The Ridiculous Motives Of Disney Villains!

[Neal]

The motives of Disney's villains are all rather superficial. There's no complexity to their evil, just shallow desires.

When you see someone prettier, do you want to kill them? Or when something doesn't go your way, does that mean you go off and torture innocent people?

I guess it does for these villains.

I love Disney's animated classics, but the motives of the villains are shallow and ridiculous!

This is mostly a joke topic, by the way!

Queen Grimhilde, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

"There is a girl who is prettier than me! She must die!"

The Hunter, Bambi:

"I love the taste of venison! I must kill that deer!"

Brom Bones, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad:

"This man is my only competition for the girl of my dreams! I must run him out of town!"

Lady Tremaine, Cinderella:

"My step-daughter is prettier than my own daughters! She must never be allowed a moment to shine!"

The Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland

"I always have to be right. Anyone who disagrees with me must die!"

Captain Hook, Peter Pan

"That wippersnapper is in my front yard again! I'll kill him - that'll teach him!"

Maleficent , Sleeping Beauty

"You didn't invite me to your party! I'm going to kill your daughter, now!"

Cruella De Vil, One Hundred and One Dalmatians

"I want a new fur coat. All your puppies are belong to us."

...and so on.

[ajmrowland]

Well, Captain Hook and maybe Maleficent are the exception of the rule. Peter cut off Hook's hand. The others are amusingly exaggerated caricatures. Do you even realize how much sense some of these do make?

[singerguy04]

In my opinion the smaller the offense and the most extreme the consiquence only make the villains seem more evil.

It's scary to think that someone might want you dead for something you can't help or wasn't your fault to begin with. Above that, evil is a shallow thing to begin with. Many of the villains follow or are examples of the cardinal sins.

[SpringHeelJack]

I dunno, I can think of several people I've wanted dead for silly reasons. You don't see my seldom-mentioned ex-roommate Melvin around here anymore since he stole my pudding cup, do you?

[JDCB1986]

The motives of Disney's villains are all rather superficial. There's no complexity to their evil, just shallow desires.

When you see someone prettier, do you want to kill them? Or when something doesn't go your way, does that mean you go off and torture innocent people?

I guess it does for these villains.

I love Disney's animated classics, but the motives of the villains are shallow and ridiculous!

This is mostly a joke topic, by the way!

Queen Grimhilde, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

"There is a girl who is prettier than me! She must die!"

The Hunter, Bambi:

"I love the taste of venison! I must kill that deer!"

Brom Bones, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad:

"This man is my only competition for the girl of my dreams! I must run him out of town!"

Lady Tremaine, Cinderella:

"My step-daughter is prettier than my own daughters! She must never be allowed a moment to shine!"

The Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland

"I always have to be right. Anyone who disagrees with me must die!"

Captain Hook, Peter Pan

"That wippersnapper is in my front yard again! I'll kill him - that'll teach him!"

Maleficent , Sleeping Beauty

"You didn't invite me to your party! I'm going to kill your daughter, now!"

Cruella De Vil, One Hundred and One Dalmatians

"I want a new fur coat. All your puppies are belong to us."

...and so on.

Hitler
"There are people who are different than me. I'll have them killed."

"God"
"These people aren't doing what I say. I think I will kill them."

Henry VIII
"I don't want to be married to you anymore, I will blame you for something you didn't do and have you beheaded."

I mean, seriously... this post is ridiculous, you could come up with stupid sentences about their motives for just about anybody. Why does anybody do things or think the way they do ?

[pap64]

Not to mention some of these motives have happened in real life. Jealousy is an universal feeling. When you feel someone is about to take something away from you the feeling of anger and hatred can be very powerful. It can drive anyone to commit dangerous things. Its not ridiculous that someone can be so jealous that it will drive them to kill, even if they are generally good people.

As for Maleficent, I think she felt she wasn't getting any respect, especially being someone of intense evil power. She was mad with power.

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, yeah, they can be a bit ridiculus at times, but if someone doesn't want someone else dead, then why do we exist at all?

At least the villains in the modern films became a bit more realistic (if mostly less intimidating).

[BelleGirl]

But isn't exactly the superficialty and stupidity of the villains' motives the thing that makes them evil? They are motivated by selfishness, greed, hurt pride, jaleousy and lust for power. Has it not been said that evilness is banal?
When a person does have a deep motivated reason to hate someone (destroyed their lifes, killed their family) and wants to kill that person, we don't usually call him/her a villain, but a tragic figure, and we at least have a little pity and understanding (which is not the same thing as approving of all his/her actions)

About captain Hook: I thought his hand was eaten by the crocodile??

[blackcauldron85]

I don't think that this is a dumb topic at all! I was excited when I read the title!

