Worst Disney Live Action Remake Villain

[Farerb]

We all know that Disney Live Action Remakes are bad, and one of their worst aspects is taking the most entertaining characters from the originals and make them not fun anymore.

Which one had the worst interpretation in your opinion?

[UmbrellaFish]

I haven’t seen every Disney remake, but of the ones I’ve seen, the only really bad villain performance is that of Jafar in Aladdin. That was such a well done remake in most every other aspect but such a poorly done villain really dragged it down.

On the flip side, I think the best villain performance is Cate Blanchett in Cinderella.

[Vlad]

Jude Law's Captain Hook, hands down.

[DisneyFan09]

I haven’t seen every Disney remake, but of the ones I’ve seen, the only really bad villain performance is that of Jafar in Aladdin. That was such a well done remake in most every other aspect but such a poorly done villain really dragged it down.

I agree with that one. Jafar was definitively the worst, as he wasn`t particularly scary or funny. He was just dull.

[Patricier21]

Completely disagree with the overall assessment, not only that the live action remakes are “bad”, as pretty much all of them are equally as good or even better in some cases Than the original Overall! I’m actually kind of shocked that people think that way about the villains, because if anything they’re usually one of the best/Most consistent parts About the remakes!

Out of all the ones originally picture at the top here, the only ones I can think of that aren’t that good are Jafar (Oded Fehr On once upon a time is way better and he should’ve just reused him, though I think that the live action version is better than the descendants version), maybe scar, Though he’s not too bad. Here’s my analysis on the rest of the villains:

Shere Khan is still great, regardless of the fact that he’s Idris Alba Still feels very intense, and like what he would be like in a more realistic kind of way, he’s actually scarier than he is in the animated one, so that’s what we expected because that’s the case with literally all the live action remakes, it has to be more realistic and what it would be like in real life

Both Glenn Close and Emma Stone are awesome as Cruella, until stated otherwise I do believe they are the same character at different ages! Regardless of the fact that they are great actresses in general, they really did a phenomenal job with these characters even if particularly Emma Stone is different from the animated one, but again that’s already given!

I actually find Helena Bonham Carter to be overall better as the queen of hearts than even as Bellatrix in harry potter; I find her Waymore over the top and over done there then she is here!

Angelina Jolie is great as maleficent, and literally one of the only good things about the first maleficent which I consider to be one of the only legitimately bad live action remakes. She’s very natural and especially with the context of making Her more humane she delivers that while also still feeling sinister and like she could be maleficent

Cate Blanchett Like literally everything else about the live action Cinderella has it be quite better than the animated one, And that you actually subtly understand why she Acts the way she does, And that although she is cruel and still overall evil she actually does seem like she genuinely cared About Cinderella’s father and is using that grief combine before overall greed to have her be who she is, which again has her be more realistic and what she would be like in real life. I’ve actually encountered a few people that are like this myself!

I also do agree that Scarlett Johansson may seem a bit off as Kaa, Or rather it’s just a bit different and probably one of the more weaker performances, just like scar. Her version of trust in me is actually pretty good though. She still feels manipulative, and personally I find the original to be quite annoying anyways, so despite it being different and again perhaps maybe a bit weak, it’s actually not a bad and overall workable change if nothing else.

Gaston actually feels very much like the original one, exactly like he would be translated into real life. My mom actually quite likes him, even though she hasn’t seen the original animated, and it feels way more natural than as the coachman Inn Pinocchio, though there he’s actually not bad either.

The Siamese cats are still as much or even more annoying than they are in the original, despite how different they are! Still hate them, though I will see if anything they’re probably more fun to head in the live action delete all the animated where they’re just plain annoying if you get what I mean?

Honest to God, I will never understand the hate that Peter Pan and Wendy gets,Especially with Jude law as Captain Hook, when he’s one of the best things about the movie, especially with what they did with his character and backstory?

