When people think of Disney villains, they think of the iconic animated lineup. This is understandable since baddies like Scar, Hades, Maleficent, and Captain Hook are among the greatest antagonists in cinema history. However, they're only a small piece of a bigger picture.
The House of Mouse has a much larger catalog of live-action films, all of which suffer from their own foes. While these generally aren't as colorful as their cartoon counterparts, their villainy is no less apparent. It's high time some of these bad apples got their own time to shine in the Hall of Infamy.
10 Shere Khan - The Jungle Book (1994)
As a live-action work inspired by Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, this underappreciated adventure film makes the curious choice to omit the talking animals. Familiar figures like Baloo and Bagheera are still prominent; they simply don't speak English, Hindi, or any other language. The fact that you still feel the malevolence of the villainous Shere Khan is a credit to both the direction and the well-trained tiger at the center.
Throughout the movie, this sadistic kitty hunts down humans like a slasher villain. His victims often hear him long before they see him. The tension slowly builds to leave them absolutely terrified. Only then does he show himself and deliver the killing blow. Rarely has this iconic tiger been a more tangible threat.
9 Cutler Beckett - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest & At World's End
This understated Englishman prides progress above all. He's, therefore, determined to bring that progress to the untamed Caribbean, crushing pirates and anyone else in his way. That would be effective enough.
What truly strikes you about Beckett is his utter lack of remorse or emotion of any kind. To him, it's all part of the process: adapt or die. That cold indifference makes him a chilling presence. He's not as showy as many other scallywags in this series, but he's much more effective.
8 Cruella Di Vil - 101 Dalmatians (1996)
It's always risky to translate cartoons to live-action, as each medium plays by its own set of rules. That said, Glenn Close brilliantly emulates this animated villainess in the 101 Dalmatians remake. It's as if Cruella leaped right off the drawing.
With that comes everything that made the original version so wickedly entertaining. She wears the flamboyant wardrobe like a glove; she exudes the aristocratic arrogance as if she was born to it. Above all, you feel Cruella's insatiable greed for furs and utter disdain for uppity puppies. That alone is worthy of the highest contempt.
7 Master Control Program - TRON
The antagonist of TRON is what you'd expect from a computer program. He values efficiency and nothing else, willing to derezz people and even other programs without a second thought. That's intimidating, but not inherently evil.
What pushes the MCP over the edge is the corporate greed and elitism at his core. He's the weapon of ENCOM, specifically the shady CEO, and he's tinged with that same lust for power. It partially informs MCP's hatred of humans, who have no task and are therefore imperfect and inferior. That makes this virtual tyrant all the more despicable.
6 Blackbeard - Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Casting Ian McShane as Blackbeard should be an R-rated recipe for success. While the Disney censors prevented him from going as far as he could, he's still an imposing figure. Managing this feat among the zombies and "fish people" of this franchise is no easy task.
Blackbeard's memorability comes from his brutality. The villain enjoys the ugliness of piracy, showcased when he burns a guy alive and revels in the sight. Nothing is sacred to him. If that wasn't already clear, he eventually tries to sacrifice his daughter for his own survival. Pirates of the Caribbean has seen its fair share of colorful bad guys, but none of them took pleasure in their evil actions like Blackbeard.
5 Cardinal Richelieu - The Three Musketeers (1993)
Disney's 1993 version of the classic swashbuckling tale is a very cheesy movie. That's somewhat appropriate for The Three Musketeers. Unfortunately, some actors here are more comfortable with that tone than others.
That's not the case with Tim Curry. Half his career is made of camp characters, so he knows how to wield that style. His Cardinal Richelieu is deliciously malicious, equipped with calculating sneers and occasional ham. He loves double-crossing people and laughs at ideas like loyalty and honor. That's certainly a warped perspective, but it's endlessly fun to watch. The fact that he's a man of God is just the cherry on top. It's hard to imagine a more comical contrast.
4 Gaston - Beauty And The Beast (2017)
The cocky baddie of the Beauty and the Beast remake mirrors the animated version in many respects, but a key difference separates them. Namely, the live-action Gaston is more devious. He tries to feign interest and sincerity to get close to Belle and her father. Once the latter discovers his treachery, the scoundrel leaves him out in the woods. Gaston doesn't treat his friends much better, though.
His sidekick, LeFou, clearly harbors immense loyalty and affection for his boss. Not only does Gaston spit on this, but he exploits it to make the poor guy do his bidding. Playing with people's emotions is always a dastardly move, especially in a tale about love.
3 Andrei Strasser - Mighty Joe Young (1998)
It's easy to dislike a poacher, especially when your movie's main attraction is a giant gorilla, but Strasser takes the trade further. The film reveals that he offers to house endangered animals in his preserve only to kill and/or sell them to the highest bidder. When he looks at wildlife, he only sees profit.
Once Strasser spots Joe, however, it becomes personal. He previously shot and killed the ape's mother, and Joe bit two of his fingers off in retaliation. Because of that, his pursuit of the gorilla stems from not just greed, but vengeance. This means he's willing to wipe out any meddling conservationists in his way. That'll teach them to protect endangered species!
2 The White Witch - The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe
Evil sorcerers are standard for fantasy settings, and the resident witch for The Chronicles of Narnia is Jadis the White Witch. She spends years exerting her power and influence over the land, and her methodology is exactly what one would expect. Not only does she keep the place in perpetual winter, but she freezes her enemies and positions them as statues/trophies in her palace.
Arguably more detestable is how Jadis plays on people's weaknesses. Manipulating Edmund against his siblings is child's play, but she later blackmails revered leader Aslan into sacrificing himself. True, the heroes vanquish her in the end. Centuries later, though, the denizens of Narnia still remember the terror she inflicted. It takes a powerful malevolence to leave that lasting impact.
1 The Gogan Family - Pete's Dragon (1977)
The guys aren't the brightest bulbs in the box, so their villainy comes down to their intentions. Throughout Pete's Dragon, they relentlessly chase the titular kid. He's technically their adopted son, but they really want him as their glorified slave, performing chores they're too lazy to do themselves. More than that, they want to try out various methods of torture on him for their own amusement. Yep, they can't think of anything better to do with their time and energy.
Granted, they can't comprehend much at all, but the point still stands. This family's singular goal is to inflict misery on a child. That hateful aim speaks for itself.
