Disney princesses might get all the credit, but let’s be serious – our favorite part of every Disney cartoon is the villain, and a strong female one at that. Here are the top 10 villains who reveled in their evilness, and we enjoyed every minute of it.
1. Evil Queen, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
With the first Disney animated film ever came the first animated villainess. Although she eventually saw her demise via the Seven Dwarves, she disguised herself as a terrifying old lady, poisoned Snow White with an apple. She tries to kill Snow White, not just curse her like the other female villains on our list.
2. Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty
Ah, a villain who was such a baddie, they had to recruit Angelina Jolie to play her. She can turn into a fire breathing dragon, and that sounds pretty villainous o us. Plus, we’ve never seen a villain look so good during her evil-doing. Cheekbones, anyone?
3. Ursula, The Little Mermaid
Ursula the sea witch was Disney’s first plus size villain, and she is the sea witch we all aspire to be. She did steal’s Ariel’s voice to manipulate and seduce the prince, then supersized herself before being impaled by Eric’s ship.
4. Yzma, The Emperor’s New Groove
Yzma was a hilarious villain, and we always enjoy our evildoers with little bit of humor. She is a master of potions and after being fired from the position of royal adviser, she uses her evil potions to try to get rid of him and make herself empress.
5. Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland
The queen has a bright red face of nightmares that definitely gave you the heebie-jeebies as a kid. Obsessed with playing croquet and forcing a bunch of cards to be her slave, this Queen rules Wonderland like it’s some version of hell. “Off with your head,” as they say!
6. Mother Gothel, Tangled
The evil villain in Tangled who trapped Rapunzel in her tower stands out because of her careful strategy and intelligence. This evil mother kidnapped Rapunzel as a baby, using the power of her hair to hold onto her youth forever.
7. Lady Tremaine, Cinderella
Cinderella’s stepmother was one evil stepmother who treats Cinderella like garbage while she puts her heinous daughters first, attempting to get them married off to the prince. She goes to lengths like locking Cinderella in her room and has a truly frightening face for a cartoon character.
8. Cruella De Vil, 101 Dalmatians
Cruella gives us all a chill down our spines, and what’s more evil than kidnapping a hundred cute dogs to try to make them into coats? That’s some Silence of the Lambs nightmare fodder that we still can’t shake, decades after childhood. She’s scary but likable, like anyway terrifying and confident woman.
9. Queen Narissa, Enchanted
Often hailed as one of the most beautiful Disney villains, this antagonist from the 2007 film Enchanted also happens to be Prince Edward’s stepmother. She’s basically a hybrid of Snow White’s Evil Queen and Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent, acting as a sort of parody of other Disney villains.
10. Madame Mim, Sword in the Stone
This evil villainess is one that’s sometimes underestimated, but shouldn’t be. She’s not often lauded for her looks or skills, but still makes a big impressive for such a tiny character. Ben though she’s small, her powers apparently rival those of Merlin. She can also casually transform into a dragon like Maleficent, but no one talks about it.
