Animated Villains: Terrible Twelve

Animated villains can be anything - literally anything. Gods, children, penguins, noxious gas... Anything. With the spirit of Halloween in mind, a time when anyone can be anything, here is a list of twelve fabulous animated villains, from the tame to the just plain terrifying:

Hades, Disney's Hercules (1997)

Vengeful villains are easy to motivate and a lot of fun to watch, especially when they're a God of the dead with a woefully unrecognized sarcastic humor. Hades isn't a particularly frightening villain; even his bursts of anger are amusing. He's the eldest brother who got a really crappy deal on kingdoms just because his younger brother got there first. In mythology, Hades would likely make a significantly better King of the Gods than Zeus. But in the Disney version? Probably not.

Ursula, Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989)

Here's the thing: Ursula would be frightening if she wasn't so inspiring. With confidence, unashamed opinions, and ambition, she's the edgy b***h many of us wish we could be. Her only downfall is her excited impatience. Her interference in Ariel's deal was due to dramatics and that impatience rather than necessity; I really doubt Ariel would have gotten that kiss by the third sunset anyway. She overplays her hand in the end - which is horrific - but only because she was actually winning. Considering how long and how often she's probably been scheming and plotting and striving for power, it's clear this is the closest she'd come to victory.

Zig Zag, Richard Williams' The Thief and the Cobbler*

Voiced by the incomparable Vincent Price and animated by the indomitable Richard Williams, Zig Zag deserves to be here simply by virtue of existing. He's a true joy to watch in movement, a delight to listen to as he speaks in rhyme, and provides an amusing antagonist in Williams' masterpiece. If anything, he's more of a wannabe villain; he pursues his schemes as if proving himself to be evil. He's creepy, quirky, a little mad, and a practitioner of sorcery, but a scary villain he is not. His decidedly odd character will always appeal to me for more aesthetic reasons over any possible dastardly achievements.

*This entry utilizes the ReCobbled edition of The Thief and the Cobbler, not the Miramax fiasco.

Feathers McGraw, Aardman Animation's The Wrong Trousers (1993)

A manipulative, gun-toting penguin wearing a glove as a hat? Only Aardman, with the quirky Wallace & Gromit, could make this work. Mercifully, they don't try to make him scary; but there is a discomfort when he appears on screen, the kind that makes you fidget in your seat. He's a psychopathic villain, not a violent one, who finagles his way between Wallace & Gromit, effectively forcing Gromit to run away during one of the most heartbreaking animated sequences ever seen. He's a phenomenal villain, and one I almost wish we could see more of if I wasn't so familiar with other animated penguins.

Oogie Boogie and Lock, Shock, & Barrel, Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Is it cheating to have a combo taking one spot? Probably, but since the trick-or-treaters share some sort of symbiotic relationship with Oogie Boogie, they can count as one villainous unit. If you have ever watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, you have heard the incredible and disturbing wonder that is "Kidnap the Sandy Claws." As one of my favorite character vignettes, the song chronicles just how violent and fiendish these children are; to be fair, we don't know their origins, just their current status as "henchmen" for the notorious Oogie Boogie, the crooning burlap-skinned boogeyman. Yet, Boogie is hardly at the villainous forefront. The kids take all direct action, and Oogie merely takes whatever they give him. Could Oogie really be the henchman for three terrifying trick-or-treaters?

Madame Suliman, Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

A sorceress who has made her way to the right-hand of the King, she's managed to arrange a war simply to enslave or debilitate all the other sorcerers. And, for most of the film, it's working. Some might argue she's not really a villain but a distant antagonist, and that's pleasantly optimistic. In reality, however, she is pulling all the strings, from Howl's training and later invitation to transfiguring the neighboring prince to kidnapping Sophie's mother's new husband. She concedes defeat when the prince's spell is broken, calling the war "ridiculous," but she has effectively gotten away with genocide, or at least crimes against humanity for turning hundreds of sorcerers into those little winged creatures and zapping the ones who refused.

