With the live-action version of The Little Mermaid now swimming in the calm blue waters of Disney+, audiences can see Melissa McCarthy camp it up as Ursula in all her glory. It makes us wonder, do villains really have more fun? Disney films certainly wouldn’t be as lively without them. These big bads don’t have to abide by silly morals and the rules of civilized society. They do what they want to get what they want, and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process. Of course, they’re often afflicted with fatal flaws like greed, vanity, jealousy, and a hunger for power—which, more often than not, lead to their deaths—but you can’t say they don’t have a hell of a time, right up until their last moments.
So in honor of Disney’s rogues’ gallery of sinister characters, we’ve ranked their 30 best villains, from animation and live-action, based on a combination of factors, including character design, vocal performance, impact on the story, and overall villainy. Bear in mind that some of them aren’t revealed as villains until the end of their films, so there be spoilers ahead.
Now, with all that out of the way, read on dearies, for the absolute best of the worst.
