What's with people's fascination with Disney Villains?

[Kraken Guard]

Because they are cool.

As simple as that.

Yupperoo!


Another thing is this: Do you know how boring Sleeping Beauty would have been without Maleficent?(She made the movie for me..) think about it, it's the villains that made the stories! "You cant have good without evil" As others have said. Not to mention they are the most intriguing character in the story, whether they are were just doing it just to be evil or whether something happened to them before.

Ah, why not? As Super Aurora said: Because they are cool, simple as that..

[Sadako]

I think it depends on the villain. Scar in the Lion King is awesome--like, you can't take your eyes off of him awesome. The good characters are great, too, but Scar definitely has sort of...an evil/sexy/awesome vibe.

I know a lot of people think of Ursula as really cool, too.

Some of them weren't all that great. Gaston from Beauty and the Beast was just kind of okay for me. He was too stupid to really be all that charismatic, and he wasn't calculating like some of the really sinister villains.

[David S.]

Another thing is this: Do you know how boring Sleeping Beauty would have been without Maleficent?(She made the movie for me..) think about it, it's the villains that made the stories! "You cant have good without evil" As others have said. Not to mention they are the most intriguing character in the story, whether they are were just doing it just to be evil or whether something happened to them before.

Maybe I'm different from most, but for me the villiains are the LEAST enjoyable aspect of any of these films.

For instance I consider the first half a Bambi a PERFECT film within a film, with all the cute charm of the animals living in the forest, culminating with the charming ice skating sequence. The moment the villain - Man - enters the picture, the movie becomes horrifically bleak and depressing, with Bambi's mother dying and then the forest fire. I find the whole thing difficult to watch all the way through, and extremely heartbreaking. However, had they just made a featurette about the cute baby animals Bambi, Thumper, and Flower becoming friends and frolicking in the forest, and stopped at the ice skating sequence, I'd probabably watch it a lot more!

Now, admitedly Bambi is an extreme example because in most cases in the DACs, the villains thankfully are NOT successful in killing beloved characters.

But still, in Sleeping Beauty, my LEAST favorite scenes feature Maleficent. I'm MUCH more into the humorous scenes with the three fairies, the cute animal characters and their interaction with Aurora, and the lovely Once Upon A Dream sequence.

The only villains I remotely "enjoy" are the comically funny ones played for laughs that aren't all dark and brooding and don't end up actually hurting anyone - like Prince John in Robin Hood and Brer Fox and Brer Bear in Song of The South/Splash Mountain. But even then, while I enjoy the humor very much, I do not like or condone their actions.

Ah, why not? As Super Aurora said: Because they are cool, simple as that..

So, do you guys who love the dark villains think MURDERERS are "cool"? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just perplexed!

PS. I HATE the Emperor/Sith in the Star Wars films, as well! Down with the "Dark Side"! Long live the Jedi! Revenge of the Sith is my LEAST favorite of all 6 films!

PPS. Same with Harry Potter. I absolutely LOVED the early films that were more whimsical and charming and had all those leisurely-paced "life at Hogwarts" sequences that dealt with the charm of magic. My interest in the series culminated with Azkaban, where they even go back in time to save Buckbeak and clear Sirius Black. The ending of the third film was so PERFECT and UPLIFTING, that the films could have ended there, and I would have been happy!

But ever since that b@st@** Voldemort (yeah, I said the SOB's name ) materialized and gets more and more screen time and power to kill innocent and beloved characters, I've lost interest. The last three films have ALL ended on a bleak and depressing note. I am not complaining that they are faithful to the books. They should be. But I haven't read the books, so I guess what I'm getting at is a loss of interest in the STORY - be it book or film.

All the charm and whimsy I LOVED from the early films is gone, replaced by darkness and tragedy thanks to the stupid villain. So this is yet another case for me where the villain actually TAKES AWAY from my enjoyment of something.

Since I haven't read the books, I have no idea what will happen, but am actually dreading finding out if any other good characters die in the last two installments!

