Disney has a lot of villains that are very well-known all over the world, perhaps more so than any other studio. First cemented by many animated classics, like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, and then re-introduced to newer audiences via a string of modern live-action remakes, Disney villains are iconic staples in cinema. From Gaston to Scar and Cinderella's Stepmother and Jafar, many characters come to mind when you think of animated Disney villains.
However, there are some classic villains that just didn't get the recognition they deserved, not necessarily because they were bad at beind bad, but because competition is, frankly, stiff. As Disney celebrates its 100th anniversary, let's take a look back at the top 10 underrated Disney villains in animated classic movies.
10 Claude Frollo — The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The film The Hunchback of Notre Dame is about a young man, Quasimodo, who was born with physical deformities into a not-so-very-accepting society. If that isn't difficult enough, Quasimodo's only "friend" is Claude Frollo, voiced by Tony Jay. Frollo is just the worst when it comes to making Quasimodo feel even more self-doubt than he already has by tearing him down and telling him people would hate him. Not only does he then go on a witch hunt for the only real friend Quasimodo makes, Esmeralda, but he is also responsible for killing Quasimodo's mother! The man has some serious issues when it comes to self-control and manipulation.
9 Professor Ratigan — The Great Mouse Detective
The Great Mouse Detective is a spin-off of the children's book series Basil of Baker Street, written by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone. In this film's exciting adventure, our villain is none other than Professor Ratigan. When it comes to evil genius and a horrifying temper, Ratigan has it all. Not only does this dude abduct an inventor so that he can use his inventions to overthrow the queen, he also has an evil bat minion that he makes kidnap the inventor's daughter to use as a hostage.
Ratigan keeps his cool with minor temper flares throughout the movie, until the very end when we realize the real reason he is so evil. He is a rat with an identity crisis: Ratigan wants to be a mouse! Unfortunately, this isn't reason enough to be such an evil jerk.
8 Madame Medusa — The Rescuers
In the 1977 comedy-action cartoon, The Rescuers, we see a film about two mice, Bernard and Bianca, on a mission to rescue a little, orphan girl named Penny. Who are they rescuing her from? The infamous Madame Medusa! This lady means business when it comes to her obsession with gemstones. How do we know this? Well, she kidnapped a child around the age of six in order to get her hands on the biggest diamond in the world, The Devil's Eye.
This may not sound too horrible, but when you see her put Penny in a bucket and down into a cavern filled with pirate skeletons, this actually is pretty terrifying. Not only does she make this child search for this diamond, she also holds her teddy bear hostage until she finds it! That's just wrong on so many levels.
7 Horned King — The Black Cauldron
In The Black Cauldron, you have everything you would expect in a fantasy adventure-driven movie: an unlikely hero, a princess, a damsel in distress (who happens to be a pig), and one of the scariest villains a children's movie has ever seen — The Horned King. We don't know who he is or where he came from, but quite frankly, he is horrifying. With great horns and red eyes, this king is the worst when it comes to ruling his kingdom.
This is probably the reason why he steals an innocent pig for its magical abilities, so he can find the infamous Black Cauldron and use it to make an army of the undead. Although unclear why he wants such an army, you have to admit he stays busy when it comes to deeds of evil. Could you even imagine this character as a live-action remake? Now, that would be terrifying!
6 Yzma — The Emperor's New Groove
The Emperor's New Groove is one of the biggest successes when it comes to 2000s animated Disney films, the reason being is the characters are a fantastic and humorous bunch, as well as the villain, Yzma. This woman is the real deal when it comes to putting in the work to get what she wants, which is to get rid of the Emperor, Kuzco.
Interestingly enough, her plot for doing so doesn't revolve around abduction or overthrowing him. Nope, she just straight up plans to poison him and get her minion to dispose of his body. However, unfortunately for her, her minion, Kronk, isn't exactly the smartest, and ends up turning Kuzco into a llama instead. However, this doesn't stop Yzma, as she hunts him down through the jungles to enact her original plan. While she may be humorous, she is definitely evil.
5 Percival C. McLeach — The Rescuers Down Under
In The Rescuers Down Under, we are given this brilliant sequel where our original tiny heroes, Bernard and Bianca, are at it again! However, this time they are in Australia, rescuing a little body, Cody, from the dastardly McLeach, who is a poacher and apparent child-napper. Although he at first lets the little boy go, he then changes his mind when he realizes Cody has knowledge about a massive, golden eagle he is hunting.
Not only does he put the kid in a cage, surrounded by other poor animals who have fallen victim of his poaching, but he also dangles this kid over a bunch of crocodiles. This wasn't a "I torture you for information" situation either, as he already had the information about the eagle. He just wanted to torture this kid. If that doesn't make you a serious villain, we don't know what does.
4 Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge — James and the Giant Peach
When you think of your aunt(s), normally they are filled with love, joy, and warmth. Unfortunately for James, this is not the case in James and the Giant Peach. While he has his aunts to care for him, James might as well be alone since they do nothing except abuse him. Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge are the furthest thing from aunt-like love you will ever witness. Audiences were left astounded at how they starved the boy and made him work, even though he is in fact their nephew. Not only that, but they also teased him about his parent's disturbing death. They are definitely a worthy set of villains.
3 Governor John Ratcliffe — Pocahontas
While Pocahontas might not be entirely accurate when it comes to the depiction of the story of Pocahontas, one thing Disney got right was the nasty villain, Governor John Ratcliffe. While these colonizers were scouring the land for gold, Ratcliffe worked his men like dogs and was the greediest out of them all. He was determined not to believe Pocahontas when she tried to tell them they had no gold. Instead, he further insinuated strife and discord between the Indians and the settlers, eventually leading to the almost-death of John Smith.
2 Prince John — Robin Hood
In this animated adaptation of Robin Hood, we are introduced to the villain of the story pretty quickly into the film: Prince John. While he is already inherently evil for usurping his brother's rightful claim to the throne, he is also known to be evil for the vile treatment of his subjects, specifically the poor. Since they can't defend themselves, why not steal from them? That is exactly what he does as he treats them like dirt and has his jerk of a Sheriff terrorize them for the scraps of gold they can barely store away. If that wasn't enough, Prince John also continuously harasses his niece, Maid Marian. Can't he just leave people alone and let his brother go back to being in charge?
1 Hades — Hercules
Hercules is once again a classic Disney film that all audiences love. Interestingly enough, they also love this film's villain, Hades. While Hades is the evil God of the Underworld, he is also hilariously relatable in this movie. However, we can't overlook his deeds just because he is funny. He not only tries to have Hercules killed multiple times, but he also unleashes the Titans on earth and tries to destroy Olympus, ultimately leading to Megara's death.
He then bargains away her life for Hercules, thinking that he will end up with them both dead — however, unfortunately for him, Hercules becomes a god for sacrificing himself, which means not only that he can't die, but he also saves Meg. That's definitely a strong list of evil doing, even if he has his humorous moments.
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