Top 24 Best Disney Villains of Each Year (2000-2023)
2000: Yzma “The Emperor's New Groove”
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The beginning of the century was a promising start for Disney villainy, with the magnificence of the Firebird, and the chaos of Morgana and Evil Emperor Zurg. However, the one who ultimately takes the crown in 2000 is the dastardly Yzma. Once Emperor Kuzco’s advisor, she vowed revenge against him, and would undercut him in any way possible. Of course, her hilarious dynamic with her henchman, Kronk, is part of her iconic charm. But what makes Yzma an undeniably great nemesis is her chaotic, overly-dramatic personality — made even more memorable by the late Eartha Kitt’s stellar performance. Even after the original “The Emperor’s New Groove” film, Yzma continued to dominate every appearance she had, with Kronk not too far behind.
2001: Randall Boggs “Monsters, Inc.”
2001 gave us the opportunistic conniving energy of Commander Rourke and the stereotypical meanness of Lana Thomas. Better yet, it struck the perfect balance between those traits with “Monsters, Inc.”’s Randall. Randall perfectly captures that weaselly coworker who’ll do anything to rise to the top, but with a frightening twist. Sure, the true mastermind is the company’s corrupt CEO, Waternoose. But Randall is the bigger threat with his camouflaging abilities and ruthless, underhanded tactics. Tragically, “Monsters University” revealed that he was once a friendly monster hoping to be popular. Unfortunately, a broken ego and obsession for glory brought out the worst in him, and led to his ultimate downfall and banishment.
2002: John Silver “Treasure Planet”
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It was the year that gave us the disgraced Captain Gantu and the meme-worthy Reed Thimple. But we’d like to give a little love to the criminally underrated “Treasure Planet” with John Silver. This seemingly innocuous cyborg masquerades as the cook for the RLS Legacy. In reality, he’s a conniving pirate captain obsessed with finding the riches of Treasure Planet. However, Silver’s more than just your average swashbuckling cut-throat. He doesn’t resort to violence unless necessary, and arguably his best quality is the father-son bond he forms with Jim Hawkins. He gives Jim the confidence to turn his life around for the better. Plus, it’s really refreshing to see the hero and villain part on good terms.
2003: Captain Hector Barbossa “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”
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In 2003’s melting pot of villainy, we had the more-scary-than-evil Bruce and Darla from “Finding Nemo,” and the both-scary-AND-evil Warden Walker from “Holes”. But the crook we raise our glasses to this year is the conniving scoundrel, Hector Barbossa. Once Jack Sparrow’s first mate, Barbossa staged a successful mutiny and became the cruel captain of the Black Pearl. Barbossa is a fearsome pirate because he knows how to play the game – forging the right alliances, knowing who to backstab at the right time, and reaping the rewards. And not even death can keep him down forever. Plus, his back-and-forths with Jack make him too entertaining to hate.
2004: Syndrome [aka Buddy Pine / IncrediBoy] “The Incredibles”
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Being a superhero flick, Pixar’s “The Incredibles” gave us a plethora of villains to choose from, from the sneaky Mirage to the boisterous Underminer. But the one who tops them all is arguably the most relatable villain in the film, Syndrome. As a child, he was Mr. Incredible’s “#1 fan” and longed to be just like him. However, his so-called hero casting him aside broke him and set him down a vengeful path. This turned him into one of the dastardliest supervillains -with a high body count to boot. Unfortunately for him, even he is no match for a Super’s greatest weakness… capes! Hopefully, his story teaches us to be extra careful when dealing with troubling fans.
2005: Jadis the White Witch “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”
In 2005, Disney struck gold when they began their adaptation of the “Chronicles of Narnia” book series starting appropriately with “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.” Naturally, we’d say much of that success is thanks to the titular witch herself, Queen Jadis. The self-proclaimed ruler of Narnia has blanketed the world in a neverending winter, and gleefully silences anyone who opposes her. As if her magic wasn’t frightening enough, she’s also a master at emotional manipulation, preying on anyone she deems useful, and essentially blackmailing anyone who’s in her way. Thankfully, it only takes the bravery of those willing to fight for the TRUE ruler of Narnia to topple her icy regime. But there’s no denying she’s an impressively despicable foe.
