The Five Most Memorable Disney Villains of All Time

Disney has a huge range of beloved heroes, the good guys who go through trials and tribulations and eventually come out on top. But no hero is worth a thing without a great villain. And Disney has produced a slew of memorable villains, I have come up with my own personal list of the top five most memorable Disney villains of all time.

Honorable mention goes to the unnamed hunter in Bambi. Bambi's mother gets shot down in one of the most traumatic moments experienced by children thanks to a movie. This alone makes him a very potent and memorable villain, the only problem is, we never get the identity of the hunter, so though the hunter is responsible for one of the most horrific moments in Disney history, a lack of identity keeps him off the list.

5) Jafar from Aladdin. Jafar was the trusted advisor to the Sultan in Aladdin, yet he wanted more for himself. Using Aladdin and having him risk his life to gain the magical lamp, he sought to conquer all of Agrabah. He was defeated by getting tricked into turning himself into a genie, but he returned for a sequel and an appearance in the Hercules animated series that also guest stars Aladdin. Powerfully evil, Jafar is a very memorable Disney villain.

4) Shere Khan from the Jungle Book and Talespin. I'm cheating a bit by using both, but it is the same character just in two different settings. The first thing about Shere Khan is, he's a tiger! The imagery of an angry tiger is enough to make the guy memorable. But in addition to that, he is the fiercest creature in the Jungle Book, everyone fears the guy, even the big bad Bagheera. But what cements him on the list of memorable Disney villains is his time in Talespin. An animated series featuring characters from the Jungle Book in a pulpish world full of air pirates and smoke filled bars (well minus the actual smoke it is Disney in the late 80s early 90s) it was a mix of cool air adventure and Casablanaca, and Shere Khan was the biggest, baddest, meanest shady businessman there was. Sure the sky pirates messed with Baloo the most, but when Shere Khan was involved, you knew it was a big deal.

3) Scar from the Lion King. Two cats in a row, who'd of thought? Scar is a lion with a chip on his shoulder, the chip says, "I deserve to be king" in a very evil malicious voice. His brother Mufasa is the current king, if that weren't enough there is the annoying heir apparent Simba to deal with too. So what does Scar do? He kills Mufasa in a stampede, with Simba watching! It is the biggest on screen murder Disney produced since Bambi's mom, and this time we know the villain. Scar pulls off being evil in a delicious fashion thanks to the voice talents of Jeremy Irons.

2) Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians. Cruella enjoyed the most luxurious things in life and only wanted something no one else had, namely a coat made from the fur of poor innocent dalmatian puppies. Cruella is so evil she wants to hurt poor defenseless puppy dogs! If that wasn't enough to make her a memorable foe, there is also the fact that she has been the main foe in an animated movie, a cartoon series, and two live action movies. Getting so much bang out of one villain is impressive. Also she has one of the most memorable songs in the Disney library is all about her. "If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will."

1) Melificent from Sleeping Beauty. The movie Sleeping Beauty is pretty much all about Maleficent being evil and the three good faeries trying to stop her. The actual sleeping beauty is barely in the movie. Maleficent is likely the most evil of all of Disney's movies, she calls upon the power of hell, turns into a big black dragon, and has one of the most wicked of plans ever. Instead of just killing the prince who sets out to awaken the sleeping beauty, she traps him and promises to free him, after he has grown old and only then will he be able to wake the still young and beautiful princess, who won't want him because he is so old and nasty. With just a single appearance in Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent has become the leader of the Disney villain group whenever they appear together. She was the head of the villains in Kingdom Hearts one and two, as well as appearances in House of Mouse and shows at the Walt Disney theme parks, all this makes her the most memorable Disney villain of all time.