Maleficent, Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Heralded as the queen of Disney villains, Maleficent took a hit to her evil reputation with the live-action film a few years ago. Outside of this controversial backstory, Maleficent is still generally accepted as the "Mistress of All Evil." If the curse was just to get back at the royal family for not inviting her, she can really hold a grudge. Following up on her curse for sixteen years makes me think that she had this plan in the works for sometime. And how many other reasons could there be for cursing a baby, aside from pure evil? Ending this particular dynasty, learning of something terrible Aurora might do in the future (the tedious 'Hitler' question), to protect Aurora from some alleged future harm? Most plausible reasons lead to much better solutions than cursing a baby to die sixteen years later. How's that for complexity and suspense?

Hexxus, Fox's FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

Once again casting maketh the villain as Tim Curry takes on FernGully's animated villain, a noxious and slimy cloud of gas named Hexxus. Despite a rather cool villain solo, "Toxic Love," Hexxus isn't so much a villain as a point being made. He's a kind of spirit that feeds on pollution; and we modern humans provide so much for him. Aside from being the plot point that he is, Hexxus is fairly sinister and horrifying. Starting as a slimeball, he was merely a creepy creature, but then he skeletized into darkened bones. His smokey form covers this horrifying appearance, as does Tim Curry's dulcet voice, but his final form - basically a giant cloaked skeleton - is the stuff of nightmares. He may not accomplish much in the film, but Tim Curry's voice is enough to give any villain some leverage.

Darla Dimple, Warner Brothers' Cats Don't Dance (1997)

An obvious parody of Shirley Temple (though she was much nicer in real life), Darla Dimple is the brat that everyone finds adorable - unless they know better - and that everyone caters to, either because she's adorable or because they know better. In this case, however, she's not just a brat: she's violently cruel brat. Everything must go as she wants or she'll explode. And she won't even have to get her hands dirty thanks to her colossal manservant, Max (apparently there aren't any parents?). She may seem out of place at this point on the list but she's here because she's a real character. There will always be those terrible awful people that everyone believes are angels, except for we few directly affected by their wrath or manipulation. But no one is gonna believe us until the villains sink themselves.

Cruella, Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

Maybe another wild card but, come on, she wants to make coats out of puppies! We've all met people who don't like dogs, or even hate them, but even shouting at a dog makes for an unbelievably disliked character. But skinning dogs? With dogs widely accepted as members of the family, it's a revolting and gruesome prospect to imagine anyone who could even think of something like this. With her dubious relationship with Anita, Cruella's reasons for a dog-skin coat are sketchy - she likes the dalmatians' coats and thinks she would look nice in spots? Whatever her reasons, a woman who wants to kill 99 pups for anything is a true villainess.

Judge Frollo, Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Judge Frollo is the old white man many women fear to meet - a man with authority, who can abuse it in the name of, well, anything, and practically get away with it. Disney brought him to justice, but his own wrath brought his untimely end. His violent prejudice toward the gypsies, his emotional abuse of Quasimodo, and his perverse obsession with Esmeralda are a combination that is all too real. His epic villain song, "Hellfire," is basically blaming the victim of his desire, as he explains to God and the Virgin Mary that Esmeralda is in fact a witch that put a spell on him and she should be the one to pay for his lust. This was released in the nineties and is, painfully, still way too relevant.

Other Mother, Laika Studios' Coraline (2009)

Did you ever wish for a different mother? A fun mother who gave you presents and made feasts with all your favorite foods every night? Well, be careful what you wish for. From Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick, the Other Mother (or Beldam) is a stop-motion animated horror on practically every level. Her initial form, as a somehow more attractive version of Coraline's mother, is off-putting in more ways than one. In addition to her discomforting button eyes, the Other Mother just forces a sense of distrust, that feeling that it's all too good to be true, that there must be a catch. And, of course, there is - and it's appropriately gruesome (as three child ghosts can attest). Her true form, which is a sort of mechanical lady spider, doesn't hesitate to abuse the puppets in her world, set life-threatening traps for Coraline, or even kidnap Coraline's parents. It's a twisted tale that really is animated horror, with an evil and monstrous villain.