Animated villains hit different...

We take a look at some of the best bad guys western animation has to offer!

Consider Subscribing and Thank You for Watching!

Music Used:
Samuel Kim - The Last Agni Kai
Ashamaluevmusic - Tragedy
Joseph Earwicker - The Razing of Heaven
Samuel Kim - Lord Shen Theme Epic Version
Heitor Pereira - The Whistle of Death (Puss in Boots Cover)

[Bottle-OBill]

Tai Lung's face after Shifu admits he is in fact proud of him, and that he's regretful for unwittingly leading him down the path he's on and that he's justified in his frustration, and Shen's face when he accepts his fate at the end of his final battle with Po... Just... Hit different...

[meogatopreto]

Fun fact about the Wolf on Puss in Boots: in Latin America, many supernatural creatures are heard whistling when approaching. Usually when the whistling is loud it means the being is far away and if the sound is far away the thing is really close. Also for this reason old people will tell you not to whistle, specially at night, because the sound attracts supernatural beings (almost never good ones)

[DepravedCoTApologist]

Another aspect about Death that makes him standout in Puss in Boots, is that he never tells a joke. There's a few comedic timing moments with him in his first scene, but he himself never tells a single joke. In a movie where every other character tells many jokes and are comedic, Death sticks out even more. It emphasizes that he is a being outside the confines of the world's reality and instantly raises the tension as soon as he's onscreen. Just a fantastic character despite having around 6 minutes of screen time

[nocturnalcove]

King Candy brought 'Twist Villains' to its peek but it also ruined the trope because nothing has reached his level.

[hurricanemarigolds]

Syndrome is almost agreeable at times, the strongest point he made was when he said "See? now you respect me, because I'm a threat, and that's the way it works."

[KeiKei-Beans]

The best thing about Hades is that James Woods LOVES Hades so much. He comes back for multiple kingdom hearts games just to voice hades because he adores the character. One of the best comedic villains in my book hands down.

[avocado]

“We don’t have any memorable bad guys anymore!”

Puss in boots the last wish: “hold my beer”

[rowanjoy]

Is actually my favorite line of Mai, when she said to Azula, "you miscalculated, I love Zuko more than I fear you".
Is amazing see how Azula process that information.

[matthewsawczyn]

Jafar, Scar, & Malificent are perfect examples of evil defeating itself. If they had never started their plan, they wouldn't have spelled their own doom

[vincenzoguandolo]

“We’re all just trash waiting to be thrown away” is line so saturated in pain; never fails to get a tear.

[OceanFragments]

Huh, I never noticed before, but Scar is the only lion whose claws are always out, even when they don't need to be. When he pets Simba's head, you can see the blades of his claws wrapped around it.

[davidlane]

I truly regret the lack of even an honorable mention of Big Jack Horner. No, he didn't steal the show in the same way as Death, but it was surreal and a real treat to watch a villain who's just giddy about being evil. He LOVES it and I LOVE watching him for it

[cerulean_]

My favorite thing about Puss In Boots 2 is that there’s 3 villains, and they’re all completely different. Jack Horner is “evil for evil’s sake.” Goldilocks is “redemptive villain with tragic past.” But Death is something unique. He’s not doing anything “wrong, ” he’s just fulfilling his literal life’s goal, and is having sadistic fun while doing it.

[Spectrumelf]

I really enjoy how you focus on "how these characters work better in animation than they would in live action." Animation is such a unique medium and I hope the west learns to take advantage of it like it used to.

[thewizard-edits]

One of my favorite animated villains is Ego from Ratatouille.

He has the greatest presence of, I believe, any Pixar villain. Every time he’s onscreen, it’s terrifying. Everything about him gives off death vibes. His office is shaped like a coffin, his typewriter has a skull carved into it, and his ghastly pallor makes him appear vampiric. His nickname is even The Grim Eater. He looms over everyone with a height of nearly seven feet and commands the room wherever he is. Peter O’Toole voices him to perfection with a sinister biting tone and harsh words.

All this, and he’s not even evil, he’s just a food critic.

[darthcarrots]

I love everything you said about Azula, but I disagree that she “rejected” friendship. The true tragedy of Azula to me is that she honestly doesn’t know HOW to have a friendship or any kind of positive relationship. She cannot exist without a war. She is the favorite child because of her ability to rage war. She has honed herself in every possible way to be a human weapon. In the beach episode, she is the only one unable to relax and have fun, she turns every single situation into a battle strategy. She instinctively sized everyone she meets up as a potential fight, enemy or ally, and knows exactly what pressure points to hit to make them sway either way. But that’s the limit of her ability. Azula is truly incapable of forging friendships, no matter how hard she clearly wanted them and fooled herself into thinking she had. She doesn’t know how to NOT be at war. It’s what humanizes her and makes her such an amazing villain 😭

[Aladayle]

Shrek 2's fairy godmother was the most brilliant depiction of a fey being, looking back. Plotting to put her blood on the throne through deals she made. Charming had no chance to be anything but what she wanted, and is handsome *because* of his fey blood, I imagine.

Honestly Fiona's dad was lucky she didn't turn him back into a frog on the spot

[depressedasfook]

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING ON FROLLO! He is hands down my favorite villain, because he is the most real feeling to exist. Like scar is evil but unrealistic there is no fear of real life scars but frollo is absolutely within the realms of reality, uncomfortably so. It's fantastic, in the most disgusting way.

[sarabass]

You didn't mention Lady Gothel as a MASTER manipulator! She doesn't have explicit powers, but she manages to hold a girl captive in a one-room tower for 18 years because...manipulation and gaslighting. And pure evil because it's only for beauty and she's a total narcissist. I think she deserves to be in the great villain tier, and she has that humor you've also mentioned. And her "Mother Knows Best" reprise?? Divine. Fun video! PS Didn't mention Maleficient either, but her music motif and her presence are iconic.

[amnicky]

One of my favorite animated villains has to be Pitch Black from Dreamwork's Rise of the Guardians. His character design, his voice, his interactions with the protagonists, I just love the way they did it. The movie is also based on a series of books, in which you learn about Pitch's backstory, and how he was actually a hero turned villain. He believed that he was saving his daughter, but was then tricked by the shadows that ultimately turned him into the villain he is in the film. Another element that I love about his character is that in some way, you can almost see the reasoning for his actions. Sure, scaring children isn't a good thing, but he needs to be feared in order to exist, and how can you stop someone from wanting to exist ? I just love this villain and I wish we got to see where they could have taken him in a sequel.