As one of the leading entertainment companies in the world, Disney has its fair share of beloved protagonists and memorable villains. From the always-popular Disney Princesses to iconic antagonists like The Lion King's Scar and The Little Mermaid's Ursula, Disney is known for introducing characters that stay with the audience long after they have left the theatre.
However, as Disney continues on its journey to innovate every year, many argue that the quality of the studio's characters has declined and that the studio is relying on too many clichés. The growing trend of twist villains, in particular, seems to have overtaken most Disney and Pixar films, rendering the trope less effective now that the audience is savvier and is not afraid to call them out on it.
Updated by Alexandra Locke on January 2, 2023: Disney has had no shortage of twist villains in recent years. Some have stunned audiences, while others have missed the mark. As a good villain twist is harder to come by nowadays, it is important to remember the great twists, while still acknowledging the tarnished ones. With so many twist villains to the company's name, this article has been updated to include even more of Disney's best and worst unexpected evildoers.
Worst Twist Villains:
Wall-E's AUTO Was Obviously Similar To HAL
Pixar's pop culture references can make or break a movie, and in Wall-E's case, its obvious homage to a beloved sci-fi film destroys their twist villain. AUTO, short for Autopilot, is the computerized assistant aboard the Axiom, one of the spaceships humanity used to flee Earth when they rendered it uninhabitable.
AUTO's behavior and fixation with finishing its mission are extremely similar to 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL 9000. This characterization, combined with the technology-is-evil trope and AUTO's unblinking red eye immediately made it the obvious main antagonist from the moment it appeared on the screen.
Big Hero 6's Yokai's Quest For Vengeance Is Typical
Before donning the kabuki mask that turns him into a villain, Robert Callaghan was a brilliant scientist and teacher who took a special interest in Tadashi Hamada and his work in Big Hero 6. After his daughter's tragic disappearance left him alone and bitter, he took on the alter-ego of Yokai, using his knowledge of robotics to exact revenge upon those he believed responsible for her fate.
The film insists that another character, Mr. Krei, must be the villain despite all the signs pointing to Callaghan, making Krei's a distractingly unsubtle red herring. While Callaghan's backstory is heartwrenching, his quest for vengeance is standard fare, making him another uninspired villain.
Zootopia's Dawn Bellwether Has An Unremarkable Personality
At first glance, Assistant Mayor Bellwether may feel like one of Disney's greatest twist villains. After all, Zootopia was cleverly written enough that most people never saw her coming. The problem, however, lies in the fact that she is not a particularly interesting character.
Bellwether's motivations for pitting predators and prey against each other make sense, but her friendly act throughout the film only had viewers fooled because she seemed like an unimportant secondary character. Even if Disney had given her more to do, her reveal as the antagonist still would not have worked, but at least she would have been a lot more memorable.
Encanto's Bruno's Twist Is That He Wasn't A Villain
Encanto was a huge hit for Disney and, as the family member they don't talk about, Bruno starts off the film as a memorable boogeyman. While the movie is rightfully beloved for its great characters and unforgettable music, its narrative spends a lot of time questing around for a villain. By the time "We Don't Talk About Bruno" rolls around, it is obvious that the movie is eager to pin an evil mustache on Mirabel's missing uncle.
Arguably, it is clever that Bruno turns out to be a kind soul who is struggling to keep the Casita intact from inside its walls. However, after his incredible entrance, he ironically vanishes back into the narrative's woodwork, emerging only at the very end, somehow papering over his differences with his family in a short solo.
Brother Bear's Kenai Is The True Villain
Brother Bear is the story of Kenai, a young man on the cusp of adulthood who cannot seem to take his responsibilities seriously. Yet, when a run-in with a Bear goes wrong, Kenai is forced to learn the errors of his ways by becoming an animal himself.
In his journey to become human again, Kenai meets Koda, a young bear looking for his mother. Unfortunately, it is eventually revealed that Kenai killed Koda’s mother in the inciting events of the film. Koda's realization of Kenai's betrayal seems irreconcilable, yet the pair become friends again before too long. This seemed to cheapen Kenai’s understanding that he was the monster after all, and also seemed like Koda forgave him too easily.
Cars 2's Sir Miles Axelrod Could Have Better Spent His Time
Sir Miles Axelrod begins Cars 2 as a philanthropic environmentalist seeking to change the fuel industry. He even organizes an international race to display his new, sustainable fuel in action. However, Axelrod’s intentions for organizing the race are truly menacing.
The supposedly new fuel Allinol is designed to stall the racers and cause havoc, thereby stopping the alternative fuel industry and solidifying gasoline’s presence in the future. Not only is this plan incredibly dangerous, but it is also an exceedingly nonsensical plan, as Axelrod’s time and energy could have more easily been spent actually creating an alternative fuel instead of concocting a false race.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire Telegraphs Commander Rourke's Plan Isn't Surprising
Commander Lyle Rourke is in charge of the expedition to an underwater world in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. As a privately paid military man in a movie about discovery and exploration, older fans could already tell that Rourke might not be the most moral of people.
Sadly, their suspicions are confirmed in the final act of the movie when Rourke and his team are revealed as mercenaries who planned on stealing the heart of Atlantis the whole time. His predictable betrayal makes him one of the most obvious twist villains.
The Incredibles 2's Evelyn Has An Obvious Revenge Plot
The Incredibles 2's Evelyn Deavor is one of the worst Disney twist villains of the last few years. Pixar tried to distract viewers by having the Screenslaver seemingly operate as a separate entity, but it was obvious that there had to be a mastermind pulling the villain's strings.