[Kraken Guard]

Just a heads up then, your not going to like the next Harry Potter movies then..

So, do you guys who love the dark villains think MURDERERS are "cool"? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just perplexed!

Whoah now! That's going a little too far!

We are all talking about Fictional Characters, NOT people in real life who go around shooting guns and what-not. Just because some of us love the villains does not mean we will go around murdering people just for the fun of it.

Good things never last. If there were no villains, there would be no story.

Im not trying to start an argument, and i know your not trying to start an argument either. But just because we like fictional villains does NOT mean we like murderers in real life.

[David S.]

Just a heads up then, your not going to like the next Harry Potter movies then..

Thanks for the heads up. That was the impression I had based on a vague "spoiler" I accidentally saw that didn't reveal specifics. Perhaps it would be best for me to stop my HP DVD collection with Azkaban and call it a day! I've seen the last three theatrically, and to be honest I'm not even looking forward to the last two. Your warning makes me seriously consider skipping them!

So, do you guys who love the dark villains think MURDERERS are "cool"? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just perplexed!

Whoah now! That's going a little too far!

We are all talking about Fictional Characters, NOT people in real life who go around shooting guns and what-not. Just because some of us love the villains does not mean we will go around murdering people just for the fun of it.

Im not trying to start an argument, and i know your not trying to start an argument either. But just because we like fictional villains does NOT mean we like murderers in real life.

I didn't mean to imply that you like murderers in real life, or would ever commit murder. But in the context of the story, people are saying characters that are murderers (or have murderous intentions) are "cool". That is what was hard for me to understand, because of the way I watch movies. I completely GIVE myself emotionally to them. I feel both the joy AND the pain of the protagonists VERY intensely. It's a great way to feel in touch with your humanity and emotions (as I don't actually cry much in real life, except when a loved one dies. But it's a daily occurence while watching movies!)

When a movie has a happy ending payoff, it is an EXTREMELY uplifting and cathartic experience, and the tears are happy tears! But when it has an unhappy ending (Bridge To Teribethia) or extremely down moments (Bambi, recent Potter films) the result for me is an EXTREME DOWNER of a bad trip!

I know in real life that movies aren't "real", but WHILE I am watching them, they are as real and alive to me as life itself. I CARE so much about the protagonists, that the idea of anyone trying to kill or hurt them being "cool" (even though as you say it's only fiction) just boggles my mind.

So that's where I'm coming from. I didn't mean to imply that you found real-life murderers like Charles Manson or Hitler or Bin Laden cool! But in the fictional world of movies, I view people like the Emperor, Voldemort, Maleficent, and the Queen on that same level of evil.

Good things never last. If there were no villains, there would be no story.

That's not always true! One of my favorite DACs is The Many Adventures Of Winnie-the-Pooh. I find it thoroughly engaging, charming, and in the end, very touching, and there is nary a villain to be found! (unless you count those cute, honey-stealing Heffalumps and Woozles in Pooh's dream sequence - my kind of villain! )

[Kraken Guard]

I didn't mean to imply that you like murderers in real life, or would ever commit murder. But in the context of the story, people are saying characters that are murderers (or have murderous intentions) are "cool". That is what was hard for me to understand, because of the way I watch movies. I completely GIVE myself emotionally to them. I feel both the joy AND the pain of the protagonists VERY intensely. It's a great way to feel in touch with your humanity and emotions (as I don't actually cry much in real life, except when a loved one dies. But it's a daily occurence while watching movies!)

When a movie has a happy ending payoff, it is an EXTREMELY uplifting and cathartic experience, and the tears are happy tears! But when it has an unhappy ending (Bridge To Teribethia) or extremely down moments (Bambi, recent Potter films) the result for me is an EXTREME DOWNER of a bad trip!

I know in real life that movies aren't "real", but WHILE I am watching them, they are as real and alive to me as life itself. I CARE so much about the protagonists, that the idea of anyone trying to kill or hurt them being "cool" (even though as you say it's only fiction) just boggles my mind.

