Disney movies have always been full of fun moments for the family, wrapped around love stories and tales of adventure, but there are occasionally dark twists involving Disney villains and their motives.
It can be argued that every movie needs a villain in some regard, but there are those that take the role to new heights. The villains that are driven by selfish and personal emotions such as greed, envy, and lust make for some of the most terrifying bad guys seen in animated films.
10 Turbo Was Completely Consumed By Envy & Ultimately Forced Ralph To Watch His Friend's Impending Doom
Taking place inside of an arcade and bringing the universe of retro gaming to life, Wreck-It Ralph is a fun journey through the world of nostalgia, but does carry with it some deep connotations of belonging and envy. Turbo is referred to essentially as a historical figure within the arcade, with the term "going Turbo" being used to suggest leaving and taking over another game.
Turbo left his own game to take over RoadBlasters when it began to steal the spotlight away from him, which caused both games to be terminated. It is later revealed that he subsequently took over another game, Sugar Rush, disguising himself as King Candy, deleting the rightful ruler's (Vanellope's) code, making her a glitch, and erasing everyone's memories. When he is later exposed and it is revealed that as a glitch, Vanellope cannot leave the game despite the impending destruction of Sugar Rush, Turbo forces Ralph to watch on as his friend is about to be killed by a swarm of Cy-Bugs.
9 Cruella De Vil's Whole Plan To Catch, Kill, & Skin The Dalmatian Puppies Was Horrifying In Itself
101 Dalmatians is a gripping tale all about family sticking together in the face of adversity. Pongo and Perdita have to ensure the safety of all their puppies while evading the horrifying Cruella De Vil, whose goal is to skin 99 Dalmatian puppies with the purpose of making a spotted fur coat.
Her efforts are ultimately in vain, but the chase and the tension, occasionally lifted by her henchmen, Jasper and Horace's incompetence, make for an enthralling movie. The plan in itself was a step too far from Cruella, but her succeeding would have been too much and too dark.
8 Doctor Facilier Ruthlessly Stepped On & Killed Ray
The Princess And The Frog's main antagonist, Doctor Facilier, is arguably one of Disney's most underrated villains in terms of how evil he really was. His schemes and voodoo shenanigans were creepy enough, but he was responsible for the death of one of the movie's favorite characters, Ray the firefly.
Facilier cornered and stepped on the little firefly in his pursuit of Tiana and the stolen charm that Ray had recovered. The merciless stepping-on of Ray was ultimately enough to end the firefly's life, although it did allow him to light up the sky with his love, Evangeline.
7 Ursula's Quest For Revenge Saw Her Steal Ariel's Voice
Formerly a member of the royal palace of King Triton, Ursula was banished and the events of The Little Mermaid see her resent her treatment and subsequent living conditions, causing her to hatch a plan of revenge.
Ursula's horrifying character design matches her diabolical nature perfectly. Ursula scams Ariel into making a deal with her, which unbeknownst to Ariel is Ursula taking a step to claiming the kingdom for herself. She rips out Ariel's voice and sabotages her at every turn, even taking a human form, under the name Vanessa, in order to try and drive a wedge between Ariel and her love, Eric.
6 Hades Manipulated & Used Hercules' Love For Meg To Launch An Assault On Mount Olympus
Hades is known as the funny yet evil villain of Hercules with a hot and fiery temper, staying true to his character as God of the Underworld. He may be one of the most popular Disney antagonists, mostly thanks to James Woods' delivery, but it doesn't change the fact that he committed some atrocities.
Hades gains leverage over Hercules when the latter falls in love with Meg, who happens to essentially be a slave to the God of the Underworld. This allows him to attack Mount Olympus with no resistance from Hercules, due to the assurance of Meg's safety, with him unleashing the Titans.
5 Mother Gothel's Obsession With Rapunzel's Power Drove Her To Stab Flynn Rider
Mother Gothel is the villain of Tangled, the story of Rapunzel. Gothel kidnaps Rapunzel at a young age and poses as her mother, keeping the young girl locked away in a tower, away from society. Mother Gothel is actually very old, but due to healing magic, siphoned from Rapunzel's magic hair, she has been able to maintain a youthful look.
Her obsession with using Rapunzel to satisfy her own needs while depriving her of a life, causes her to go berserk when the dashing Flynn Rider, or Eugene, attempts to rescue her. Gothel subsequently stabs him, but ultimately meets her demise as Eugene cuts off Gothel's supply of the magic healing, literally.
4 Maleficent's Rage At Being Unwelcome Caused Her To Curse A Child
In the original Disney Sleeping Beauty animation, Maleficent places a curse on Aurora, essentially because she was not invited to the girl's christening, fating her to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. When Maleficent is forced to retreat, the good fairies are able to weaken the curse, meaning that Aurora would only fall into a deep sleep instead.
Upon Maleficent's return, she is able to tempt Aurora into touching the spinning wheel, activating the curse, and she falls into a deep sleep. The pettiness behind Maleficent's rage is somewhat terrifying and is only a sneak preview of what she is capable of.
3 The Evil Queen's Vanity & Jealousy Caused Her To Poison & Almost Kill Her Stepdaughter
In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Evil Queen becomes consumed by her own vanity and jealousy over her stepdaughter. Due to her jealousy over Snow White's beauty and the Prince's affections for her, the Queen commences a diabolical plan to kill Snow White.
Firstly, she employs a Huntsman to kill Snow White and retrieve her heart, but after the Huntsman refuses and attempts to trick the Queen, she is forced to take matters into her own hands. She transforms into a Witch and proceeds to poison Snow White with an apple, forcing her into a "Sleeping Death."
2 Frollo Murdered Quasimodo's Mother & Was Driven Forward By An Alarming Level Of Lust For Esmerelda
Claude Frollo, in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, is an example of how dangerous a character can be when they are acting viciously while claiming that they are enacting the will of God. His acts were so dastardly that they saw him mercilessly kill Quasimodo's mother.
He also developed an unhealthy obsession with Esmerelda and believed that if he couldn't have her, then he would have to kill her. He ultimately failed, but the thought process that led him to that conclusion was somewhat terrifying.
1 Scar Killed His Own Brother & Convinced His Nephew That He Was To Blame
When listing everything that Scar did in The Lion King, it is immediately apparent that jealousy over his brother Mufasa corrupted him and nudged him to the dark side. Not only did he pretend to like his nephew Simba, but he would kill Simba's father and his own brother, Mufasa, before convincing Simba that he himself was to blame, encouraging him to flee.
Scar's actions were deplorable, and although his quest for power was indulged briefly, he ultimately got what was coming when Simba returned, the lionesses turned on him and so did the hyenas. Scar killing Mufasa was a horrible act in itself, even if it did speed up the process of Simba fulfilling his destiny.