They’ve come in many guises over the years, from the monarchical to the Machiavellian, monsters to muscle men, sorcerers, schemers and step-parents. And they have shown levels of genius, incompetence and everything in between in their efforts to thwart our heroes. But they are always without fail ambitious, self-serving and strangely compelling.

In a world of promoting good virtues to children, good must always triumph over evil. And so, Disney villains can’t be left to return and cause havoc another day (unless it’s in an inconsequential direct-to-video sequel) and so usually meet their maker in one of a variety of inventive and sometimes gruesome ways.

If the Disney Princess is the most merchandisable element of the Disney canon, then the villains are a close second and inspire even more fervour among adult fans, perhaps because they’re usually more flawed and interesting than the heroes and especially when so many are (intentionally or not) queer-coded, fabulously designed and played with gusto by talented voice actors giving it their all. 

For this edition of Ranked, we at The Film Magazine have taken every significant villain to be found in Disney animation and ordered them in terms of wickedness, memorability and the threat they represent to our heroes and heroines. So practice your diabolical laughter, rehearse your evil monologue, dust off your best purple attire and enjoy Animated Disney Villains Ranked. 

Follow @thefilmagazine on X (Twitter).

36. King Candy – Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

The ruler of arcade racing video game Sugar Rush who is actually Turbo, the resentful title character of a long-disconnected game.

Alan Tudyk has been Disney’s good luck charm in recent years and delivers a manic performance here as a mascot-gone-wrong, but the vocals have to do most of the work to enliven a baddie who’s just not interesting enough to match the heroes.

Demise by: Destroyed by the collapse of Diet Cola Mountain with the addition of Mentos.

35. Prince Hans – Frozen (2013)

A seemingly classic Prince Charming who is actually conspiring to eliminate both heirs to the Arendelle throne and claim it for himself.

Hans is a duplicitous, generic British-accented baddie revealed in the film’s final act, who gets some bonus evil points for taking advantage of Princess Anna’s emotions the way he does, purely to advance himself.

Demise by: Survives but is arrested and banished for his treachery.

Recommended for you: Best Animated Feature Oscar Winners Ranked

34. Alameda Slim – Home on the Range (2004)

An evil cattle rustler and conman who plans to cheat every rancher he can find out of their land.

Randy Quaid’s growling delivery and the character’s hilariously unconvincing Inspector Clouseau-level disguises aside, what makes Alameda Slim stand out is that he’s a rare villain who uses a combination of theft, foreclosure and cow-hypnotising yodelling to get what he wants.

Demise by: Survives, but his schemes and true identity as a rustler are exposed and the reward for his arrest is claimed.

33. Dr Jumba Jookiba – Lilo & Stitch (2002)

An alien mad scientist on the hunt for his dangerous but cute creation on Earth on the orders of the council who imprisoned him for his work.

Dr Jumba is probably the only character who never underestimates the cute blue title character because he was the one who genetically engineered “Experiment 626” and is fully aware of his destructive capabilities. He finds himself lower down this list for being bumbling and for having a late change of heart, eventually helping to protect Stitch when the council’s military arrives to complete his mission with extreme prejudice.

Demise by: Survives to live a fairly happy exile alongside Stitch on Earth.

Number 30: Hercules becomes a God –Hercules (1997)

‘Hercules’ at 25 – Review

Number 29: Higitus Figitus. Merlin works his magic – The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Number 28: The Evil Queens evil plan – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Number 27: Pink Elephants on Parade – Dumbo (1941)

Recommended for you: Tim Burton Movies Ranked

Number 26: Copper saves Todd – The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Number 25: Ohana means family – Lilo and Stich (2002)

Number 24: Mulan gets ready for war – Mulan (1998)

Mulan (1998) Review

Number 23: Ray is united with Evangeline –Princess and the Frog (2009)

Number 22: Pocahontas meets John Smith –Pocahontas (1995)

Number 21: Under the Sea – The Little Mermaid (1989)

Number 20: Alice goes down the rabbit hole – Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Number 19: True love’s kiss – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Number 18: 101! – 101 Dalmations (1961)

Number 17: Aladdin wishes Genie to be free – Aladdin (1992)

Number 16: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo – Cinderella (1950)

Number 15: Steamboat Willie – Steamboat Willie (1928)

Number 14: Everybody wants to be a cat – The Aristocats (1970)

Number 13 – I’m a real boy – Pinnochio (1940)

Number 12: The Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book (1967)

Number 11: Bambi goes ice skating – Bambi (1942)

Number 10: Let It go – Frozen (2013)

Recommended for you: 4 Most Depressing Disney Moments

Number 9 – The Circle of Life – The Lion King (1994)

Number 8: Ariel gives up her voice – The Little Mermaid (1989)

Recommended for you: The Evolution of Disney Dads

Number 7: The Floating Lights – Tangled (2010)

Number 6: Off to Neverland – Peter Pan (1953)

Number 5: Maleficent crashes the party – Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Number 4: Bella Notte – Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Number 3: Mickey’s dancing brooms – Fantasia (1940)

Number 2: Long Live The King – The Lion King (1994)

Number 1: The Dance – Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Recommended for you: Disney Renaissance Movies Ranked

What are your favourite Disney moments? Let us know in the comments and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on more articles like this one.

