This is a list of Disney Villain characters, often based on fictional antagonist characters who have been featured as part of the Disney character line-up. Some of these villain characters have appeared in sequels, video games, comic books, stage productions, or live-action adaptations of the original films.
Much like with the Disney Princess line with some of Disney's female lead animated characters, Disney's villain characters are also often grouped together as part of a Disney Villainsfranchise, formed by various antagonists from Walt Disney Pictures productions, with a main focus on characters from animated films, mainly those from Walt Disney Animation Studios productions.[3][4][5]
List of villains
The characters listed here are featured in Disney productions and merchandise as "official" villains.
Primary villains
These characters are seen in most current Disney Villains related merchandise, live events, attractions, etc. The characters are also known as "The 13 Reflections of Evil".[6]
In August 2018, a strategy game titled Disney Villainous was designed by Prospero Hall, published by Ravensburger and released exclusively to Target stores. The game has players compete as Disney Villains attempting to accomplish their goals from the film, while simultaneously trying to slow down their opponents. As of March 2021, four standalone expansions have released, with each adding three different playable villains.[77]
Villain merchandise was available at the former Villains in Vogue store in Sunset Blvd, at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This first store was so successful that the Disneyland Villain Shop was opened afterwards in 1991.[78] Both of these have since now closed.[citation needed]
USAopoly has released a number of products featuring Disney villains. Among them is a Monopoly-based board game called My Disney Villains Monopoly, where the players decide which of 30 villains can appear on each space on the board (characters that appear in the game that are not part of the official Villain list include Beagle Boys, Three Little Wolves, Pom-Pom, Man, Hound Dogs, and Chief); a checkers game;[79] and a collector's card game set.[80]
An online Disney trivia game called Who Wants to be a Villionaire, released in October 2001, is loosely based on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and features several villains as hosts, asking questions about the film in which they are featured. The "Phone-a-Friend" feature is renamed "Phone-a-Fiend" and will connect the player to Cruella de Vil.[81][82]
The Villains Designer Collection re-imagines the stylish wickedness of Disney villains. This line of merchandise includes Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, the Evil Queen, the Queen of Hearts, Ursula and Mother Gothel.[1]
The Vinylmation collection also includes a Villains series.[83]
Books
Several books dedicated to Disney villains have been released. Among them are:
Disney Villains: The Top Secret Files by Jeff Kurtti
Disney's The Villains Collection: Stories from the Films by Todd Strasser
Disney's Villains: A Pop-Up Book by Walt Disney Company
Disney Villains: The Essential Guide by DK Publishing
Disney Villains (Ultimate Sticker Books) by DK Publishing
Disney Villains: The Essential Guide to the Evilest of Them All by DK Publishing
There are also books to color, like Disney Villains: All the Rage and Disney Villains Giant Book to Color ~ Diabolical Deeds!
The Disney villains star as the main characters in the Disney Cruise lines' variety show, Villains Tonight. This musical stage production features Hades on a quest to get more evil in the Underworld by summoning up Disney's most powerful villains so he can keep his job. This show features Maleficent, Jafar, the Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, Scar, Yzma, Ursula, and Chernabog in a variety of comical situations while performing various musical numbers from their respective appearances. This show debuted on the Disney Magic cruise ship March 27, 2010, and the Disney Dream on January 26, 2012.[89]
Villains Land
In August 2024, was announced that a seventh themed land focused on the Disney Villains will be built at the Magic Kingdom, at Walt Disney World. The land, named as Villains Land, is described as the home of the Disney Villains from Walt Disney Animation Studios films.[90] In November 2024 at D23 Brazil 2024, it was announced that the land will be featured the Queen of Hearts, Jafar, the Evil Queen (and her witch form), Lady Tremaine, Yzma, Cruella, Captain Hook, Maleficent (and her dragon form), Gaston, Mother Gothel, Ursula, Hades, and Chernabog,[91] and the backstory for the land will be revealed.[92]
Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After
On September 3, 2024, it was announced that the final performance of Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy will be permanently closed on October 7, 2024, to make way for an all-new Disney Villains-themed stage show as Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, which will debut in mid-2025 in Sunset Showcase Theater at Disney's Hollywood Studios.[93][94][95][43]
Video games
Disney's Villains' Revenge
Disney's Villains' Revenge is a 1999 video game which tells the story of how the Evil Queen, Captain Hook, Queen of Hearts, and the Ringmaster change the story from the original movie to the way they wanted the story to end, with no "Happily Ever After".
Other Disney Villains in the games are Queen of Hearts in Wonderland, Clayton in Deep Jungle, Chernabog in End of the World & Symphony of Sorcery, Shan Yu in the Land of Dragons, The Evil Queen in Dwarf Woodlands, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella in Castle of Dreams, Captain Gantu in Deep Space, Claude Frollo in La Cité des Cloches, Gaston in Beast's Castle, King Candy in Candy Kingdom, Mother Gothel in Kingdom of Corona, Randall Boggs in Monstropolis, and Hans in Arendelle.
