From the sly and sinister Scar to the foul and fiendish Frollo, the house of mouse has no shortage of brilliant baddies. These guys can be magically malicious or creatively cruel but upon some recent review, some of these antagonists aren’t exactly in the wrong when it comes to their brand of wrong-doing.
We’re not saying their methods are necessarily good, but we can’t say we don’t understand their reasons. It makes us wonder how many of Disney’s noble heroes were the ones in the wrong. Get ready to rethink your favorite fairy tales as we look at 10 Disney villains who were actually right.
Mr. Waternoose
Kidnapping children is never okay in our books, but at risk of exposing an entire world of monsters to the world of humans, anyone might do anything. If we take the child-endangerment charges off the record, Waternoose intended to keep an entire dimension of monsters safe from human interference.
It’s a case of the needs of the many vs. the needs of the few. One human kid against an entire world of monsters, Waternoose, though not the best method, was thinking of the entire monster population. He had the right idea, just the wrong way of handling it.
Stinky Pete
It’s tough being a toy somedays, and Stinky Pete knows how rough it can be. After living in the shadow of space-toys and “spending a lifetime on a dimestore shelf, watching every other toy be sold,” we’d be pretty salty too. The only thing keeping him from getting his recognition is Woody and the gang.
The Roundup Gang is a set of rare toys and Pete knows it, but he also doesn’t know what it’s like to be played with. He only wants the love and adoration he’s been so long without. Is that really a crime?
Shere Khan
Tiger, tiger, burning bright, could it be Shere Khan was right? Where the original was a malicious predator, Idris Elba’s version knew the ferocious power of man and knew that even a cute kid like Mowgli could potentially be a threat to the jungle. He wears his battle scars like a crown and serves as a living example of man’s destruction.
Shere Khan might be the top of the food chain, but he obeys the law of the jungle. He seeks to destroy Mowgli before the man-cub destroys the ecosystem, which he nearly does by the third act. Ravenous predator or a concerned conservationist? You decide.
Captain Gantu
After reviewing the evidence, we’re not really sure Gantu qualifies as a villain. He didn’t have a malicious plot when he set out to recapture Stitch. In fact, he was just following orders of the Galactic Grand Council. Are we calling him a villain for doing his job?
Gantu’s mission was to capture a destructive and unstable alien experiment. If this were any other sci-fi flick, he’d be the hero pairing up with the likes of Ellen Ripley. Sadly though, he loses favor with the council and must join forces with Dr. Hämsterviel in the sequel. Tough break, big guy.
Sid Philips
For the sake of discussion, let’s remove the blowing-up-toys portion of the equation and talk about Sid. Sure, he’s a rowdy preteen with a collection of mutant toys, but is he the monster he’s depicted to be? Think about it, he might blow toys to bits, but he uses their parts to create new ones. That’s the sign of an artist if you think about it.
Look at Babyface, Legs, and Roller Bob. In any other kid’s hands, they’d be garbage fodder for sure. For Sid, they’re a new challenge. It makes us wonder if he ever throws any of his toys away, or just makes them into new ones.
Syndrome
Syndrome, in the end, was a bad dude. No questions asked. But he did sort of have the right idea by making everyone super. Consider this, if he wasn’t rejected by Mr. Incredible, he could have been a very unique and very beneficial super. If only he had been pushed in the right direction.
If Syndrome had used his technological genius for good instead of evil, think of all the ways he could have geared up the rest of the Supers. He could’ve outshone even Edna mode! Would it be so bad if others got to be super?
Captain Hook
Let’s look at Hook’s backstory, shall we? He was just sailing about Marooner’s Rock, doing what pirates are want to do, and after a scuffle with Peter Pan, the tight-clad hero slices his hand off and feeds it to Tick-Tock the Croc. Who sounds like the villain in that story?
Captain Hook’s gripe with Peter Pan isn’t out of pure evil, but justice. Losing the hand was one thing, losing it to a flying boy is another, but watching it get chomped by a crocodile just takes the cake. Is he really the villain, or simply a very driven man?
Yzma
Ah, who could forget the fabulously over-the-top, Yzma? This disgruntled advisor makes the list simply because her time spent as ruler didn’t seem to be worse than Kuzco. In fact, she treats her staff a little better too. Until she trashes Kronk’s cooking that is.
Think about it, Kuzco throws an old man out the window! Yzma lets one of her guards go home early for being accidentally transfigured into a cow. Just because she’s got the ghoulish looks doesn’t mean she would have been any worse than her predecessor. Yeah, there was the peasant scene at the beginning, but would Kuzco have done any better?
Edgar
Okay, how delusional do you have to be to will your house and your fortune to your cats? Edgar the butler from The Aristocats isn’t a bad guy, he’s just been totally screwed over. A faithful butler playing second fiddle to a family of housecats? Sounds like Madame is just as goofy as that crackpot lawyer of hers.
What would a bunch of cats do with a fortune and a mansion? Why not just leave Edgar the house and fortune with a stipulation that he care for Duchess and her kittens? We’re honestly more sorry for the guy than anything.
Anton Ego
Anton Ego from the start of the film has a reputation as a cruel critic who is hard to please. Though that might sound villainous to a chef or restaurant owner, is he actually causing any harm to anyone? You can read a bad movie review and still enjoy the film, right? Why does being a critic label him evil?
Even during his “redemption” he’s still just doing his job. He’s reviewing food that he just so happens to thoroughly enjoy. He doesn’t like food, he loves it. And we can certainly feel the same way about him.
