I couldn't find a thread that was focused soley on Disney, and I think every forum should have one, since it's a fun topic with semi-good memories from one's childhood (cuz we all share that love/hate relationship with Disney ).

Of course, to make this more "goth" or "dark" oriented (and not by pointing out Disney's marks on racism or slipped-in innuendos), let's talk about our favorite Disney villians.

Mines aren't exactly ranked, but I have some reasons on why I believe they are so badass:

- Count Frollo from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
Well let's see, this bastard:
1) Killed an innocent woman on the steps of a cathedral
2) Tried to drown her deformed baby
3) Locks said baby in the belltower of the cathedral
4) Torture/humiliates/kills people imprisoned in his tower
5) Lusts after women (and even devotes a song to it)
6) Burns people alive
and to top that off:
7) Offers convicted witches freedom from the stake in exchange for sex
All while claiming to be a man of God and saying thing he is only doing the Lord's work.

- Scar from the "Lion King":
This guy might have been another power-hungry dictator who just turned into prima donna hellcat, but Scar was the only Disney villain who actually managed to kill one of the good guys. You have to give him that.

- Hades from "Hercules":
For one, he's the lord of the Underworld (though he's not exactly evil in a classical sense). But in here, he tries to usurp his brother's heiarchy as king of the Gods by unleashing his primevil enemies, the Titans, from their prison. But the first step in doing so was to kill his baby nephew.

- Shan Yu from "Mulan":
Another run-of-the-mill Disney power-lord, only this warlord actually takes some lives (realistically): he first ransacks the Wall of China, gets his archer to kill one of two Chinese messengers, and to top it, he burns down a village on the way to China's capital, with apparently, no survivors. And did I mention that the village had kids in it?

- Sher Kahn from "The Jungle Book":
This is how Scar would have been like if he wasn't a prissy-puss. Sher Kahn, unlike Scar, does not need some lackeys to do his dirty work - he'll kill you with his own bare-paws and ain't afraid to do so.

- The Horned King from "The Black Cauldron":
The Horned King is probably one of the least known villains from one of the most least known Disney films. Regardless, if you've seen The Black Cauldron you'd know that he was not a piece of sunshine. With his overall ambitions to plummet the world into darkness and chaos through use of the mythical Black Cauldron, the Horned King had the malevolence, the castle, and the looks to do so, so he deserves a spot.

- Governor Ratcliffe from "Pocahontas":
A rule of thumb in the Disney-verse is that all villains must be thwarted and good must triumph over all. And of course, Disney's first historical interpretation was no exception. But, thinking of the real Pocahontas story, this guy, albeit not a "villain" to his European kin, was a "villain" to the indiginous people and their rightful land. Though the animated Ratcliffe was actually a combination of other historical figures, Ratcliffe's settlement of Jamestown - which led to the colonization of the thirteen original colonies, European expansion, and of course, the decline of America's native inhabitants - made Governor John Ratcliffe a real "villain" who has lasting impressions on all of us today.

- The Bear from "The Fox and the Hound":
Disney's most two-dimensional villain: a bear. A run-of-the-mill bear that was just doing what nature told it to do: kill, kill, KILL anything that goes into your territory. But boy, did this bear scare me, right next to Sharp Tooth from "The Land Before Time" (albeit not a Disney film).

- Malificent from "Sleeping Beauty":
Albeit not a step-mother (which I have decided to leave out of the list), she does have the classical step-mother motives: jealous of a pretty princess/rich girl, so you have to kill her or make her life miserable. Only, she take it one step further by taking over a kingdom; that, and she could transform into this sweetass dragon.

None of those villains have any particular ranking, but this villains has to take the cake at #1:

- Chernabog from "Fantasia":
...Come on. He's the devil. This guy is the bossman of all Disney badasses. 'Nuff said.

Loved the list.

One of My favorite villians would have to be Gustav from Bueaty and the Beast. He's so egotistical and full of himself you cannot help but to hate him for it. I like how the made the beast the good guy and the good looking guy (which i did not think he was) the villian. It was a fun change.

Also, i like Jafar from Aladdin. I do not know why exactly, he just has that air about him. That could be the reason i like Uersala (sorry cannot spell it) from the little mermaid. However Morgana (The Little Mermid 2) was very disappointing to me.

Thanks for starting this thread. I love the idea.

Oh yes: Gaston. He's on my asshole list. XD

He's one of the characters that just starts off being a jerk, but usually, the jerk either gets one up-ed (not exactly "owned with death") or he turns into a good guy at the end. Gaston started as a jerk, and ended as a egostical villain who got his just desserts.

