We’ve looked at the relationships of Disney princesses, so now it’s time to do the same
for Disney’s many villains! While we don’t think about them nearly as much as their
more heroic counterparts, the alliances of Disney’s dastardly villains can take on many
different shapes. The majority of them take on the form of a villain and their trusty sidekick,
while others are connected by family. But out of all of these relationships,
which ones are the least toxic, and which ones would shock even the most fearsome of villains?
I’m Brad with WickedBinge, and this is Disney Villain Relationships: Toxic to Most Toxic
For today’s video, we’ll be starting off with the least toxic relationships
before working our way down to the most toxic ones of them all.
For our least toxic villain relationship, we have to give Ursula and the Eels the respect
they deserve! Though being the “least toxic” isn’t exactly what we call a great honor,
the trio of Ursula, Flotsam, and Jetsam deserve it nonetheless! Flotsam and Jetsam
serve the designated role of “evil sidekick” to Ursula in The Little Mermaid, and it is a
role they play well. While a lot of sidekicks tend to get on the nerves of their master,
Ursula maintains a pretty good bond with the eels. They obey her every command,
and they usually succeed at completing whatever task she gives them. They lure Ariel to Ursula,
and later in the movie, manage to intervene when it looks like she is about to kiss Eric. The main
reason we hold them in high regard, however, is because of what happens when the Eels are killed.
Ursula is visibly saddened and enraged by their deaths, making it quite possibly the only time in
a Disney movie where the villain legitimately felt sorry for their lackey. While the Eels don’t get
much of anything in terms of characterization, we can tell that they care for Ursula, just like she
cared for them. That’s a lot more than you can say for a lot of the characters on this list, and for
this reason more than any, we have to give these sea creatures the very first spot on the list!
Coming up in second place is another Renaissance-era pairing! This time,
let’s look at Jafar and Iago from Aladdin! Another villain-and-sidekick relationship,
Jafar doesn’t look at Iago quite as fondly as Ursula did her Eels,
but the two still enjoy each other's company. Iago is fiercely loyal to Jafar,
and Jafar sees him as a worthy accomplice in his quest to become the Sultan. We’re sure this has a
lot to do with the fact that Iago is actually pretty competent when it comes to sidekicks.
When Iago is sent by Jafar to retrieve the lamp near the film’s conclusion,
the parrot successfully gets it. Iago also has Jafar’s back during the big
climax of the movie. While Jafar and Iago seem to think similarly about many things, they do have
their relationship troubles. Jafar acts rather abusive towards Iago when he starts to annoy them,
an element of their relationship that would later lead to Iago’s ultimate betrayal of him in
the direct-to-video sequel, Return of Jafar. While we won’t be taking the direct-to-video sequels
into account for today’s video, mostly because of how few villains there are that get to return for
a second movie, that alone should show you how toxic most relationships are between villains.
We’re only on the second set of characters, and they are already abusing each other.
While Jafar and Iago might have one of the better teams in the world of Disney villains,
they’ve got a long way to go before becoming a truly healthy one!
We’re rounding out our top three with the hunter and his sidekick, Beauty and the
Beast’s Gaston and Lefou! While these two effectively act as the villain and sidekick
of the film, their bond is a bit different than most of these pairings. Lefou is more of a fanboy
for Gaston than a straight sidekick, and Lefou appears a lot smarter than his burly counterpart.
Lefou is the one that ends up questioning several of Gaston’s ideas. For example,
he points out that there is no way Belle would go along with marrying Gaston. Gaston, however,
does not take lightly a lot of what Lefou has to say, which usually results in Lefou being punched
or tossed around. In a way, you could say that Gaston and Lefou’s relationship is a bit on the
love and hate side of things. They usually get along well, but they can get on each other’s
nerves. Lefou might not say something that is all to Gaston’s liking, and this almost always earns
him some sort of physical abuse. Still, through all their disagreements, Lefou is unquestionably
loyal to Gaston. He truly believes he is the manliest man out there, and he is involved with
pretty much every step of Gaston’s plan. So, while the relationship definitely isn’t ideal,
in the annals of Disney villain history, theirs looks like one of the greats!