You have Frollo, for example, who I think many would agree is one of the most complex villains. He wants Esmeralda for himself, but if he can't have her, then he wants her killed! It's so....twisted. (Had to insert a Jasmine reference, apparently!) It shows that Frollo doesn't care for Esmeralda...he just wants her for unpure reasons. Which is the contrast in him- he's supposed to be this holy guy, but yet he is very unpure. And him wanting to kill the gypsies and baby Quasimodo- a priest wanting to kill innocent people?

A lot of the villains are evil because they want what others have:
Alemeda Slim wants other people's land, Rourke wants the Atlantians' crystals (and the money they will bring), Yzma wants Kuzco's power, Ratcliffe wants the Native American's land, Scar wants Mufasa's (and then Simba's) title of King, Jafar wants the Sultan's title, Gaston wants Belle (I mean, she's not necessarily "what others have", but she's someone he wants that he can't have), Ursula wants Triton's power, Sykes wants money (from a lot of people, no doubt, but from Jenny's family), Ratigan wants a lot of things, I think, but he wants the Queen's power, the Horned King wants the cauldron (to take power away from everyone, essentially), Medusa wants jewels (that don't belong to her), Prince John wants his brother's title and everyone's money, Edgar wants the cats' inheritance, King Louie wants the secret to man's red fire, Kaa wants to eat Mowgli, Shere Khan wants to eat Mowgli, Cruella wants the dogs' fur, (as pap said) Maleficent wants everyone's respect (which obviously isn't tangible, but she still wants it!), (as ajmrowland said) Captain Hook wants revenge, the Queen of Hearts wants her way (which could be a little similar to Maleficient's coveting respect), Lady Tremaine wants...well, I think she's another complex villain. I think she wishes that her daughters were as pretty as (or prettier than) Cinderella, and I think she wants one of her daughters to marry the prince (that rightly belongs to Cinderella...I mean, one can think of it that way), so she can feel noble or something. Brom Bones wants Katrina,

The Hunter, Bambi:

"I love the taste of venison! I must kill that deer!"

That's not far-fetched; plenty of people hunt for food. People need to eat. But it's still sad (at least to me)...I eat meat, but I don't kill it! I never could;

Stromboli wants money (and wants it on account of Pinocchio's talents), Monstro wants to eat (which, hey, is legitimate! but still sad), and, of course, the Queen wants Snow White's prettiness, essentially (for her to not be around so she'll be fairest of them all).

And those are the majority of the villains right there.

[Neal]

Did no one read the fine print in my first post?

[BelleGirl]

Did no one read the fine print in my first post?

Well, at first it was too small to read. but now I can see it...

[Super Aurora]

Well I can understand this topic. What I think Neal pointing out is that most of the villains evil motives, although exist real life, they brought out in a very one dimensional viewpoint. There's no complexity (or very little of it) to the villain like someone like Frollo is.

I think this is why I like comic/superhero and some anime/manga villains. There, the show some three dimensional perspective outlook like Two-face or Mr. Freeze or Johan from Monster or Knives from Trigun Maximum or Enishi from Rurouni Kenshin.

I'm going to go through some of Disney movies and take look on them

Snow White's Queen- Ok she has jealousy that Snow White is prettier. But That all we know and thus it makes us as audience only think "oh I see so she the bad gal here" and that's it. There nothing more to here you want find out about.

Pinocchio's villains- What's interesting about these is none meet a defeat "by power of good!" and there are few not one main baddie. Only one I could talk about is the coachman, and though the motive is greed or hell he could be working for someone else for all we know) he truly make you fear him with "Never judge book by it's cover". I never considered the whale as a villain. He just an animal that needed food. Didn't talk or act like a sentient being.

Fantasia- Yes Chernabog but that was for show not a narrative story.

Dumbo-....Who was the villain in this movie? I hardly even remember...

Bambi- Oh please.

skipping Saldios Amigo, three Cabelleros, Make mine music,Fun fancy free, Toad and ichabod

Cinderella- Lady Tremaine is different than most Disney villain in her approach and motive but still the same: jealousy and it doesn't (By the disney movie not the original tale I assume) seem to give and sort of feeling that Cindy in trouble and meeting against a conflict enough that make Tramaine a fearful villain. I mean she didn't start the process until after Cindy's daddy died for she knew if she did during the father's still alive, she'd get her ass whooped. Still one bitch you wanna slap though lol

Peter Pan- Captain Hook is comedic to take seriously.

Alice in Wonderland- I'm unsure how evil she is or depth in the books but in here she just act like a big baby and I feel no sense of threat. Actually she makes you laugh more than she's terrifying.

Lady and the Tramp- the rat..... One scary rat i'll say but just a plot device with no development. Plus it was some hungry non sentient animal.