So that's where I'm coming from. I didn't mean to imply that you found real-life murderers like Charles Manson or Hitler or Bin Laden cool! But in the fictional world of movies, I view people like the Emperor, Voldemort, Maleficent, and the Queen on that same level of evil.

Indeed.. I didn't mean to sound mean in my previous post, if i did i apologize

But as for why people think the villains are so much cooler then the main character? Perhaps it's their design, voice, description or what not? (Not counting the whole murdering of innocent people thing) or perhaps they said this really cool quote that some people really really liked? Maybe it's because we never found out what exactly happened to them in the past, or the villains past intrigued them even further. Who knows? we way never know why so many find the villains intriguing..

[David S.]

[Indeed.. I didn't mean to sound mean in my previous post, if i did i apologize

No, you didn't sound mean and I didn't take it that way!

I think you actually were justified in your reaction, because I didn't explain myself properly. When I used the word "murderers", I should have originally explained that I meant the murderers in the films, not murderers in real life!

Thanks for keeping it a discussion and not an argument, because that's all I meant any of my comments as!

[Goliath]

So, do you guys who love the dark villains think MURDERERS are "cool"? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just perplexed!

Sure! I just love murderers! My favorite ones are serial killers. Every saturday, I go to a prison to visit one and I always ask them if they wanna give me a hug. Then I ask a guard to take a picture of me and the killer together. Most of the time, I ask the inmates to give me their signature, but not all of wanna do that. I still love them, though. I've invited them to come over for coffee and cake once they come out of jail.












Just kidding you, Dave! I just read your other posts, so I know what you meant. This must mean that there are a lot of excellent movies and tv shows you will never watch, because the main characters are criminals, murderers even, with whom the audience can sympathize to a very high degree. Movies like Pulp Fiction, in which the hitmen are ultra-cool; The Godfather, in which the maffia is shown as a tight family; and of course the tv show 'The Sopranos', again about the trials and tribulations of a family of modern-day American mob members.

Quality movies and tv that you will rarely find anywhere else...

[David S.]

Just kidding you, Dave! I just read your other posts, so I know what you meant. This must mean that there are a lot of excellent movies and tv shows you will never watch, because the main characters are criminals, murderers even, with whom the audience can sympathize to a very high degree. Movies like Pulp Fiction, in which the hitmen are ultra-cool; The Godfather, in which the maffia is shown as a tight family; and of course the tv show 'The Sopranos', again about the trials and tribulations of a family of modern-day American mob members.

Quality movies and tv that you will rarely find anywhere else...

The subject matter of those don't appeal to me, no. I'm mainly into animation, "family" films, fantasy, animal films, etc. My taste in movies has always trended towards the "wholesome" and "gentle" side, away from anything overly violent and gory. I like escapism and happy endings, and generally try to steer clear of things that would be shocking or desensitizing to my "inner child".

If you look at the last quote in my signature, that will give an EXACT idea of what I like (and by contrast, don't like!)

I guess you could say I have fairly "conservative" tastes in film and TV. And yet I have "liberal" views on most social issues, and very open taste regarding a wide range of music, so I suppose my lack of interest in Pulp Fiction or whatever might seem kind of "unusual" in that context.

But I can't help it, I like what I like, and between my DVD collection of all my favorite movies and shows, as well as VHS tapes recorded off of TV of all my favorite shows unavailable on DVD (like Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color, Lassie, etc.), I am never at a loss to find something to watch that interests me! Plus I enjoy watching sports, such as the Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games, Le Tour de France, and of course the games of the defending Super Bowl Champion, New Orleans Saints!

As far as the idea that the films you mentioned have artistic merit, I won't dispute that. But I've realized a long time ago that just because something is critically acclaimed and artistically sound, that it doesn't mean it will appeal to my tastes!

