invented by the film’s hero, named Lewis, in the future. Doris subsequently became self-aware, turned evil (again, don’t ask), and manipulated Lewis’s childhood friend Michael ‘Goob’ Yagoobian into attacking Lewis’s legacy. By stealing a time-machine, Goob allows Doris to go back in time and sell herself as Goob’s invention before she had been invented by Lewis so that she can be massed-produced and have the numbers to mind-control all of humanity (it’s very complicated). She succeeded in doing all of this, but thankfully all of her evil machinations were easily undone when the young version of Lewis decided to overcome his fears and never event Doris in the first place (confusing timey-wimey stuff). At least the endearing unicorn-loving Goob wasn’t such a bad guy after all!
#4: Prince Hans
No villain makes us cringe more than the chief slime-ball of all Disney villains; the wicked Prince Hans from Frozen. Even Gaston seems a gentleman when compared to how Prince Hans treated the women in his life! Prince Hans set out to marry into the royal house of Arendale and thus inherit the kingdom himself. He manipulated poor Anna into thinking he was in love with her, forced Elsa to retreat from fear, and then dumped Anna and left her to the effects of a frozen heart! He tricked the whole kingdom into thinking he was some dashing hero. He succeeded with all his plans, but in the end, he had not counted on true love to thaw the frozen heart!
#3: Ursula
Besides having one of the best villain songs in all cinematic history, Ursula also stands as one of the most successful schemers in the Disney canon. It’s amazing how fast she accomplishes her goals; considering she made up her plan from scratch only after she had discovered Ariel’s rebelliousness! Ursula managed to trick a distraught Ariel into selling her soul and her voice in return for human legs so that she could get prince Eric to fall in love with her. It was not a fair deal! Despite awesome relationship advice from Sebastian, Ursula uses Ariel’s stolen voice to make certain that poor Ariel would never reach that already-difficult goal. Because of the loving father he is, King Triton takes Ariel’s place as Ursula’s slave (talk about a different kind of Disney ‘true love’!) Ursula becomes the master of wind and tide just as she had always wanted….at least for a few minutes. Even if he isn’t good at guessing names, Prince Eric still makes a great hero!
#2: Jafar
This slimy Sultan’s Vizier manages to sneak his way into the Sultan’s highest confidence with snake-like craftiness. Not only does Jafar manage to remain the Sultan’s most trusted adviser for most of the movie, but he also pulls off a pretty convincing old man disguise! This schemer even seems to have backup plans to achieve his goals if the original plans fail (like marrying Princess Jasmine…He’s so old; YUCK!). Through carefully laid schemes and tempered patience, Jafar not only reaches his life’s goal of becoming Sultan, but even goes a step further; becoming a powerful sorcerer and then an all-powerful genie! Pulling off ‘phenomenal cosmic power’ is an astonishing feat to be sure, but it’s too bad some major strings came attached to the whole genie thing…
#1: Scar
Scar certainly did exactly what he had set out to do (except for catching that mouse for lunch…). Not only did his years of patience and planning pay off with his rise to King of The Pride Lands, but he met every single goal on the way to get there; all of it working perfectly to his design. He engineered the demise of his own brother, managed to convince his own nephew that it was somehow his fault, and even fulfilled his promise to some rather crazy Hyenas. Also, he has the longest period of success out of any Disney villain in history! Scar managed to rule as King long enough for Simba to be raised to adulthood by a lovable Meercat and Warthog; all while enjoying a rousing chorus of Hakuna Matata! Even though the Pride Lands went to waste under Scar’s lethargic rule, he still proved himself to be an extremely successful schemer!
Like our list? Was your favorite foe included? Let us know in the comments below! Tell us who YOUR picks would be, and we may make another list with your picks later! If you like our content, please like our post and share!
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