Sleeping Beauty- Malificant....She evil alright but I think she take the evil concept too literally. I mean "Disgrace to forces of evil"? I find that very cliche and stereotypical. When she cast the omen on Aurora that made for good plot development as she got your ass. But then over the 16 yrs she desperately wanted he tracked down her so she can kill her. This make note that her spell isn't that threaten to begin with or she has no faith in her spell, and why still go after her if the spell will only put her to sleep?
People always says she the most evil just because of her powers and the line she says, "I'll summon all the powers of Hell." I find that line a hyperbole.

damn I'm getting tired. I'll do part two soon.

[Neal]

While most of this was written tongue-in-cheek, it seems as if Disney's villains are one-dimensional. None of them every come to an epiphany, we never learn their back story to see why they are so evil, we never see beyond their jealousy or their desire.

A good example of a villain, in my opinion, who is multi-dimensional is Lordgenome from the anime "Gurren Lagann".

Basically, the plot of the anime is that in a distant future, all civilization is below ground. All cities are in giant underground caverns and no one goes to the surface. The surface is populated by beasts who control robots that kill humans.

All of this has been ordered by the powerful dictator Lordgenome.

At first, you'd think he was one-dimensional, as well. You'd think he's just a man who wants to 'keep the people down' by using his army of beasts to kill humans who dare come to the surface.

Over time, we learn he is not such a simple villain.

(MAJOR SPOILERS HERE FOR ANYONE WHO MAY WANT TO WATCH THIS AMAZING ANIME!)

Lordgenome was once a human who fought against an adversarial group who wanted to kill humans. This group believed humans were evolving too quickly and therefore must be killed. Lordgenome was one of their main opponents, he fought to save the humans he now oppresses.

We also learn he was a brilliant scientist and made many important discoveries in his time, including how to be immortal.

He won the battle, but there was an ultimatum by these anti-humans. If the population of the earth's surface reached 1 million, they'd return to obliterate the earth.

That is why he keeps the humans below ground. It would seem as if he is just oppressing them, just hates them and wants to keep them down, but he actually keeps them below ground to save their lives.

He is actually even killed in the anime, only to be brought back to life by connecting his body to a computer.

In his resuscitated state he now fights to save the humans again, battling against the anti-human group.

In the end, he sacrifices his life to save the humans.

Now, I understand that a 9 hour anime has much more opportunity to set up the history and complexity of a villain than an hour and a half movie, but, I'd think there could be a little more development of Disney's villains than there has been.

If this anime were a Disney animated movie, I can't help but feel as if Disney would have had Lordgenome be a villain who for inexplicable reasons keeps humans relegated to underground caverns, never rising above the 'explanation' of "they are humans, and I hate them."

We'd be left with a villain who hates humans for unknown reasons and is killed in the end without making an apology, or us ever knowing where the hatred stemmed from.

[WilbyDaniels]

Chill- they're only movies!!!!!!!!!
p.s. God doesn't kill people--- God is love--,people kill people

[tsom]

I don't think this thread is dumb either. It's actually pretty fun!

Honestly, I sympathize with some of the villians. For example, Lady Tremaine. I don't think she's wicked for no reason. She just wants the best for her daughters and what parent wouldn't want that? To have a stepdaughter that is better than your own flesh and blood at everything must be pretty frustrating. Of course, treating her badly and forcing her into servitude isn't the best way to handle things. Still, and I know most will disagree with me, but Lady Tremaine actually did Cinderella a favor. After her husband's death, the chateau and fortune went to Lady Tremaine. She already had two daughters to support and did not need a third. She could have easily sent Cinderella straight to the orphanage or to the streets, but she did the next best thing by having the girl earn her keep.

With Maleficent, it must be sad not to get an invite to the celebration of the birth of the new Princess, but what do you expect when you're known as the evil fairy? I actually blame Merryweather. If she just kept her mouth shut instead of blurting out "you weren't wanted," then that whole curse thing would have been avoided. Put yourself in Maleficent's shoes. Everyone in the kingdom was invited, royalty, nobility, gentry, and the commoners. If peasants were invited, why not Maleficent? The Queen addresses her as "Your Excellency". I think it's an insult to Maleficent if the people of low estate were invited and she, a woman of high position, wasn't.

[blackcauldron85]

But would you invite someone you don't like, or someone you know is a bad person? (Or fairy...?)

[SpringHeelJack]

Well, I mean, if the bad person / fairy is known for being unreasonable and petty, I'd invite her just to placate her, at the risk of some evil curse. Plus maybe she'd bring a nice gift. Crazies always get the best presents.

[Super Aurora]

Mally probably would harm Aurora even if she was invited. She most likely use the "not getting invited" as an excuse justify her action.

[bluemoon86]

Mally probably would harm Aurora even if she was invited. She most likely use the "not getting invited" as an excuse justify her action.

Yeah, I agree it's implied that Maleficent is generally just spiteful.

[toonaspie]

I actually thought that Bowler Hat Guy's motives were very believable and very understandable. It was one of the rare cases where I believed that a villain had a right to go after the hero.