I love Beauty and the Beast, by the way. One of my favorite fairy tales. And I just absolutely loved the score at the end.

Never really like The Little Mermaid. I like mermaids and the original fairy tale, but Ariel annoyed me for some reason. Probably because she was the "daddy's little girl".

The "Dark Disney" list can't be complete without mention of the incomparable, late, great Vincent Price, who voiced the character of Professor Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective.

Vincent Price was my childhood hero of darkness, in all his many movies.

Here's a Vincent Price treat for y'all. Vincent Price narrated this short film by Tim Burton: Vincent.

-- Nephele

^I was just watching that film this morning. XD

And I think The Great Mouse Detective would go under a list called, "Disney Films that Goths Love". ^_^

Professor Ratigan started off like Gaston too: big and full of himself. Only, he took a more homicidal, sociopath turn at the end. He was really mad - Jack the Ripper mad. O_o

Absolutely. That has got to be my all-time favorite Disney film. Not that I have many favorite Disney films. That one just appeals to me. Did you notice how dark the scenes are, too, in that film? Not just dark in mood, but also dark in coloring.



"Ooo, I love it when I'm nasty!"

-- Nephele

Nobody has mentioned The Rescuers yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjRXIVSv5JQ (Madame Medusa clips)

-LS

Nobody has forgotten The Adventurers. When that mean ol' crag made Penny go into that cave to get that gem, I was scared each time.

But, I wasn't as into the first movie as I was into the second one: The Adventurers Down Under. I liked how the animals weren't so Disney cute (in early Disney, all the animals are cuddly-wuddly woodland critters, except for the mean carnivores, who never have speaking roles). I never understood why the poacher had to kidnap that kid, though.

And how some animals spoke and some didn't.

And how that kid didn't have an Australian accent.

The poacher dude (McLeach was the name) is on my PETA's Enemies from Disney list, with Cruella De Vil as PETA's public enemy #1. She doesn't care how cute and lovable those puppies are, she just wants to strangle them, poison them, bash them upside the head, just to make one lousy coat that probably won't be that great or stylish.

I mean, a dalmatian of all breeds? Why not a dog breed with more "plush" in its coat?

It would make more sense to do this with the doggies: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7304452.stm

For baddies I think Maximilian (Bad robot! Bad!) from "The Black Hole", full of menace and violence. It really surprised me as a kid, and made a lasting impression due to the egg whisk + puree of human guts scene. Next time I'm having the kevlar and titanium reinforced clipboard.
If anything Disney is even approaching goth, I would argue its that film, from the ship design to the horrible fate of the crew all wrapped up in a spooky house style story and Dante inspired ending. "Event Horizon" for small kids.

The Black Hole Hell Scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkJJeDlDEbs Remember, this was a kids film (Disney's first PG rated though).

-LS

How could any of you forget Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia - the mountain turns into Satan, playing with the souls of the damned dancing in the fire, all to Mussorgsky's music?
And no, that sequence never scared me...
I grew up on that movie - go get it if you've never seen it!

I immediately thought of Sid from Toy Story...That is one sick twisted future serial killer right there.

Love that film. I watched it again a few weeks ago, after not having watched it since I was a young child. Madame Medusa is one scary motherfucker. Does anyone else find particular characters in children's films scarier when you watch them as an adolescent or adult?

I did. The old Disney films do seem to have proper nutjob villains, rather than just slick evilness. I feel this thread may end up costing me money, a Disney habit is quite expensive!

-LS

I'm a huge disney fan, and I'd have to agree with the list 100%. Personally, my favorite is Maleficent, mainly because she can grow those crazy thorny bush things. At least, that was my reason for liking her as a kid...

I like to categorize all of my villains :3 -

Just Plain Evil
- Ex. Chernabog, Count Frollo, Malificent, Scar, etc.
Comedic Villain ("Ebil")
- Ex. Yzme, Prince John, The Queen of Hearts
Bitchy Witchies, Ego-Jerks, and Assholes
- Ex. Lady Tremaine, Gaston, The Sheriff of Nottingham, Ronno
Pyschos
- Ex. Sid, Professor Ratigon, Madame Medusa
PETA's Enemies:
- McLeach, Cruella De Vil, "Man", Amos, Clayton

Some of them can be crossover villains too, like Hades (Comedic and Evil), Cruella De Vil (PETA's public enemy and a Pyscho).

Even though not a movie, I just HAVE to mention this, as it is definately on the list of "Stuff my Disney that Goths Love":

Gargoyles.