Melissa McCarthy does a great job as Ursula, still feeling very entertaining and enjoyable, even if not as creepy, though then again that’s actually a good thing because I find her to be one of the scariest Disney villains, behind the carnotaurs, But again either way is still enjoyable and authentic for what that kind of person would be in real life; she reminds me a bit of Jim Carrey count Olaf in lemony Snicket, but maybe even a little bit better. Jessica Alexander is quite sinister and authentic as Vanessa as well!

So yeah, I really don’t understand the hate that some people have towards the live action remakes, especially the villains. Even if you don’t agree with me here, can you not at least see why I and others may feel this way?

[Vlad]

Jafar is dull at the beginning of the movie, but towards the end, he becomes scarier and more menacing. At least, that's what I think.

But Captain Hook is just awful. How can you take one of the funniest Disney villains and turn him into a boring character with no personality? I don't blame Jude Law; he did his best with what he was given.

[The Disneynerd]

I also havent seen every Remake like "Peter and Wendy" (and have no real intention to do that ) or revisit them EVER so its a bit unfair of me to rank them as I watched a few like years ago and forgot about them entirely, but what I can say is that I can agree that Jafar is unmemorable in the remake as he was really witty and a maniac and it really worked well with Jagos funny sarcasm, but all that was thrown away in the remake and Jafar is just a regular guy who wants to rule over Agrabah with his dumb Parrot.
But I think whats way worse than Jafar is what they have done with the animals like everyone in Lion King for the Sake of "realism" alongside Jungle Book and Lady and Tramp. So Scar clearly wins the topic for me as he doesnt have the sass like the original and also not his song.

However imo one of the best Remake villains is clearly Evil Stepmother alongside everything from the Cinderella remake! I love it (almost) as much ad the original! It really embraces everything the original stands for. And the casting was perfect! Cate Blanchet was really intimitating. And I agree with what Patricier21 said about fleshing out her character motives, while not
really needed, still a welcome addition to the story
Also Glenn Close's Cruella was extremely good, but only in the first one. Her maniac laugh was easily one of the scariest things ever in Disney History!
Remake Gaston alonside the movie was ok, but clearly not as memorable or bold as the OG.
And I liked Helena Bonham Carters Queen of Hearts, she was fun.
But aside from Cruella, Queen of Hearts and Stepmom, the rest of the Remake villains are unmemorable and lacklaster alongside their movies in general

[PatchofBlue]

The villains have never really been the problem with the remakes, in my book. Whenever one of the remakes fails, the villain is usually like number seven on the list of problems. The most frustrating to me was probably Gaston, but I'd attribute that more to how the character was written than anything Luke Evans did. Even though Jude Law was entirely forgettable as Hook, the movie had much deeper issues.

I very much anticipated hating Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, but then she ended up being arguably the strongest cast member.

I even kind of like what they did with Jafar. I think Kenzari had a different take on the character, but he still delivered when it counted. I even liked how the extra backstory helped strengthen his relationship to Aladdin by having them both start out as street urchins.

And, yeah, I'll add my praises to Blanchett as Lady Tremaine. She was a highlight for sure.

[Disney Duster]

Jafar or Scar were the worst, but Jafar I have seen more times so maybe that's why he sticks out in my mind as the most egregious one.

Cinderella is not a bad remake. Neither is 101 Dalmatians. But I think Glenn Close as Cruella is the best live-action remake performance and even surpasses the original! I then think Helena Bonham Carter is the next best remake villain. Cate Blanchett is third for me. She did the best with that "naming Cinderella" scene, which was kinda sucky, but in pretty much the rest of the film she accomplished being both funny and intimidating, plus obviously beaten up by what happened to her. The best villain in the best remake. I would say Melissa McCarthy after her, she was the best part of the Mermaid remake, in acting, not in writing!

[UmbrellaFish]

How interesting that so many of us admire Cate Blanchett’s Lady Tremaine. Putting aside revisionist retellings like Maleficent and Cruella, Blanchett’s Lady Tremaine is probably one of the biggest departures from its source material.