Over in Neverland, we’re looking at Captain Hook and Mr. Smee from Peter Pan! This is the
first relationship we’re looking at where it’s an angry villain and a bumbling sidekick, a common
villain-sidekick archetype found in Disney movies. While the earlier ones were at least on an even
playing field, Hook and Smee have a very one-sided relationship. Smee is a kind soul, while Hook is
loud and boisterous. It’s no wonder that these two personalities clash so often in the movie. Mr.
Smee is laser-focused on making his captain a happy one, and he is unquestionably loyal to him
as a member of his crew. Hook, unfortunately, is nowhere near as nice to him. He calls on him to do
every single one of his biddings, but he is almost never happy. Captain Hook has a huge temper, and
Smee tends to see the worst of it. This leads to a relationship where Smee truly fears Captain Hook,
which, for as non-ideal as the previous pairings were, you never got the sense
the sidekicks were all that afraid of the villain. Mr. Smee is a talented pirate,
but if this crew member wants to thrive, he’d best find a new captain to follow!
Up next is a fan-favorite matchup, Yzma and Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove!
Like Hook and Smee, this pairing is one-sided, and completely in the villain’s favor.
Yzma sees Kronk as nothing but her lackey, but while it could be argued that Mr. Smee
did bring Captain Hook at least a modicum of happiness, Kronk is a lot more “bumbling” than
he is “sidekick”. He fails to poison Kuzco, fails to successfully dispose of his body,
what does he do right? Nothing in Yzma’s eyes, yet she still maintains a level of dependence on him,
a fact which she describes as a “cruel irony”. Even so, she eventually cannot tolerate his
buffoonery any longer, and describes how much he annoys her. She even disparages his cooking! This
prompts Kronk to turn on her, which goes to show how rough their relationship is. As bad as some of
these other villains were to their sidekicks, at least they stuck with them to the end.
Kronk chooses not to, and this leads directly to Yzma’s defeat in the climax of the movie. Besides,
she didn’t like his spinach puffs! That more than anything else is truly unforgivable!
Our next relationship is Lady Tremaine and the Wicked Stepsisters! From Disney’s Cinderella,
Lady Tremaine might treat her stepdaughter badly, but she doesn’t do Anastasia and Drizella much
better. She essentially uses them as tools; operatives that can deal out the punishment she
wishes to inflict on Cinderella. While Drizella and Anastasia are the ones who actually rip up
Cinderella’s outfit, don’t forget that it was their mother who instructed them to do it.
More than anything, Lady Tremaine craves power. She’s a socialite and wants her daughters to
marry a prince, not because she thinks it’s best for them, but because it will better her social
standing. She trains them to be as proper as can be and becomes angry when they fail her.
Anastasia and Drizella do their best to please her, and end up doing some pretty heinous things
to accomplish this, but it’s never enough for her. Even Yzma saw some value in Kronk! While prior
pairings were simply toxic relationships between villains and their sidekicks,
this one is also a toxic family structure. The main reason they aren’t any lower on our list
is that other groups of this type are just a lot worse than this trio is. But don’t
let that fool you for a second! This is one family you don’t want to mess with!
Up next is where things start to really get interesting. It’s Madame Medusa and Mr. Snoops
from The Rescuers! This relationship is intriguing because, while it looks like another villain and a
bumbling sidekick on the surface, their attitude is more confrontational than any thus far.
Throughout the whole movie, Medusa detests Snoops, and he cannot stand her. Madame Medusa
berates Snoops for failing to find the diamond, and again for letting the girl Penny slip through
his fingers. Mr. Snoops tries his best to please her, but he is frustrated with Medusa for always
yelling at him. He’s also not too fond of her crocodiles. Really, the moment that best showcases
how dysfunctional they are is the ending of the movie. As the diamond becomes Medusa’s, Snoops
argues that his contributions to finding the diamond mean he deserves his equal share. Madame
Medusa isn’t interested in sharing, however, and tries to keep it as hers only. Eventually,
she loses the diamond, prompting Snoops to try and take it for himself. This whole sequence
is indicative of their entire relationship. While other pairings bonded over their goals,
Medusa and Snoops are more like angry coworkers than anything else. Perhaps
if they had gotten along better, the diamond would have indeed been theirs!
Jumping from one obscure Disney movie to another, it’s time to talk about Commander Rourke and Helga
Sinclair. Coming from the lost city of Atlantis, this is another relationship where the cracks
are particularly evident during the movie’s end. Before this point, Rourke and Helga actually seem
to have a pretty positive link, as far as villains go. Helga is one of Rourke’s most trusted agents,
and as the film draws closer to its end, she is the only major crewmember who sticks with Rourke.
