Best animated Disney villain?

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by recS-12

That wicked looking man-beast thingy from the original Fantasia. Don't know what it's called. Looked like "Darkness" from Legend

That thingy is the Ukranian/Slavic God "Chernobog" or "Chernabog" (depends on what Slavs, Ukranians, or long deceased Disney animators you want to talk to).

Is he a great villain? No. All he does is put on a show. The light of dawn and the sound of a church bell drive him back into the darkness. He doesn't HURT anyone.

I think it is obvious that the best Disney villain would the one who caused the most palpable pain to the protagonists. Well, that has to be "Man" in Bambi. His mother is shot. Bambi is shot. Many animals are shot. The entire forest burns down. In a deleted scene, he was killed Himself by his own fire.

The Queen in Snow White is a murderer, she has to clock in at number 2.

Number 3? Mickey Mouse. Oh, yeah - Mickey Mouse in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". The short today is a disquieting parable of man in the nuclear and genetic age, racing to play with knowledge without comprehending the impact. Mickey becomes his own worst enemy and needs "God" to eventualy save him from himself.

At four, I'd go with Lady Tremaine in Cinderella, a model of calm, sustained cruelty.

At five, I'd list the community of matriach elephants in Dumbo, who vocally wound and hurt a baby elephant because of a deformity.

From there, you get a collage of villains...Maleficent looks fearsome, but she is eventually defeated in a few minutes by three fairies and a guy who can't string three sentences together. Does she actually hurt anyone? Well, yes, she causes parents to give their child up for adoption. Cruella de Ville must warrant a slot on similar grounds, as she is visually striking, separates children from their parents - she probably warrants a slot over Maleficent as she hurts damn near everybody.

But...then we get to Medusa in the little regarded Rescuers.

"Adopted? Who would ever want to adopt a homely girl like you?"

Ouch.

Medusa is, essentially, a clown. Beautifully animated. But she's a clown. With a tongue laced with daggers.

Look, I know this is out there, but Medusa is a devastating villain from the viewpoint of Penny, and from the viewpoint of the audience. The film has no sense of itself, sequence to sequence, which personified so much of Disney animation post 1959. People forget that at one point, The Rescers was an animated smash. You watch it today, it almost disquieting how ... well ... ignorant and vicious and sadistic and maniacal she is. And yet she has dropped off the radar as a Disney villain. But Medusa is a devastating villain - she doesn't hurt Penny physically. She devastates Penny by reinforcing Penny's insecurities.

"Adopted? Who would ever want to adopt a homely girl like you?"

That is one of the most powerful moments in Dinsey animation. Far more so than many things that came after (not all, calm down).

Those are my immediate choices -- next on the list would be Frollo (perhaps Medusa's twin brother), and from there, my goodness - we can talk about this for days. Those are just my first snap responses to the question.