Top 20 FUN FACTS You Didn't Know About Disney Villains

“Alice Comedies” (1925)
Strange, but true. First introduced as Bootleg Pete in “Alice Solves the Puzzle,” Pete was first drawn as an anthropomorphic peg-legged bear before his final design as a cat. He also became the antagonist of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. When Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 to replace Oswald, he inherited Pete as his arch-nemesis as well. Pete became responsible for stealing away Minnie Mouse among other shenanigans. Pete proved to be the most versatile of all the Disney villains, however, with much more sympathetic iterations of the character. The more you know.

“Wreck-It Ralph” (2012)
This seemingly benevolent ruler of “Sugar Rush” turned out to be a much darker character in this 2012 film. But did you know the character’s physical quirks are based on the Mad Hatter from Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland”? In fact, the design of the character went through many iterations, with the first designs being based on real-life figures like Elvis Presley and even Joe Biden. Eventually, Ed Wynn’s performance as the Mad Hatter from “Alice in Wonderland” proved to be the basis of the final design. Fittingly enough, King Candy’s initial comic persona is revealed to have been a mask for the film’s true villain, revealing the madness underneath.

“Mulan” (1998)
One of Disney’s darkest villains, this ruthless Hun leader has perhaps the largest kill count of all the Disney villains. His brutality is reflected in his thickly muscled design. In particular, his eyes were meant to mirror his hawk. This stylistic chime goes beyond just symbolism. There is even a deleted scene where Shan-Yu magically sees through his hawk’s eyes. Though this was dropped, the idea was retained visually. Shan-Yu’s relative uniqueness as a Disney villain even extends to his death, which subverts the “falling” cliché of previous antagonists. Either way, this quirk makes Shan-Yu’s design even more memorable.

“One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961)
Animation is well-known for being a massive group effort, with separate artists working on the design and the animation. So it’s impressive when only one person is involved in the animation of a character. Animator Marc Davis was solely responsible for the fashion-obsessed villain of this Disney film. He was inspired by actress Bette Davis for his realization of Cruella de Vil, with Mary Wickes as the model. Marc Davis was also responsible for many other animations. A famous animation he did, and the most beloved by Disney himself, was Cinderella’s transformation. His penchant for animating female characters even earned him the nickname “ladies’ man.” What a talent.

“Aladdin” (1992)
We could have had Captain Picard as a Disney villain. Alas, it was not to be, although we wouldn’t trade Jonathan Freeman for anything. Based on the villain in “The Thief of Baghdad,” Jafar was initially offered to Patrick Stewart, but due to scheduling conflicts, he had to decline it. Stewart went on to express regret for turning down the role, amongst various other Disney roles, as Jafar became one of Disney’s most beloved villains. Jonathan Freeman eventually came to voice the role, an iconic performance on all accounts. Still, we mourn for what could have been.

“The Little Mermaid” (1989)
Though in the original animated film Ursula is seemingly a rogue sea witch, this nautical baddie was originally imagined as having some familial connections to our protagonist! And in further adaptations of the story, that vision was ultimately realized. In both the Broadway musical and the 2023 live-action film, Ursula is actually King Triton’s younger sister, which would– naturally– make her Ariel’s aunt. This added layer to their relationship certainly makes her villainy all the more, well, villainous, but also adds nuance to her wicked motivations in usurping Triton’s throne.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)
Voice acting has indeed its quirks. Lucille La Verne was cast to voice the Evil Queen of Disney’s first animated feature-length film. When the Evil Queen magically disguises herself as a crone to kill Snow White via poisoned apple, La Verne was also called to do the voice for the witch. Disney and the animators, however, were unsatisfied with her performance, feeling her voice was not quite rough enough. La Verne excused herself and returned to deliver the cackling voice we know today. How did she do it? She simply removed her dentures. Thank goodness for false teeth.

“The Lion King” (1994)
This is no less than Disney legend. Among all the lauded English actors that were considered for the role, including Alan Rickman and Patrick Stewart, Jeremy Irons was cast as the voice for the villainous Scar. Although initially reluctant, Irons had a profound influence in the direction of the character. Trouble struck, however, when Irons’ voice gave out halfway through recording “Be Prepared.” Jim Cummings, who voiced the hyena Ed, was called to replace Irons’ voice from “So be prepared for the coup of the century” on. It is a voice performance so seamless most people do not even notice the difference. Now that’s Disney magic.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)
Is there any phrase from Disney more instantly memorable than “Mirror, mirror, on the wall”? Except that isn’t the actual phrase. That’s right—we’ve all fallen prey to the Mandela Effect. In Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the Evil Queen distinctly addresses the magic mirror as simply that: “Magic mirror on the wall.” Strange, but true. How did we get “Mirror, mirror”? It turns out that the original fairy tale used “Mirror, mirror,” which no doubt proved to be the stickiest phrase of the two. Also, the power of doubling a word is great indeed.

Various
Color theory is very important when it comes to design and animation, for obvious reasons. In the case of Disney, we have seen red, purple, and black be closely associated with villainy, the most obvious being “Aladdin”’s Jafar. But a little known color also associated with villainy…is green. Usually symbolizing life and wealth, green can also symbolize envy and jealousy, common traits of villainy. The particular sickly shade associated with Scar and Maleficent is reminiscent of poison and toxicity. Sometimes you get all four—red, purple, black, and green. This happened with the design of the slinky Dr. Facilier from “The Princess and the Frog.” Disney villainy always has such a colorful flair.

