It’s Not Who You Think It Is
Because the folks at Pixel Parade have nothing better to do with their time, they created a study to identify the evilest Disney villains based on how severe their crimes would be in the real world. The results are actually pretty shocking.
Pixel Parade analyzed a heap of Disney and Pixar villains from 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to 2023’s Wish. They compiled a list with a mix of 50 live action and animated characters. These range from well-known characters such as Maleficent from 1959’s Sleeping Beauty to obscure ones like Bill Cipher from the Gravity Falls TV show. (Including one villain from a movie that wasn’t produced by Disney at all. But Content Director Craig Mormino acknowledges that in the comments section of the post and promises to rectify that in a future update.)
“In the decades since Snow White’s release, Disney has been building an impressive roster of dastardly characters who are much more worthy of the title,” says April Williamsen who wrote the article.
The Evil Queen
Wanted for: Attempted Murder, Assisting/Ordering/Conspiring Murder, Attempted Usurpation, Child Abuse/Cruelty, Child Abandonment/Endangerment, Neglect, Abuse of Power, Unlawful Imprisonment, Exploitation, Assault, Treason/Betrayal
“Rather than creating an arbitrary ranking, we assigned point values to the crimes, violations, and prejudices these characters committed in their source material and totaled them to produce a final score. We weighed these values against one another and only counted each crime once, even if the character had committed it multiple times.”
The lowest of all crimes in the study include gambling, trespassing and conspiracy which are all worth 3 points. At the other end of the spectrum is genocide/mass murder for a whopping 50 points.
CAPTAIN HOOK
Wanted for: Attempted Child Murder, Attempted Murder, Child Abuse/Cruelty, Child Abandonment/Endangerment, Kidnapping, Psychological Abuse, Assault, Theft, Piracy, Treason/Betrayal
The “Geek Viz” study also includes beautiful graphics with a “Villain Scoring Rubric” with colorful symbols that represent various crimes. For example, a fork crossed over a knife symbolizes starvation, a crying baby is for neglect, and a burglar is used for theft.
The lesser of 50 evils is Sid Phillips from 1995’s Toy Story. He is convicted of just one crime – vandalism. (Personally, I suggest adding bullying to the list.)
CRUELLA DE VIL
Wanted for: Attempted Genocide/Mass Murder, Attempted Child Murder, Attempted Murder, Assisting/Ordering/Conspiring Murder, Kidnapping, Animal Cruelty, Hate Crimes, Treason/Betrayal
Think The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is bad? Well, she is, but she’s not the worst. Not by a long shot. She’s no longer the fairest one of all. The Evil Queen ranks in 33rd place with 11 crimes including betrayal, abuse of power and unlawful imprisonment. Poisoning an apple is not on the list, but attempted murder is. Her score is 99.
Two baddies from 1940’s Pinocchio made the list: puppeteer Stromboli and the Coachman (13 crimes each). They both received points for kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, exploitation, psychological abuse and deception. Their combined total points is 268.
JAFAR
Wanted for: Attempted Genocide/Mass Murder/Attempted Murder, Assisting/Ordering/Conspiring Murder, Attempted Mass Domination, Indoctrination/Enslavement, War Crimes, Attempted Usurpation, Terrorism, Torture, Tyranny, Abuse of Power, Unlawful Imprisonment, Exploitation, Kidnapping, Psychological Abuse, Blackmail, Assault, Arson, Theft, Deception/Cheating/Fraud, Treason/Betrayal, Harassment, Conspiracy
So, who is worst? Claude Frollo from 1996’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame earns that title with 34 different crimes with total score of 425 points.
“What makes Frollo particularly terrifying is that his actions are driven by religious fanaticism and extreme xenophobia—motivations that have caused immense suffering and oppression throughout human history,” says Williamsen. “Unlike many other Disney villains, he lacks theatrical or comedic flair; he genuinely believes his crusade of terror and destruction is justified against those he deems ‘wicked and depraved.’ With no remorse, no empathy, and no ability to reflect on his own hypocrisy, his evil is chillingly akin to real-world tyrants who have left irreparable scars on humanity.”
Read the complete Pixel Parade study to see who else made the list and where they rank.
Leave a Reply