By the way, I did attempt to watch Pulp Fiction once on television, and lasted about 5 or 10 minutes before some poor soul got riddled with bullets. That was enough to turn it off and know it wasn't for me! (and no, I wasn't identifying with the characters in any way before that!) A perfect example of why I generally don't stray too far from the genres I am most comfortable with!

But you know, I really like being the way I am. The world has become such a cynical place, and most people - certainly most adults - have become completely desensitized to things like that. I'm glad and proud to say I haven't! Horrifying things are still horrifying to me, whether in film or in the news. I haven't become "Comfortably Numb", and I LIKE it that way!

[Jay]

Well the most popular villains are The Evil Queen, Maleficent, Ursula, Cruella, Captian Hook, Jafar, Hades and Scar. I think for the most part people love them is because of their design, voice, mannerism's ect. as people have already said. But another reason is because those villains I've listed above are very outlandish and over the top and far from reality. The Queen, Maleficent and Ursula are evil witches, and witches are popular and they have fantastical powers such as disguising themselves, cursing people and objects, transforming into different things ect and Jafar is the same he is an evil sorceror. Magic has always been a popular thing so they all have cool powers and magic which is one reaon why people are intruiged by them.

Cruella while she is a human she is very exaggerated and theatrical. And she has demon-ish qualities, how she becomes more beast-looking as the film progresses. And she has some humorous moments as well. Hook is a pirate and pirates are very popular and Hades is a God so he is fictional and he and Hook are both very humorous like Cruella. And Scar is a talking lion. So basically all of the most popular villains are very unrealistic. Witches, Sorceror's, Talking animals, Pirates, Very over the top. Their unrealistis qualities is what makes them so popular imo.

Now the more realistic villains like Lady Tremaine, Frollo, Ratcliffe, Shan Yu are not as popular because they are all very realistic. They don't have the fun or cool(unrealisitc) qualities that the popular ones have. In fact I heard LT is the most hated of the villains and Frollo isn't far behind because of their realistic wickedness.

So over all I think people are fascinated by them because they are larger than life and over the top, atleast the most popular ones are. They all have a darkness that brings down the otherwise feel good feeling Disney films have and people hate them but also love them for it. And they add conflict to the story which is necessary for a film haha. And everyone has a bit of a dark side, I mean people for the most part love getting scared, they love Halloween, Vampires, witches ect. So the villains, especially the larger than life ones, are a fun way to let their dark side come out but without actually killing people with poison apples and spinning wheels ;D

That's my 2 cents haha. Thank you if you've read this far.

[Super Aurora]

So basically all of the most popular villains are very unrealistic. Witches, Sorceror's, Talking animals, Pirates, Very over the top. Their unrealistis qualities is what makes them so popular imo.

LOL WAT? Pirates ARE real. Still are as pirates exist even now.

Now the more realistic villains like Lady Tremaine, Frollo, Ratcliffe, Shan Yu are not as popular because they are all very realistic. They don't have the fun or cool(unrealisitc) qualities that the popular ones have.

Frollo is VERY popular as far as I've seen across the internet. Disney marketers don't popularize him and include him much in Disney villain merchandise, but he IS popular.

Frollo isn't far behind because of their realistic wickedness.

I recall people love Frollo for his awesome song and complexity that differ from usual standard stock Disney villain tropes.

[Jay]

So basically all of the most popular villains are very unrealistic. Witches, Sorceror's, Talking animals, Pirates, Very over the top. Their unrealistis qualities is what makes them so popular imo.

LOL WAT? Pirates ARE real. Still are as pirates exist even now.

Now the more realistic villains like Lady Tremaine, Frollo, Ratcliffe, Shan Yu are not as popular because they are all very realistic. They don't have the fun or cool(unrealisitc) qualities that the popular ones have.

Frollo is VERY popular as far as I've seen across the internet. Disney marketers don't popularize him and include him much in Disney villain merchandise, but he IS popular.

Frollo isn't far behind because of their realistic wickedness.