“The Lion King” (1994)
The villain in “The Lion King” is known simply as “Scar” in the film and he has a laceration on his face to match the moniker. But have you ever wondered what his real name is? Surely his parents didn’t name him Scar? It turns out, his birth name isn’t all that much better. He was called Taka, coming from the Swahili word for “waste,” meaning his mom and dad probably didn’t have very high hopes for him. Though it appears to actually be false, it’s been widely circulated that Mufasa means “king” in a language called Manazoto. Whether or not that’s true, we can still understand the sibling rivalry. The origin of Scar’s name was actually revealed in “The Lion King” book, “A Tale of Two Brothers.”

“Hercules” (1997)
If you know anything about Greek mythology, you may have been surprised when you saw “Hercules” for the first time. That’s because most people wouldn’t have imagined the god of the underworld to be a fast talking used car salesman type. But that’s just what James Woods’ portrayal ended up being! When Woods came in to audition, he allegedly surprised the filmmakers with his interpretation of the character and they went on to craft his lines and dialogue to match the style that Woods had created.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993)
More than a decade before “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was released, Tim Burton was working at Walt Disney Feature Animation as an animator and in his spare time wrote a poem that told Jack Skellington’s story. Disney considered adapting the poem for the screen at the time, but it wouldn’t actually happen until many years later. And if you read over the initial work, you’ll notice that the main antagonist of the film, Oogie Boogie, doesn’t make an appearance! He was only created later, specifically for the movie.

“One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961)
Disney has written a lot of great villains over the years, but many would argue that this one is their very best creation. Cruella De Vil has been frightening children since her debut in “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” in 1961. But did you know that there was once a possibility that she would be the baddie in another animated Disney flick? Some sketches from the 1970s show that filmmakers once debated having Miss De Vil be the antagonist in “The Rescuers!” Admittedly, Madame Medusa isn’t nearly as compelling, so this could have been a really great idea. On the other hand, you could also argue that having a different villain helped distinguish the film.

“Peter Pan” (1953)
Most people know that before “Peter Pan” was a beloved Disney animated classic, it was a novel by J.M. Barrie, but it’s a lesser known fact that Peter’s story was originally written as a play. “Peter and Wendy” premiered on stage in 1904, and in various productions, it became standard for Mr. Darling and Captain Hook to be played by the same actor. There’s definitely some interesting psychologizing to be done on that decision! Keeping with tradition, Disney had the same actor, Hans Conried, voice both parts. And did you know that Captain Hook is meant to be a sympathetic character? That’s why he survives at the end of the story!

Various
If you were to list the Top 10 Disney villains of all time (which we’ve done of course), three of the entries would undoubtedly be Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast,” Jafar from “Aladdin,” and Scar from “The Lion King.” What do these three have in common? Well, it turns out the supervising animator for all three was Andreas Deja. He played a huge role in crafting the characters we know and love to hate today. He was also originally the supervising animator for Yzma back when “The Emperor’s New Groove” was known as “Kingdom of the Sun,” but once the film got its infamous overhaul, Dale Baer took over.

“Tangled” (2010)
If you’ve seen enough Disney animated movies, you know they can be a tad formulaic, especially when it comes to how their villains are disposed of. Of course, showing any sort of graphic death scene would be too disturbing for little kids, but they have to go, so what’s the solution? Have them fall off something really, really tall it seems! This happens in countless Disney films, but in “Tangled,” the villain perishes in a fashion that is both routine and wholly unique. She ages at fast-forward speed all in the span of a few seconds. But to make sure audiences understood her fate, she also falls off something really, really tall.

“Sleeping Beauty” (1959)
Eleanor Audley is best known for voicing two of Disney’s most delightfully evil characters: Lady Tremaine (aka Cinderella’s evil stepmother) and Maleficent. But she didn’t simply lend her voice; she was also the live-action model that inspired the characters’ facial expressions and designs. But because of a case of tuberculosis, Audley initially turned down her role in “Sleeping Beauty.” She was worried that she was too ill to perform, but in the end it all worked out and Disney villain history was made. Watching this performance today is still spine-chilling!

“Beauty and the Beast” (1991)
Okay, this one might actually blow your mind. Even the most hardcore Disney fans may not be aware that there were several versions of the script of 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” before the final iteration was decided upon. In an earlier version, the major villain was actually Belle’s aunt - Marguerite. Not only that, but Belle had older sisters! The dastardly Gaston was more of a co-antagonist who didn’t get nearly as much screen time. Also, even the final script underwent some changes after production was completed. Gaston was originally meant to say “Time to die,” but the creators felt it was too aggressive and dubbed it with “Belle is mine!”

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)
You may think that Disney movies are all about good guys and happily ever afters. In many cases, however, it’s the villain who ends up stealing the show. As a matter of fact, if you go all the way back in the Disney catalogue, you’ll find that the first line spoken in any full-length Disney animated film was by a villain! 1937’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” opens with the Evil Queen - who (fun fact) has a real name, Queen Grimhilde - addressing her magic mirror. Kind of a dark way to start the very first Disney movie!

Which other behind-the-scenes facts do you know about Disney villains? Let us know in the comments down below!