The Disney Renaissance Era is arguably the best of
Disney’s entire history. It’s full of big hits; with debatably no misses.
We’ve already covered who we consider the most good heroes are among this era…
but we still have to establish who the most vile villains are… That’s what we’re looking
at today. I’m Brad with WickedBinge
and this is Disney Renaissance Villains: Evil to Most Evil.
For this list, we’ll only be covering the small handful of Disney films that were released
during the Disney Renaissance Era. And while the main villains of these films are
legendary on their own, no villain is complete without their lackeys and sidekicks, so
we’ll be including any help the evil-doers get. This time we’ll be starting with the least evil
and working our way down to the most ruthless and vile of villains.
Starting as the least evil, we have Sabor. It’s pretty common for animated movies to
place carnivorous animals as the bad guy, and it works pretty well for a lot of movies.
And having this jungle cat go after an infant that it itself had made an orphan is a good
way to set up how much of a threat this beast was. But being a dangerous predator
doesn’t mean Sabor was evil. Carnivores, just like any other animal, have to eat and it
makes sense to go after those that are defenseless, just as Kala’s first child. Unlike
many Disney movies where all the animals can communicate with one another, this film
was set up a little differently. If they weren’t a gorilla or elephant, chances are they didn’t
speak at all. The hippos, crocodiles and Sabor all remained silent when it came to
actual words. This emphasizes that Sabor and the others that could be a threat to the
gorillas were running on instinct. There wasn’t a feud between them or a score to settle.
The hunting was driven by the need to survive and nothing more.
Next on our list we have the Hyenas. Like Sabor, they have a basic need that they need
to fill: to be able to hunt and eat. In fact, Scar was able to get the hyenas to join his
pursuit of the throne by promising them all the game they could hunt. The hyenas were
loyal to no one but one another, though they did have some fear of Scar from the power
he held over them. But as soon as Scar attempted to throw them at Simba in an effort to
avoid the heir’s wrath, the hyenas turned on Scar by devouring him. We could count this
act as evil, but it was more just retribution for Scar’s actions since the lion tried selling
them out to Simba. A creepy little sidekick, next we have
LeFou. Though his name translates to ‘the fool’ he does manage to show some capability as a villain.
We mentioned on our sidekicks list that he's surprisingly conniving considering
we also see that he has a lot of moments where he isn’t very bright. Oftentimes
LeFou is seen building Gaston’s ego up and sucking up to the man by doing whatever
is asked-or ordered-of him. For Gaston’s more elaborate plans, he often makes some incorrect
assumptions and needs things explained, but this isn’t something unique
to his character. In fact, that can be said for any Disney sidekick. But LeFou also gets
some extra evil points dished out to him because he had a way of getting people on
Gaston’s side. Whether it was getting the bar to break out in song to cheer the
huntsman up after being rejected or getting everyone to agree that Maurice needed to be
locked up, he managed to get everyone to go along with whatever Gaston needed.
Taking our next spot we have Pain and Panic. Much like Meg, they are at the mercy of
Hades and whatever plan the god comes up with. But we dock them points because
unlike Sabor or the Hyenas, they aren’t driven by instincts that have adapted over
thousands of years. They make the best of a bad situation by trying to meet all of
Hades’ standards and are clearly seen to be in fear of him. On the other side of the
spectrum, they also show to get some enjoyment out of their work. They were eager to
try and kill off Hercules and kept the failed assignment a secret to try and save their
skin. They delighted in tormenting the gods when Olympus was being taken over, only
apologizing for their deeds when they had an angry Pegasus on their hands. But for all
the power they enjoyed when Hades was doing well, they were also happy to let Hades
suffer in the River of Styx if it meant they could be spared any pain.
Up next is the god of the Underworld, Hades. Hades really got the raw end of the deal
when it came to what the gods were assigned to rule over. In mythology, Hades is said
to be the only god to not be able to rule on Mount Olympus, instead stuck in the
Underworld, a domain that he was stuck with after drawing the worst lot when the titans
were initially sealed away. In the Disney rendition, though Hades is allowed to see
Hercules after his birth, we see that Hades is still incredibly bitter towards Zues. It made
sense that he would use the Titans against Zues in a play for power, given that their
sealing was when Hades fell from grace. He was treated as an outcast by the fellow
gods and goddesses, and it led to all of them feeling Hades’ wrath. Though we give him
some leniency due to the strain of his work and social standing, Hades was also
portrayed as being very underhanded. He was happy to use Meg as leverage and
attempt to have Hercules killed if it meant fulfilling his goal of ruling on Olympus, but his
need to always make a condition for the other during a deal was his downfall.