2006: Davy Jones “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest”
Everyone meets their fate eventually; and if you perish at sea, you may be unfortunate enough to have a run-in with Davy Jones himself. Once an ordinary sailor, he fell for a sea goddess and became condemned to transport lost souls to the afterlife or recruit them as part of his fishy crew aboard the Flying Dutchman. It would be wise not to make a deal with Jones; if you can’t repay your debt, he has a monstrous Kraken to drag you down by force. Despite his viciousness, he is a devil of principles who suffers from a broken heart. What’s really frightening is that even if you CAN kill Jones, who says the story ends there?
2007: Chef Skinner “Ratatouille”
Queen Narissa made a devious entrance in both the live-action and animated worlds in 2007’s “Enchanted”. But for this year, we’ll be focusing on a nasty-doer in Paris, France in “Ratatouille”. Although Anton Ego is a frightening critic, he’s only doing his job and isn’t inherently evil. Whereas Chef Skinner, the former sous chef of Gusteau's, is a deceitful, angry little pipsqueak. He sullies the restaurant’s good name to rake in the profits and will stoop to any depraved level to spite those who have wronged him. The most twisted part is that despite the happy ending for our main characters, Skinner still kind of gets the last laugh in the end. But hopefully, he’ll never cook in this town again.
2008: AUTO “WALL-E”
Over 700 years in the future, Earth has been abandoned following a flux increase of toxicity, and the last of humanity was shipped into space onboard various spacecraft. These ships are all controlled by autopilots, including one named AUTO. We won’t be the first or last ones to point out he’s Pixar’s very own HAL 9000 from “2001: A Space Odyssey”. In a world with complex robots like WALL-E or EVE, AUTO is cold and operates purely on “reason” – however erroneous it may be. He isn’t even aware of any malice or pain his actions cause, all he knows is his programming and the orders he’s been given. That is arguably more terrifying than a villain who’s fully aware of their misdoings.
2009: Dr. Facilier [aka The Shadow Man] “The Princess and the Frog”
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Charles Muntz from “Up” taught us a valuable lesson about being wary of those we idolize. But for 2009’s villain of the year, we’re giving it up to the suave, devious Dr. Facilier. This smooth witch doctor has voodoo, hoodoo, and all kinds of dark magic up his sleeves – compliments of his friends on the other side. But arguably his deadliest tool is his charisma. The bad doctor is able to trick anyone into seeing things his way, and allying with him is on par with making a deal with the Devil. Sadly (for him), the Shadow Man’s convincing ways couldn’t save him from the debt he owed his otherworldly friends.
2010: Mother Gothel “Tangled”
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While 2010 gave us plenty of heavy hitters such as Lotso or the Red Queen, our choice for this year hits closer to home. Obsessed with preserving her fleeting youth, Mother Gothel abducts Rapunzel and keeps her isolated in a tower, using her adoptive daughter’s magical hair for her own selfish needs. She manipulates poor Rapunzel to feel dependent on her and is even willing to kill to get what she wants. While evil matrons are nothing new to Disney, Gothel’s emotional puppetry makes her five times as despicable. To make it even worse, the “Tangled” series reveals that she abandoned her biological daughter to take Rapunzel…. Wow, lady!
2011: Texleigh "Tex" Richman “The Muppets”
2011 saw the triumphant theatrical return of the Muppets, but there’s still one major obstacle standing in their way – Mr. Tex Richman. This conniving oil baron aims to tear down the Muppet Theatre to take the oil underneath, and has no qualms about sabotaging the troupe to get what he wants. His villainy may be cliched, but his inability to laugh is kind of tragic, especially if he’s too bitter to laugh at the iconic comedy team. The fact that he wins in the end only adds to the whole affair. Of course, the Muppets’ popularity – plus a hilariously convenient accident and Mr. Richman seeing the error of his ways – ensures that our favorite puppet family will never truly be gone.