[Patricier21]

How interesting that so many of us admire Cate Blanchett’s Lady Tremaine. Putting aside revisionist retellings like Maleficent and Cruella, Blanchett’s Lady Tremaine is probably one of the biggest departures from its source material.

How so?

[UmbrellaFish]

In terms of the characterization, Blanchett’s version has much more depth than the 50’s version. She is given motivations for her actions, and a sense of humor which is lacking in Walt’s version.

Visually 2015’s Tremaine is unrecognizable to 1950’s Tremaine. Blanchett is much younger, her hair and makeup is much more glamorous, her costumes are much more fashionable.

All the other villains in the remakes hew much closer to their original versions than Blanchett’s Tremaine.

[Disney Duster]

Yes, you are right UmbrellaFish. Interesting!

[PatchofBlue]

Cinderella was also one of the earliest Disney remakes, coming out before they'd really figured out what they were going to be. I'd say it wasn't until Beauty and the Beast that was going to be a given that these remakes were expected to carry over things like the existing songbook while directly refuting Buzzfeed hot takes. Cinderella carries over some of the character names unique to the animated film as well as some easter eggs, but it reads more like Disney just adapting the fairy-tale a second time rather than specifically remaking their 1950 film. Even the remake's central theme, "have courage and be kind," is unique to this specific retelling.

I think one of the reasons a large number of Disney fans still adore it, despite its many unique inflections, is that its delivery still feels line with the larger Disney mythos. Tremaine's backstory is different, Cinderella's relationship with The Prince is different, but it still commits to sincerity in a way that most of the remakes have not, which makes it feel like a natural complement to the animated film. This is also I'd say the only princess film that was spared the "not like other princesses" marketing line that all the follow-ups have borrowed (or in some cases built their entire foundation on).

[Vlad]

I would also like to add that the 2015 Cinderella has that fairy tale quality that the other remakes lack. It has that sense of magic and timelessness. I also agree that Cate Blanchett's Lady Tremaine is the best live action remake villain. I liked her cruel sarcasm, her beautiful costumes and her overall personality.

[Lele]

Maleficient. I don't like adding some basic and predictable sob story to entirely change an established character, especially a character like her.

[Disney Duster]

Great words PatchofBlue and Vlad. Those are why I love the 2015 Cinderella. It was like the 1950 one in many ways, but still its own thing, and a great thing!

[Disney's Divinity]

I guess it's either Captain Hook or Lady Tremaine for me. Although I don't think either was really the actor's fault in either case, tbh. Oh, wait Stefan in the first Maleficent is the worst. I mean, he is definitely a character you feel a strong hate for, but he's not interesting onscreen at all.

The best was Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen for me, hands down. A shame the rest of the movie wasn't as good. After that, probably Shere Khan and the Baroness from Cruella are the best villains (and Rachel Weissz as the Wicked Witch of the East--although I guess the Wicked Witch of the West at that film would be my worst if we were to include that film). Jafar, Gaston, Ursula (and Vanessa), Scar, Michelle Pfeiffer's Queen, Stromboli, and the Coachman were all fine. EDIT: Forgot about Glenn Close's Cruella, that would be almost there with the Red Queen. I guess I think of that film as different from all these other remakes because it came out at such a different time, has such a different sensibility that all these other films do.

[twihard]

I feel very blessed that I have not seen most of these. Only saw Alice in Wonderland and then Cinderella on telly.

So I guess worst villain would be the queen from Alice since they got her name wrong. It doesn't take a genius to realize the Red Queen and Queen of hearts are 2 diff ppl.

Cinderella was okay but Didn't like the lead actress who was too plain and wishy washy for my taste. skipped this in theaters cuz heard Maleficent was revisinoist nonsense and thought this would be the same. Plus didnt want to watch Frozen before it and why pay $$ for something I don't wanna see.