However, when the Atlanteans battle their mercenaries, the two desperately try to lighten
the load of their zeppelin, prompting Rourke to toss Helga off. While he successfully does this,
Helga retaliates by firing on the zeppelin, indirectly leading to Rourke’s death moments
later. As bad as previous Disney villain relationships got, at least none of them
got each other killed! We also feel this moment shows how Rourke has one of the more evil mindsets
of the villains we’ve looked at. Kind of like Lady Tremaine from earlier, Rourke sees everyone around
him as tools who can carry out his mission. When they are no longer of use to him, they
can be easily disposed of. This alliance could potentially be even lower, but unfortunately,
we don’t get that much in the way of interactions between the two. Nevertheless, this might be the
best example yet of a relationship where their greatest enemies are each other!
Coming from the future is none other than the Bowler Hat Guy and Doris! From Meet the Robinsons,
these two villains are another unique pair among their counterparts. While a villain throwing
their sidekick under the bus is nothing too out of the ordinary, this movie might be the only
notable instance of a sidekick who betrayed the villain in a Disney movie. Or at least,
it is depending on who you see as the sidekick. You see, the Bowler Hat Guy, formerly known as
“Goob”, had a deep hatred for Cornelius Robinson. This was something that Doris shared with him,
being a forgotten creation of his. As a result of their common enemy, the two teamed up, but in
reality, Doris was merely using Goob so her plans for world domination could come to fruition. After
the two successfully arrive in the past, Doris quickly gets to work taking over the entire world,
much to the dismay of Goob. It’s even suggested that Doris killed Goob shortly after beginning
her conquest, but before the timeline was again changed. This is another example of
a toxic relationship that ultimately led to one of the villains destroying the other.
In a way, you could argue that Doris fed Goob’s worst desires, entertaining his dream of ruining
Cornelius’ life merely for the purpose of seeing her own dream come true. Doris took advantage of
Goob in a way no villain up to this point has, so we have to give these two this spot on our list.
We’re going to the Pride Lands for our next set of villains. From The Lion King, it’s Scar
and the Hyenas! At a glance, Scar’s relationship with Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed seems to resemble the
classic “competent villain, incompetent sidekick” trope we see a lot in the Disney canon. The hyenas
aren’t exactly smart, and Scar knows it all too well. However, their relationship takes a darker
turn after Scar takes over the Pride Lands. Scar isn’t a good leader in any way, as evidenced by
how poor the land looks under his rule. His poor leadership extends even worse to the hyenas,
who were promised to never go hungry again after he becomes king. Obviously, that didn’t
come to pass. The hyenas even believe that things might have been better when Mufasa was in charge,
a comment that greatly angers Scar. Scar’s horrible treatment of the hyenas reaches its peak
when he attempts to blame Mufasa’s death on the hyenas, causing them to betray him. Yet again,
we have a relationship that is so toxic it leads to a character being betrayed,
but this might be the most violent instance of that yet. It’s heavily implied that the hyenas
rip Scar to shreds, which shows you how horribly he treated them. This isn’t the first relationship
that ended in betrayal, but the fact it ends in such a violent way shows that Scar treated
his sidekicks just as badly as he did all of the animals in the Pride Lands. While other
villains showed some care for their underlings or ultimately disposed of them to save their own
skins, Scar never cared in any meaningful way for the hyenas, earning them this spot on our list!
Up next is the most recent pairing on our list. From Tangled, it’s Mother Gothel and
Rapunzel! This is where the list is really going to get interesting. Unlike our previous entries,
which were all groups of villains, our final slots go down to villains and their respective heroes.
These ones are already the most toxic on account of how there is a clear power imbalance in favor
of the villain, so it’s just a game of which hero had the very worst treatment. In Rapunzel’s case,
she’s taken as a baby by Gothel, who quickly begins to use her magic hair for her own gain.
As time goes on, Rapunzel grows into a young adult, but Mother Gothel is incredibly
overprotective of her. This isn’t born out of a desire to keep her safe, but only so that
she can stay young forever. Besides forcing her to live in one building her entire life,
she’s also made Rapunzel dependent on her, and she’ll pin the blame on her for anything that
goes wrong in her life. When Rapunzel finally learns of her true parentage, Mother Gothel
chains her to a wall, showing how unrelenting she is in making sure Rapunzel stays with her.
