Is there any Disney character more beloved than the Disney princess? Actually, yes! Some of the most dynamic Disney characters are villains. Here are 10 of our favorites, along with the voice actors who made them delightfully bad.
1. The Evil Queen from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937), voiced by Lucille La Verne
You can’t make a top Disney villains list without giving a nod to the original. Though older Disney films have a reputation for being more surface level than their more recent entries, La Verne’s performance in “Snow White” is anything but. She plays the evil queen with a cold, even-keeled delivery that’s only accentuated by her gorgeous, textbook transatlantic accent. However, generations of audiences may be surprised to learn that La Verne also supplied the voice for the queen once she’s in her old-hag form, speaking in a gravelly and unrecognizably harsh tone. She apparently did so by taking out her false teeth.
2. Captain Hook from “Peter Pan” (1953), voiced by Hans Conried
Conried’s take on Captain Hook feels theatrical, almost Shakespearean, oscillating between a sing-song cadence and sudden outbursts of rage. While a pirate going after a group of kids has the potential to be real nightmare fuel, Conried’s performance is so delightfully over-the-top that it keeps him from becoming too scary for kids. It’s worth mentioning that Conried also plays Mr. Darling at the beginning of the film, keeping the tradition of the two roles being played by the same actor, as was true in various stage adaptations of “Peter Pan.”
3. Cruella De Vil from “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961), voiced by Betty Lou Gerson
“One Hundred and One Dalmatians” introduced the world to Cruella de Vil, a chain-smoking, fur-obsessed madwoman who wants to kidnap a bunch of Dalmatian puppies and turn them into a coat. (Kids’ movies used to be crazy!) Gerson’s performance is fantastic, with a delivery that evokes some of the great women of classic Hollywood: Cruella has definite shades of Bette Davis, and Gerson herself said people asked if she was trying to imitate Tallulah Bankhead. She gives Cruella a larger-than-life delivery accentuated by an overly posh British accent, making her as iconic as she is terrifying. Evil? Yes. Legendary diva? Also yes.
4. Shere Khan in “The Jungle Book” (1967), voiced by George Sanders
Though Mowgli faces many obstacles over the course of “The Jungle Book,” his main foe comes in the form of Shere Khan, a human-hunting tiger. Much like Conried’s Captain Hook, there’s something very Shakespearean about Sanders’ take on Shere Khan—but with none of the goofiness to cut it. His slow, measured, rumbling tone helps to portray the jungle predator as someone who’s undeniably in charge. Sanders’ timbre is so rich that legendary baritone Thurl Ravenscroft was chosen to supply Shere Khan’s singing voice.
5. Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” (1989), voiced by Pat Carroll
Carroll’s performance as Ursula is among the Disney canon’s best. Her uniquely deep voice and crisp diction have become synonymous with the role, creating a villain with a flair for the dramatic while still being completely unsettling. But Carroll can’t take all the credit for Ursula’s signature style. Legendary lyricist Howard Ashman created demo tapes to help the actors understand the songs’ phrasing, emotion, and character. Carroll admitted to stealing several of Ashman’s ad-libs, and it’s fascinating how many of Ashman’s choices make it into Carroll’s final performance. (Check out his take on the lyric “True? Yes.” at :29.)
6. Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), voiced by Richard White
Disney certainly knew what it was doing when it cast White as the vain, self-obsessed Gaston. Though Gaston is shallow, White’s performance is layered. Notice how he adds a certain trumpeting tone when Gaston is speaking publicly that is mostly absent in more private moments. What makes White’s performatively masculine take on Gaston so successful is that it leads the audience to assume his self-centeredness (while annoying) might make him more ridiculous than dangerous. This makes Gaston’s murderous turn more shocking—and his ultimate demise all the more satisfying.
7. Scar from “The Lion King” (1994), voiced by Jeremy Irons
This is probably the only list on the internet to feature not one but two evil, scheming big cats. Go figure! In the case of “The Lion King,” we have Scar, the outcast brother of King Mufasa. Irons’ Scar is dramatic and brooding, slowly crooning out his lines with villainous grandeur and a crisp British accent. What makes Irons’ performance (and, in some respects, his casting) so brilliant is the way it differs so starkly from Mufasa (the equally fantastic James Earl Jones), who speaks in a booming, straightforward, regal manner. The difference between the vocal stylings of the two only serves to highlight the distance between the brothers.
8. Doctor Facilier from “The Princess and the Frog” (2009), voiced by Keith David
The lanky Doctor Facilier is animated in a sort of gangly, erratic way—but if you close your eyes, that’s not quite what David is doing vocally. While Facilier swaps between calm and rage, he’s always smooth-talking and measured, often ending his phrases in a smoky grumble. If you watch this scene with your eyes closed, you might picture something different from the wild, swinging gestures the animators chose to give Facilier, but the combination of the two very different approaches is part of what makes the character so menacing.
9. Mother Gothel from “Tangled” (2010), voiced by Donna Murphy
Murphy’s performance has the dramatic flair required for a villain, but there’s also something distinctly maternal about it. She brings a level of sincerity to the role that almost makes you wonder if she has a point every time she lectures Rapunzel about the dangers of the outside world…until you remember that she’s the one who put her in the tower in the first place. Watch the scene seen here without context and it could easily be any mother distraught over a missing daughter. This one just happens to need her daughter back in order to maintain her youth.
10. Hans from “Frozen” (2013), voiced by Santino Fontana
Hans has the unique distinction of being a bait-and-switch villain, with the audience in the dark about his villainy until the film’s final act. Smartly, Fontana does nothing to telegraph that this switch-up is coming in his performance, giving Hans all the hallmarks of a kind, caring, cookie-cutter Disney prince right up until the last second, when he turns on Anna. While Hans is still as suave as ever after he outs himself as nothing but a power-hungry liar, it takes on a menacing undercurrent when you realize all that charm is just a facade for a guy who would gladly let someone literally freeze to death.
Ready to voice the next iconic Disney villain? Check out our guide to cartoon voice acting and audition call board today!