Next we have the famed sea witch, Ursula. Much like Hades, she also was pushed
from the position of power that she had initially. Both she and Tritan were the children of
Poseidon, and were meant to share the throne ruling over the sea after the god’s
passing, with Triton being given the staff and Urusla being given the shell seen in the
movie. But when Ursula turned to dark magic, Triton banished her and made her bitter,
hence why she had the plot to take the trident for herself and wanted the king out of the
way. Much like Hades, we give her some leniency due to her being shoved out of her
rightful place as ruler. But at the same time, we see examples of how powerful and
underhanded Ursula is. She offered the merpeople that came to her solutions to gaining
their wildest dreams, but at a cost. And when that payment wasn’t made, she robbed
them of not only their new happiness, but everything. Considering that she purposely
sabotaged Ariel a few times during their deal, it’s hard to be sure if Ursula didn’t do the
same to the others and it was even more uncertain as to what she did with the people
she cursed after they were transformed. While Hades was reckless in how he tried to
take over Olympus, Ursula caused an unknown amount of damage to not only the
ocean when she gained her power, but to the surrounding areas. We’ve all at one point
or another seen what happens when the oceans are out of control.
No one is a villain quite like Gaston. While LeFou has more of a relationship with the
town, being on the same level as many of them, Gaston is seen as a sort of hero and
role model. He’s a strong and capable hunter that can eliminate any threat and gather
as much meat as the town could possibly need. With the decor of the bar with all of his
best game and the very decorated chair, Gaston is treated among the town as a sort of
noble. It makes it easier for Gaston to get people to trust his judgement and he takes full
advantage of that. No one questions him when he states that Maurice needs to be
locked up, with Gaston claiming, with LeFou’s help, that Maurice’s ramblings about a
giant beast in a castle made no sense. Everyone rallied behind him when he demanded
that they storm the Beast’s castle in the middle of the night, stating that the creature
was a threat to their livelihood and getting everyone into a state of panic, even though
anyone objectively looking at the situation would see that Gaston was upset Belle was
affectionate towards Beast. And of course there’s the fact that Gaston got everyone
rallied for a spur of the moment surprise wedding and everyone just sort of…accepted
it. We get that things were different in the time this story takes place, but that’s still a
ridiculous amount of power to hold over a community.
Next on our list is Governor Radcliffe. Radcliffe was one of those people deluded by his
own need for power. His ultimate goal was to arrive in the New World, find a ton of gold
and jewels and go back to England where he’d be awarded with a higher status. When
the men arrived and dug at the Earth for days with no result, Radcliffe began to panic
about his career, flat out stating that he was doomed. When Wiggins comes into his tent
with a prop using an arrow, Radcliffe comes to the ludicrous conclusion that the Native
tribe has all of the riches and wants the settlers out so they wouldn’t have to share.
Even on the surface, the idea doesn’t make a lot of sense, but Radcliffe was certain
there had to be something withholding his success from him. After all, he had heard
plenty of stories of others coming back to their countries with riches. Now while
Radcliffe didn’t have his men brainwashed for a good portion of the film, he was an
expert at using fear to try and keep his men in line. He threatened hanging with the
charge of treason should anyone affiliate themselves with the Natives the way John had
been. When Thomas showed up at the camp trying to get help for a now captain John,
Radcliffe seized the chance to declare war on the tribe under the guise of getting Smith
back when really all Radcliffe wanted was the tribe wiped out so he could claim their
nonexistent gold and jewels for his own. Even when the men stood down, not wanting to
fight, Radcliffe picked up a gun and attempted to kill the chief.
Our next placement goes to The Titans and Cyclops. They lose a lot of points since
they thrive on destruction and chaos. To them, it doesn’t matter if they’re attacking gods
or the innocent mortals of Greece. Everyone is free game. And that’s a lot of what
makes them so terrifying and formidable. Each Titan had a very specific ability that
brought suffering to anyone in their path. One that froze the land and threatened to
impale anyone in its way with shards of ice. One that used the magma from the earth
itself to melt everything away and leave it to decay under a layer of rock. One that tore
across the land in violent winds. And one that crushed everything underfoot. Then the
cyclops that wasn’t so much an elemental force as it was just a being that used its sheer
size to its advantage. These creatures destroyed crops, misplaced families, and killed
countless people. In fact when Hercules first tries making his debut, he overhears the
civilians talking about how much they suffered the last time the Titans were free, with
the family recalling the fires, earthquakes and floods.
Next in our ranking is Scar. He’s a fan favorite and for good reason. He’s just the sort of
villain you love to hate. While Scar having to endure being unable to hunt large game on
his own and losing the throne is understandable to an extent, there’s no debate that he
was heartless with how he went about gaining power. The way he took down Mufasa
was brutal, and not just because of those eerie final moments where he’s looking his
own brother in the eyes before making the king plummet to his death. Scar could have
chosen some other way to get Mufasa into a compromising position, but out of all of
those possibilities, he chose to use Mufasa’s precious son as bait. He filled the king’s
final moments with fear and betrayal. Then to really rub salt into the wound, he
manipulated Simba to make the cub think it was all his fault, asking straight out “Simba,
what have you done?” I mean, this was a little kid, and Scar was pinning a murder on
him, making Simba think he had to run away from home or possibly face death at the
hands of the pride before telling everyone that Simba died tragically by Mufasa’s side.