In the end, Rapunzel has to give up her hair altogether, as it’s the only thing that will
end Mother Gothel’s wrath for good. This, of course, doesn’t end too well for Gothel, but
it does grant Rapunzel her independence. Between the misuse of Rapunzel’s gifts and Gothel’s abuse,
we can’t see any other relationship thus far that’s as toxic as this mother and daughter!
In third place, the Bronze Medal of Toxicity goes to Pinocchio and Stromboli from the classic
Pinocchio! Another very one-sided pair, Stromboli is a puppeteer who enlists Pinocchio to join
his show. At first, things seem alright. Pinocchio’s show earns Stromboli money,
and he promises he’ll make the wooden boy famous. However, upon hearing that Pinocchio wishes
to return to Gepetto’s for the day, his true colors are finally shown. He becomes enraged,
locking him in a cage and yelling that Pinocchio only belongs to him.
And what will become of him when he becomes too old? He’ll be turned into firewood of course!
While this relationship isn’t explored much in the actual film, it’s one of the more horrible
things you’d hear between any of the characters on our list. While Gothel might have been horrible
over a longer stretch of time, you could at least argue she masked it for all that time under the
idea that she was doing what was right. Stromboli is only interested in making money, and he makes
sure Pinocchio is aware that he is easily disposable. Pinocchio is left feeling trapped
in a way no other character has on the list, and for that reason, we put it as one of the lowest.
Up next, we’re giving the Silver Medal of Toxicity to the Evil Queen and Snow White. It seems only
fitting that the first villain relationship ends up as one of the lowest on our list. The
Evil Queen is a vain and jealous figure. She wants nothing more than to be the fairest of the land,
so naturally, the reveal that this title belongs to Snow White greatly upsets her.
Even before this, however, the Queen’s hatred of Snow shines through. She forces her to work as a
servant in the castle, complete in worn-down rags. She tries several times throughout the movie to
kill Snow White, from using a huntsman to gifting her a poisonous apple in a disguise.
Snow White herself seems rather oblivious to the Queen’s disdain for her, making their relationship
look like a more toxic version of what transpired between Rapunzel and Mother Gothel. Even the
Queen’s attempt on Snow’s life very nearly works. Only true love's kiss saves Snow White from what
would surely have been death. While there have been moms on this list who haven’t treated their
children well, none of them tried to outright poison them! There’s just one duo that outdoes
every other in terms of toxicity, and judging from these last few, you might just know who they are!
In first place, we have to give the Gold Medal of Toxicity to Frollo and Quasimodo from The
Hunchback of Notre Dame! We really can’t see any other set of characters earning the title
of the most toxic relationship when they’re up against this one. In the opening flashback, Frollo
kills Quasimodo’s mother, and tries to drop the infant down a well, on account of his deformities.
He ultimately spares the child, giving him the cruel name of Quasimodo in the process. As he
grows into an adult, Quasimodo is taught to see himself as a monster who must spend his days in
the bell tower, for Frollo believes the world will not accept him. This is proven true in Frollo’s
eyes when Quasimodo is attacked during the Festival of Fools. Frollo does little to help him,
as he sees the punishment as just. Later on, he becomes angrier at him when he helps
Esmerelda escape his grasp. Quasimodo begins the movie believing Frollo’s worldview is correct,
but as he experiences more of the outside, he grows to hate Frollo,
seeing him as embodying all that is evil and wicked in the world. As the movie reaches its end,
Frollo attempts to kill Quasimodo, doing in his own words what should have been done 20 years
earlier. While he is defeated, he leaves behind a young man who must now grapple with realizing how
horrible his upbringing was. Really, we give Quasimodo and Frollo this title because of
how consistently bad the bond was. While the villain team-ups had some sort of camaraderie,
and while the previous villains who enslaved heroes put on some facade of respect, Frollo
treated Quasimodo horribly from the beginning, and things only got worse from there. It is for all
these reasons that we have to call this the most toxic Disney villain relationship of them all.
But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our
ranking. And tell us what we should cover next. Remember to hit that notification
bell and binge more of our videos. But most importantly, stay wicked!