Epic Mickey introduces new villains to the world of Disney, most of which are from old-style Disney films and attractions. In the first game, Mickey unwittingly creates a monster called the Shadow Blot (not to be confused with the Phantom Blot). As Mickey tries to get rid of it, Yen Sid approaches and Mickey is forced to flee, leaving some of the Blot undestroyed. Years later, the Blot has Mickey kidnapped so that his heart can be used to escape Wasteland. With Oswald's help, Mickey returns home as the Blot is defeated. The game also features an animatronic version of Captain Hook from Peter Pan as a boss.
In the second game, The Mad Doctor tries to rule in the Shadow Blot's stead. In the first game, the Mad Doctor supplied robots for the Blot. If the player choose the Hero path, The Mad Doctor turns from a robot into a toon. If the player chooses the Scrapper path, The Mad Doctor is left in the final battle room to rot. Lastly, at the end of the second game, several versions of Pete look like they're going to try to take over the Wasteland.
Other games
Several Disney Villains are present as playable characters in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms, acting as antagonists in new storylines placed after the events of their respective films.
Alternate versions of several Disney Villains appear as playable characters in the video game Disney Mirrorverse.[96]
In 1977, there was an update to this show entitled Disney's Greatest Villains, that featured the Evil Queen and Captain Hook again, along with nine other characters from the franchise, plus Willie the Giant. Segments from this special were featured in A Disney Halloween.
A handful of alternate versions of Disney Villains appear in the ABCfantasydrama television series Once Upon a Time. A notable case of their appearances is in the fourth season, where Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella De Vil form a group known as the Queens of Darkness.[97]
In The Simpsons short Welcome to the Club, several Disney Villains, among them Evil Queen (in her witch form), Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, Ursula, Kaa, Jafar, Scar, and Hades, try to show Lisa Simpson through a musical number how much fun being a villain can be.[98] In the 2024 short The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, the Disney Villains and Sideshow Bob, along with some other villains from franchises from other Disney brands, sing a carol for Halloween.[99]
Descendants
The Disney Villains are a main focus in the Descendants franchise.
In the Disney Channel Original MovieDescendants appear Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella de Vil, along with their children, Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos, respectively. They live on The Isle of the Lost, an island where all of Disney's villains and their various sidekicks have been imprisoned, along with all the other villains and their children. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were chosen by Prince Ben (son of King Beast and Queen Belle) to live in The United States of Auradon.[100]
In the animated series Descendants: Wicked World, appear Freddie, Dr. Facilier's daughter, CJ, Captain Hook's daughter, and Zevon, Yzma's son.
In the sequel, Descendants 2, Uma, Harry and Gil, children of Ursula,[101] Captain Hook[102] and Gaston,[103] appear as the main antagonists. Dizzy, Drizella's daughter, also appears as a more friendly character.[104] Maleficent appears in a lizard form, having that appearance after the events in the previous film, while Ursula yells at her daughter from the kitchen in her restaurant, only one of her tentacles visible, and Lady Tremaine is simply heard yelling at her granddaughter from upstairs in her hairdresser.
In the third film, Descendants 3, appear Hades, Dr. Facilier, Lady Tremaine, and Mr. Smee. Celia, Dr. Facilier's daughter, and Squeaky and Squirmy, Mr. Smee's twin sons, are also introduced.
A fourth film, Descendants: The Rise of Red, feature Queen of Hearts, and teen versions of her, Maleficent, Hades, and Captain Hook. The film also introduce Red, Queen of Hearts' daughter.[105]
Direct-to-video films
Mickey's House of Villains
The Disney Villains star in Mickey's House of Villains, the 2002 film adaptation of the animated television seriesHouse of Mouse. Set during a Halloween party, Jafar tells Cruella De Vil, Ursula and Captain Hook his plan to take over the club at midnight. Led by Jafar, they take over the club through the musical number "It's Our House Now", and all the other villains in the House join in. In the process, the Card Soldiers traps all the heroes in the kitchen, throws Mickey and his friends out into the street, while the House's name changes to the "House of Villains". Mickey, Donald and Goofy in turn try to return things to normal, but Chernabog keeps throwing them out. Minnie also tries to demand that they leave the club, but is expelled by Captain Hook. Afterwards, Mickey dresses in his famous sorcerer outfit from Fantasia and challenges Jafar to a magical duel using fireballs. Mickey's sorcerer hat is bounced off and there is very little time to put it back on, but then Aladdin saves the day by escaping the kitchen to the backstage room on the magic carpet and giving Daisy who gives Mickey the lamp to trap Jafar. Mickey sucks Jafar into the lamp, while the rest of the villains flee, restoring the House to normal.
In Kingdom Keepers, Disney villains form a group known as the "Overtakers".
Board games
Disney Villainous
The Villainous board game franchise, published by Ravensburger, puts players in the roles of Disney villains. It has been praised by critics and fans for its lush artwork and easy-to-learn yet compelling strategy elements. The game is unique in that it features an asymmetrical structure, with players working to complete their own unique goals. The core game, The Worst Takes It All, has been followed up with five expansions (to date): Wicked to the Core, Evil Comes Prepared, Perfectly Wretched, Despicable Plots, and Bigger and Badder.[106]
a "villain" was defined as a character(s) whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility, while others may rage unmasked. They can be horribly evil or grandiosely funny, but are ultimately tragic.[108]