Evelyn's revenge plot against superheroes is not especially interesting either, making her a much weaker antagonist and placing her several tiers below Syndrome, the first Incredibles' more successful villain. While Syndrome had an entire character arc; Evelyn spent her film drinking wine and looking suspicious.
Best Twist Villains:
Frozen's Prince Hans Shocked Audiences
Frozen seems like a typical Disney Princess story at first, but everything changes when the handsome Prince Hans is revealed to be the real villain. Theaters of people gasped upon realizing that the person they thought was Anna’s true love was hiding a sinister plot.
Hans’s reveal was shocking in the best way. Although it was a big misdirect on Disney’s part, the genuine surprise fans felt made up for any narrative deceptions. Hans was a calculating and cold villain perfect for a movie like Frozen.
Toy Story 3's Lots-O’-Huggin' Bear Needed A Hug
Lots-O’-Huggin' Bear appears to be a cordial leader among the toys of Sunnyside Day Care in Toy Story 3. He is so convincing that Andy’s toys decide to stay there, despite Woody telling them that there was a mistake. Unfortunately, Andy’s toys would soon learn that there were more unsavory parts to Sunnside and Lotso than they had initially thought.
Since being forgotten by his kid years ago, Lotso has become mean and vindictive. He treats everyone with disdain and actively punishes new toys at the Daycare. Lotso’s complete emotional switch becomes a great twist as the toys realize that the grass is not greener at Sunnyside.
Up's Charles F. Muntz Was Consumed By His Neverending Hunt
A disgraced explorer, Charles F. Muntz turned his genuine curiosity and hunger for adventure into a vicious, insatiable hunt that ultimately led to his demise. Carl and his late wife Ellie saw Muntz as an inspirational figure who inspired travel and exploration. Unfortunately, Muntz's bittersweet meeting with Carl is precisely why the adage "never meet your heroes" was coined.
As a twist villain in the Pixar film, Up, Muntz is not completely unexpected or shocking. Yet, the way he acts as Carl's foil and demonstrates how dreams can be easily corrupted makes him an incredibly compelling antagonist. Muntz never gets what he wants and it is his ambition that ruined him in the end.
Monsters Inc's Mr. Waternoose Was Desperate To Save His Company
There is nothing worse than having a beloved mentor turn on you, and Monsters Inc's Sulley knows this better than anyone. Mr. Waternoose, CEO of the titular Monsters, Inc. and Sulley and Mike's boss, seems fatherly at first, always praising Sulley for his work and interacting kindly with his employees.
Waternoose's eventual reveal as obvious heel Randall's partner-in-crime was shocking, not just because it went against his demeanor, but because it made so much sense. His company was failing and it powered his world. It was only natural that Mr. Waternoose's desperation drove him to take extreme measures.
Wreck-It Ralph's King Candy/Turbo Had A Double Twist
Disney cleverly pulled a double twist with King Candy. He was the obvious villain from the start, as it was easy to see that he knew something about the origins of Vanellope's mysterious glitching, but his reveal as Turbo, the main character of the forgotten TurboTime arcade game, cemented him as one of Disney's best twist villains.
Turbo's usurpation of Vanellope's throne and the entire Sugar Rush game was more than just simple revenge, it was a way to get back the power he lost when TurboTime was unplugged and retired. Though successful for many years, Turbo's worst fear was finally realized when he was erased from the game at the end of Wreck-It Ralph.
Lightyear's Zurg Wasn't What Anyone Expected
Pixar's latest film, Lightyear, has received mixed reviews but by leaning into the sci-fi backstory of Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear. It also managed to deliver some genuine surprises. With a story about an astronaut slowing drifting out of touch with his home time, one of the big questions is how Buzz's established nemesis, Zurg, would fit into the story.
The answer was far stranger than what anyone expected. Zurg turned out to be an older, crueler version of Buzz from an alternate timeline. The most interesting thing about this twist is how it hails back to the noncanonical animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Way back in 2000, the series revealed that Buzz's worst nemesis was actually a comic evil opposite named Evil Buzz Lightyear, perfectly foreshadowing Zurg's identity long before even the creators suspected the truth.
Toy Story 2's Stinky Pete Set The Stage For Other Twist Villains
While the money-hungry toy collector Al is Toy Story 2's main antagonist, no one could have imagined that there was another evil waiting for the right moment to strike. Stinky Pete, a valuable collectible toy, was amiable and welcoming until Woody and his friends defied his plans.
Stinky Pete might not have been the first Disney twist villain, but his influence as a friend-turned-foe character is easy to see in the many others that followed. Pixar, in particular, seems to like introducing the villains as mentors for the main characters before exposing their true selves as the films wrap up. Perhaps this is why Disney's fans have become so good at figuring them out.
Coco's Ernesto de la Cruz Committed A Crime For Fame
Viewers initially hold the deceased Ernesto de la Cruz in high regard at the beginning of Coco. Seeing how much Miguel Rivera looks up to him helps audiences to see Ernesto similarly. They are also just as excited as Miguel to learn that he might be related to Ernesto.
However, in the final act of the film, Miguel and viewers discover that not only was Ernesto not Miguel’s relative but also that he murdered Miguel’s actual great-great-grandfather. It was a surprisingly dark twist for a Disney movie, but one that audiences appreciated for its shock value.