Lilo and Stitch (2002)

“She likes your butt and fancy hair”… “She thinks it’s fancy?”

Poetry in motion, I’m telling you.

This is probably one of the most overused phrases on the internet, but this film deserves more love and credit than it has. I think this was the first Disney movie I saw that was really outside of the box. Time and time again, Disney has used period pieces, it’s their bread and butter and there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, but this flick was so off the wall that it was a truly refreshing blast of fresh air. For the first time in a long time Disney was brave enough to confront real-life issues and not the watered down crap of “my parents don’t understand me” or “a friend I knew from school stole my Dalmatian puppies to make a fur coat”. For Lilo & Stitch presents the all too tragic, yet familiar circumstances of absent parents who leave the children to fend for themselves. Nani, Lilo’s older sister, struggles to cope with the parental duties that were thrust upon her as she scrambles to scrape together a stable nurturing environment for Lilo as social services breathe down her neck. Her efforts are somewhat thwarted by the cookie Lilo as the pair frequently knock heads, causing real anxiety as Lilo’s innocence and Nani’s efforts only thinly veil her from the precariousness of their situation. Here, Disney illustrates a broken family unit that is still full of love and tenderness that is actually believable. On top of that, Lilo is an extremely likable character, which is a big deal coming from me as I so often hate kids in movies: her quirkiness isn’t forced and instead comes quite naturally, making her instantly relatable.

So, amongst all of this excellent material, Disney decide to chuck in aliens – amazing. Some critics say that the overarching Stitch plot detracts and ruins the sisters’ story but I’m not so sure as for me Lilo and Stitch’s escapades are fairly amusing and Stitch’s character evolution was suitably tear-jerking – he’s also so cute! In Lilo and Stitch, Disney achieved something great – a relatable kids movies not rife with modern references thus creating a timeless classic.

The Jungle Book (1967)

Anyone who says that they don’t like this film can politely fuck off. This is the most toe-tapping, head-shaking, charming, and delightful of all the Disney movies, and that’s an undisputed fact. For me, it would be the clear winner in a Disney movie competition for music: you always meet someone who cringes at the first few chords of “Let it Go”, but no-one, and I mean no-one can resist singing along to “Bare Necessities” or “I Want To Be Like You”. Most importantly, at least in this particular writer’s opinion, “The Jungle Book” is one of the best examples of what Disney studios does best: ripping off and watering-down well known pieces of fiction and fable into such pure whimsy that we literally could not give a shit about all the transgressions made against the original work, so that it in fact becomes the default of that story instead [evil cackling].

The Jungle Book is a coming of age story without all of the annoying teenage existential crises you get these days; though it’s not overly sad and mopey – great sympathy is still stirred up for Mowgli as he is uprooted from his home but his journey is paved by a cavalcade of zany, memorable characters. Besides, Mowgli is such a cute little imp with a nose for trouble, so you can’t stay angry at the mancub, making him, amazingly, another child character with actual charisma, something I will always appreciate. The Jungle Book is of the era when animated movie voice actors began to be regarded as the stars of Disney’s productions (previously it was the animators) and the likes of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, and others do a stellar job of bringing the wacky animals to life – this movie is the home of some of Disney’s most memorable characters including the long-suffering Panther Bagheera, the lovable hepcat Baloo, the chilling Shere-Khan and the slimy Kaa whose on a constant quest to swallow Mowgli whole.

In conclusion, I dare you to not like this film – I am under the impression that it’s a physical impossibility, at least in this universe. There could simply be no greater swan-song for Walt himself than this fanciful jungle tale.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

For a lot of people my age, the late 80s and 90s was the greatest era in Disney’s history. The “Renaissance” is what the era was coined as, and it includes many a twenty something’s favourite Disney movie, whether it be “The Little Mermaid” or “The Lion King”.

Being the extremely unoriginal person that I am, I have to declare that this movie is my absolute favourite of the lot and, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of the renaissance. It’s the movie of a few significant firsts for Disney: the first ever animated film to be nominated for Best Film at the Oscar’s; the first Disney movie to feature a character dying on screen, and; one of the first Disney animations to include CGI effects (check out the “Tale as Old as Time” sequence – you’ll see it). But enough of all these grand statements about its influence on cinema as a whole, this film is important to me just… well… because… Okay?!

Belle is one of my icons: a strong-willed woman who refuses to conform and strives to follow her own dreams. She is compassionate, humble and smart. It is her kindness that helps to transform the Beast and is ultimately his redemption. Sure it’s problematic: it’s basically a story of Stockholm syndrome and it has fed me the greatest lie of all: actually being able to change a man. However, the wonderful thing about this movie is that I’m so dazzled in general that I barely see those glaring negatives. The animation is on point, the soundtrack has the grandeur that I feel the more modern Disney movies lack [seriously bring back the fucking choruses they blow your socks off!] and I will always be proud to admit that I think this is one of the most romantic movies I’ve ever seen. My closing argument is that any bloke who gives a lass a library as a present truly is a keeper!