I recall people love Frollo for his awesome song and complexity that differ from usual standard stock Disney villain tropes.

Well I know pirates are real but he is from another world completly haha. And That's what I meant those are the villians who are the most popular in the mercnadise but Frollo and SHan Yu are pretty popular characters outsid eof the merchandise.

[Goliath]

@ David S.: That's cool. I didn't mean to criticize you or your movie preferences. I was simply making an observation; not judging you.

By the way, what do you think about Pinocchio, in which none of the villains get punished (the coachman even continues to turn boys into donkeys).

LOL WAT? Pirates ARE real. Still are as pirates exist even now.

Yes, poor Somali fisherman who can't provide for their families anymore because big Western corporations have illegally emptied their waters of all the fish. Then they attack the Westerners who took their bread away and we call them 'pirates'.

[Kraken Guard]

Although the Horned King isn't really that populer..

But yeah, Frollo is very populer. I dont think it really matters on whether or not the villain is realistic or not.. It may depend on the person


Sucks being a villain from the Sequels..


But yeah, that REALLY Stumps me with Pinocchio. Specially the Coachmen, he needs to get punished..

And the little niece laughs every time at that part.. "They never come back.. As BOYS!"


Also, there may be Pirates still at large.. Just not the same type..

[David S.]

@ David S.: That's cool. I didn't mean to criticize you or your movie preferences. I was simply making an observation; not judging you.

By the way, what do you think about Pinocchio, in which none of the villains get punished (the coachman even continues to turn boys into donkeys).

I didn't take it that you were criticizing or judging me! You just asked a fair question, and I enjoyed answering it.

Pinocchio is one of my favorites. You're right, the scene with the boys turning into donkeys is very dark! I guess I don't dwell on it that much, as I am mainly focusing on the story of Pinocchio and his journey.

The scenes in the beginning of the film, in Gepetto's workshop, when Pinocchio is first given life and is spending time with Gepetto, Jiminy Cricket, Figaro, and Cleo (and all those charming clocks and music boxes!) are just so PERFECT. You can just feel the love and warmth radiating from the screen. The music is PERFECT, too! This extended opening sequence (around 30 minutes!) before the "real world" enters the picture kind of reminds me of how Bambi has such a relatively lengthy, pastoral, charming, innocent, opening half of the film where you just feel so much warmth and security before "Man" enters.

I really like the Blue Fairy and the way she sees the good in Pinocchio and is always there to act as a "guardian angel" of sorts when things get tough. And then Pinocchio's growth and unselfishness in risking his own life to save Gepetto is very inspiring.

And that final scene, back at Gepetto's, is much shorter, but even more sweet, than the early scenes! It's just a practically perfect movie! But now that you mention it, it would have been nice to see some of the loose ends tied up, such as the boys that turned into donkeys somehow getting a second chance and the coachman getting his just deserts!

It's all fresh in my mind now as I just saw it recently as part of my summertime DAC marathon!

[Super Aurora]

Yes, poor Somali fisherman who can't provide for their families anymore because big Western corporations have illegally emptied their waters of all the fish. Then they attack the Westerners who took their bread away and we call them 'pirates'.

You're forgetting the digital pirates. You know, ones who have illegal downloading programs and shit? LOL

And the little niece laughs every time at that part.. "They never come back.. As BOYS!"

Ha ha you're niece is hilariously awesome.

[Scarred4life]

By the way, what do you think about Pinocchio, in which none of the villains get punished (the coachman even continues to turn boys into donkeys).

That's actually one of the things I love best about the film. I've always though Pinocchio was a very dark film, and I think that contributes to it. There's also the fact that there are 5 villains, and very few 'happy' moments, but still.

Yet another reason why I like the villains so much is because they are very emotionally driven. They have something they want to achieve, and most of them die trying to achieve that. Whereas some of the heroes go about there merry way and when the villains intervene, they fight back, win, and go back to their lives. (A prime example of this is Aurora and Prince Philip)