2012: King Candy [aka Turbo] “Wreck-It Ralph”
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2012 was a crowning year for corrupt royals. “Brave” gave us Mor'du, the arrogant prince-turned-bear. “Wreck-It Ralph,” for its part, gave us our pick for this list, King Candy. On the surface, Candy is the eccentric ruler of Sugar Rush who only wants the best for his people. But in reality, he’s the disgraced video game character, racer Turbo. His ego drove him to abandon his game and take over a more popular racing game. Some time after that failed, he entered Sugar Rush, turning the kingdom’s TRUE ruler, Vanellope, into an ostracized glitch. His selfishness and willingness to hurt everyone around him just to satisfy his thirst for power make him more of a villain than Ralph could ever be.
2013: Prince Hans of the Southern Isles “Frozen”
At first, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles seemed like your typical Disney love interest. Chivalrous, brave, and with a semi-adorable chemistry with Anna. But near the end of the film, his actual personality becomes evident. In reality, he’s an opportunistic creep desperate to rule a kingdom – and he isn’t above manipulation, sabotage, or murder to get what he wants. He had been toying with Anna since they met, using her loneliness to get closer to the kingdom and scheme to take Elsa out the first chance he got. Not only is he a great example of a twist villain, he also proves you shouldn’t give your trust away too freely. Plus, seeing him get his comeuppance is extremely satisfying.
2014: Robert Callaghan [aka Yokai] “Big Hero 6”
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2014’s “Maleficent” turned “Sleeping Beauty”’s King Stefan from a humble ruler into a monstrous man. Meanwhile, that same year, “Big Hero 6” introduced the mysterious Yokai… or should we say Professor Callaghan? For context, Callaghan is a respected university professor who supposedly perishes in an explosion. In reality, he fakes his death to steal microbots and dons the cloaked supervillain identity to enact revenge on the company that took his daughter away from him. We want to sympathize with him as a broken-hearted father. But the way he callously disregards how one of his students sacrificed themselves to save him in the movie left a sour taste in our mouths. Of course, that’s why he’s the villain of 2014.
2015: Lady Tremaine “Cinderella”
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We all know how debated live-action adaptations of animated Disney classics can be, but we’d say the 2015 “Cinderella” remake is a pretty good one. Part of that is thanks to its portrayal of the iconic wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine. The animated version of the spiteful matriarch was absolutely terrifying with how little we knew about her. Meanwhile, the 2015 flick gave some much-needed characterization – providing somewhat sympathetic reasoning for descent into wickedness and adding an extra sociopathic layer to her role. It’s not easy to add a new side to one of Disney’s most spiteful villainesses – but this take on the character does exactly that, and makes it work to boot.
2016: Dawn Bellwether “Zootopia”
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In 2016’s catalog of nastiness, we have Te Kā – essentially the personification or manifestation of Maui's hubris – and the fabulously deviant Tamatoa from “Moana.” But how could we focus on anyone other than “Zootopia”’s master of proverbial disguise, Bellwether? When we first meet Ms. Bellwether, she’s the kind assistant mayor of Zootopia who ends up taking the original mayor’s place following a huge scandal involving predators. The only issue is she’s actually a spiteful, intolerant manipulator who takes advantage of the social tension between prey and predators and uses fear-mongering to remain large and in charge. Fortunately, one corrupt politician is no match for a “dumb bunny” and a “sly fox” – especially when they can use her own words against her.
2017: Ernesto de la Cruz “Coco”
Remember that thing we said about idolizing people earlier? Well, look no further than Ernesto de la Cruz for another example of why it’s not the best plan. In life and posthumously, Ernesto is admired for being a famous musician and movie star, his ultimate claim to fame being his hit song “Remember Me.” However, Ernesto is a big fraud – he murdered his partner and friend, Héctor, and stole his song, building his career on lies and betrayal. He took his secret to the grave, and even in the afterlife, he’s desperate to preserve his ill-gotten reputation by any means necessary. Thankfully, in the end, his ruse is uncovered, and hopefully, he’ll eventually suffer a fate worse than death – being forgotten.