On top of that, Scar didn’t care about the well-being of the pridelands or anyone in it. He
let his hyenas hunt to the point of the place being destroyed and refused to leave out of
stubbornness, even if it meant everyone had to starve to death. But Scar is also weak in
a lot of ways. On his own, he isn’t able to really hunt. He’s smaller and weaker than the
other lions and was only able to defeat Mufasa by using emotional manipulation. When
Simba returned and remembered everything, Scar tried to save his own skin by offering
up the hyenas as the real enemy and attempted to blind Simba with ash to get the
upper hand. Taking the bronze medal, we have Jafar.
Much like Scar, he’s one of the go-to villains among the fanbase. He’s always one of the
first mentioned when the topic of Disney’s top villains comes up, and we get why. Jafar
not only holds political power and is able to twist things in a way where he’s always in power,
but every move he makes is also backed up with his magickal abilities.
He was able to hypnotize the Sultan for years, controlling the entire country from the sidelines.
And though his plans did up backfiring in the end, he was able to come up with
a lot of dastardly solutions to his problems that
would have succeeded if Aladdin wasn’t so lucky. He almost got the lamp and killed
Aladdin until Abu bit him and pick-pocketed him. He could have been rid of Aladdin
again had the Genie not saved him from drowning. And his only downfall was his desire
for the same abilities as the Genie, but he wasn’t a dimwitted foe like some movies
have. For a large part of the movie, he was content with his dream of someday being
Sultan just so he wouldn’t have to answer to anyone else, including Jasmine. But once
he had the lamp and a taste of power where he could do anything he wanted without
worrying about the consequences, he started to lose sight of his original goal and
shifted his attention more on gaining Jasmine as a queen and then finally focused all of
his efforts on killing Aladdin for simply getting in the way.
Taking the silver, we have to rank Clayton and McLeach together. Where a lot of
villains on this list are desperate for status and power, these two got a lot of joy from just
exerting strength over those too weak or lacking in intelligence to put up a fair fight. And
they not only endangered people, but innocent animals that were sometimes on the
verge of extinction. Clayton played nice until he learned where the gorillas were, playing
the role of protection for what was meant to be an educational trip of observation. When
he found the hideaway thanks to Tarzan, he had everyone locked up so he and his men
could take all they pleased. Young, old, it didn’t matter. All Clayton saw were dollar
signs. When Tarzan fought back, Clayton had no issue with trying to kill the proclaimed
ape-man if it meant having one less thing standing in his way. Even when Tarzan
attempted to help him, Clayton was driven by a madness that consumed him. McLeach
was a similar story. He was doing worse off than Clayton financially, having to live off
the radar and making a living selling animals alive or as lifeless bodies to be turned into
wallets and handbags. Like Clayton, though, he made a point of trying to get rid of
anyone that threatened his plans. In McLeach’s case, it was a small child, but that didn’t
stop the poacher from taunting Cody as the boy dangled over known crocodile waters.
Not to mention the overkill of trying to shoot the rope when the crane refused to work.
McLeach wasn’t just interested in finding the eagle after Cody got in his way. He felt he
needed to annihilate the small child in a way you might hear about on the Investigation
Discovery channel.
At our top spot, we have Frollo. From the very beginning, we see how driven Frollo is,
chasing an innocent woman until she’s seen crashing onto the steps of Notre Dame and
then attempting to drown her now orphaned child. Frollo took Quasimodo in not out of
the goodness of his heart, but out of fear of what would happen to his soul. He taught
Quasimodo his own warped view on the world, telling the young man that all was evil
and the world would never accept him. When he became fixated on Esmerelda, he had
countless people imprisoned and sentenced to death, burning the entire city of Paris as
he dealt with anyone he considered needed to be made an example of. He is seen
giving advice on how to properly whip prisoners so they offer the wanted information,
calling the location The Palace of Justice. He called Pheabus from the Crusades just to
hunt down the gypsies and their hiding spot in The Court of Miracles. He only offered to
free Esmerelda if she accepted being his, having a very creepy obsession with
possessing her, and when he couldn’t have her, he declared her as a witch to be
burned. He was truly one of the most frightening and realistic villains Disney has ever
released. Frollo didn’t use any magickal abilities like Jafar did and he didn’t have an
army of mythical beasts at his disposal or a zany animal sidekick that thirsted for blood.
Frollo was just really good at using religion to justify his cruel actions. He saw himself as
righteous and not to be argued with, which made him one of the most infamous of the
Disney films, even to this day.
But what do you think? Who is the most evil villain of the Disney Renaissance era? Let
us know in the comment section. Don't forget to hit that notification bell and binge our
Good-to-Evil playlist. Where we break down the morality of the characters in your
favorite cartoons, shows and movies. But most importantly, stay wicked!