2018: Evelyn Deavor “Incredibles 2”
2018 was a solid year for sympathetic villains. You feel bad for the Ralph clones in “Ralph Breaks the Internet” because they stem from the character’s own insecurities. And then there’s a gray area for sympathy with Evelyn Deavor from “Incredibles 2”. She pretends she’s helping her brother portray Supers in a positive light to restore their legality. Yet the whole time, she’s scheming with mind-control tech to destroy them, blaming Supers for her parents’ deaths because of her dad’s dependence on them. We can understand her reasoning, but her actions are far from justified. Evelyn makes it out alive in the end thanks to the heroes she loathes, but it’s obvious that her hatred has forever poisoned her.
2019: King Runeard “Frozen II”
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“Toy Story 4”’s Gabby Gabby reminded us that not every antagonist has to be evil. Meanwhile, “Frozen 2” taught us the damage a villain can cause across generations. Runeard – Elsa and Anna’s grandfather – was beloved as a King who wanted peace with his kingdom’s new neighbors, the Indigenous Northuldra of the Enchanted Forest. However, Runeard held bitter and hateful views about the Northuldra’s magical practices and betrayed them in the worst possible way. Even though he’s long dead before the events of the film, the damage he caused has remained for decades. A curse overtook the forest, trapping folks inside, with only Elsa and Anna able to make things right.
2020: Super Super Big Doctor “Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe”
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While 2020 didn’t offer much in the name of big-name Disney villains, it gave us the triumphant return of “Phineas & Ferb” with the Disney+ film, “Candace Against the Universe”. Candace finds herself on the planet Feebla-Oot ruled by the seemingly good Super Super Big Doctor. At first, it feels like Candace finally has someone to relate to – especially when it comes to complex sibling dynamics. However, not only is Super Super Big Doctor not an actual doctor, she’s also an authoritarian figure who enslaved the planet with a monster plant and aims to steal all the carbon dioxide from Earth. Yikes – talk about hardcore villainy.
2021: Alma Madrigal “Encanto”
Abuela Alma is the matriarch of the Madrigals and strives to use her family’s mystical gifts to serve the community. Alma isn’t a malicious woman, especially compared to someone like Baroness Von Hellman from “Cruella”. But her perfectionism has created a toxic environment. Most of the family feels pressured to please her, she drives her son Bruno away instead of believing in him, and ostracizes Mirabel because she doesn’t have a gift, leaving her to doubt her place. This was unintentional and she made amends in the end, to be sure. We definitely love her, but you also can’t deny the harm she caused herself and her family. It’s a nuanced place in the Disney villains hall of fame, but it’s hers nonetheless.
2022: Sweet Pete “Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers”
Between the well-intentioned-but-overbearing Ming Lee, the interesting Zurg, and queen-bee-turned-actual-queen Malvina, 2022 had a variety of villainy. But our top choice is undeniably one of the most twisted baddies. Remember Peter Pan from the 1953 film? Hollywood turned its back on his cartoon actor when he got too old, and he went down a dark path – taking on the name “Sweet Pete” and becoming a mob boss for the Valley Gang. At least, that’s the story “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” tells. His crimes are nothing less than despicable – kidnapping indebted toons, turning them into bootleg characters, and profiting off their films. We’re not sure which is more frightening, his behavior or the commentary on what Hollywood can do to a young actor.
2023: King Magnifico “Wish”
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Disney villains were relatively scarce in 2023, the main noteworthy baddies being the live-action versions of Ursula and Captain Hook. But then, King Magnifico dazzled the silver screen in “Wish”. This smooth, magnetic sorcerer rules over the kingdom of Rosas, and can grant wishes for his subjects. He’s the sole decider of which wishes do/don’t get granted, but he’s not acting out of good will by the time we get to know him. He demands his subjects’ respect by dangling the possibility of their wishes coming true. While Magnifico isn’t the most complex bad guy, he feels very nostalgic, reminding us of the studio’s classic villains in some ways. That’s certainly appropriate for celebrating 100 years of Disney animation. Who’s truly been the foulest of the foul this century so far? Debate it in the comments.
