Why DreamWorks Villains Are Superior

So many studios are missing a crucial component from their stories: The Villain. Today we are looking at the excellent example set by DreamWorks villains.

[ripleyandweeds]

I think my favorite thing about Death is that he isn't really evil, he's literally just doing his job and only dislikes Puss because of his nine lives. If I were the grim reaper and this one guy kept commiting the mortality version of tax evasion I'd be pretty pissed too.

[NateThurlow]

Ironically almost all DreamWorks villains are somehow sympathetic and yet also irredeemable. Tai Lung was crushed by expectations but lashed out and almost destroyed the valley. Grimmel was the hiccup of his own tribe who wanted notoriety, but got it through the genocide of the night furies

[hufnaaratnaaf]

Big Jack Horner was such a refreshing character in an animated movie after years and years of plot twist villains, I missed over the top bad guys in films

[fatheralexanderanderson]

I really love Last Wish's villains, because they're all good examples of my three favorite kinds of villains: the sympathetic anti-hero, Goldilocks; the pure evil, Jack Horner; and the force of nature, Death

[ananyanyan]

I love how unlike Disney, the villains are sympathetic and human to some degree but Dreamworks doesn't try to excuse their actions. They're still wrong and irredeemable, which is the whole point of being a villain

[Galimeer]

Making villains misunderstood and redeemable isn't necessarily bad.
What's bad is when you do it nonstop.
Fact of the matter is, bad people exist.

[noirhelios]

The funny thing is, most of these villains still had a degree of sympathetic nature to them, but Dreamworks still didn’t shy away from showing why they’re wrong. Something I’ve noticed, both in real people and entertainment, is there’s this idea that if you’ve had a hard life, you’re entitled some degree of levity for your bad actions. I love that Dreamworks still shows sympathetic traits for their villains while still showing that it doesn’t excuse what atrocities they’ve committed

[granmastersword]

you forgot to mention that Shen wasn't just motivated in conquering all of China, he was greatly obsessed in escaping the fate the goat lady predicted, that one day he would die by the hands of a warrior of Ying and Yang (which he predicted to be a panda). And it goes in line with something Oogway said in the first movie: trying to prevent your fate only results in fulfilling it.
In his fear and obsession to ensure his survival in the future, he accidentally led Po to become the warrior that would end him, as well as severing other possible paths that would make him happy

[sekphejul]

I think one of the best bits of subtle storytelling in a Dreamworks movie was Po's reaction to the Dragon Scroll as opposed to Tai Lung's reaction to it. The movie tells us time and again that one can only be special if they believe themselves to be special. That's why the scroll is shiny and reflective. It reflects yourself. You have to be believe in yourself to be special.

When Po sees the scroll for the first time, he says, "It's blank!" That's his reaction to his reflection in the scroll. Blank, because that's what he is: a blank slate. He only just became the dragon warrior, he only just started his journey in the world of Kung Fu. He still has a long way to go.

In contrast, when Tai Lung sees the scroll and his reflection in it, he says, "It's nothing." That's his reaction to his own reflection. Nothing. Because he sees himself as nothing without the power he thought the scroll would give him.

It's an amazing bit of subtle writing that you just don't see in Disney's works these days.

[CheeseTheWhistle]

Kung Fu Panda 4 and Megamind 2: I knew we missed something

[tsyko]

I like how in Last Wish, each villain also represents one of the 3 major villain archetypes: An unstoppable force of nature (Death), the anti-villain (Goldi) and the true villain (Jack Horner). All great examples.

[fallenangeldraco]

Jack horner being unapologetically evil is part of the reason why he's so enjoyable

[thecod]

What strikes me about Disney movies is that generally speaking, they usually write the movie around the hero and insert the villain where Dreamworks at their best write around both.

It also helps that Dreamworks is much more willing to take risks with their villains as opposed to playing it safe.

[dpknscldnkn]

"I'd be terrified at the upcoming fourth film, but their track record has given me confidence they're going to be just fine."
Well... This didn't age well.

[mthral]

Honestly, the fact that megamind created a perfect example of a nice guy YEARS before that even existed is so wild to me.

[Noctazar]

Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 has always been one of my favorite villains... He is humanized, he is (sort of?) portrayed as a misunderstood individual, but at the same time he himself acknowledges that he's too far gone for any hopes of redemption, which makes him both more believable and more tragic.

"My freedom was forfeit long ago."

[michaelreich]

Disney now tries to make their villains sympathetic, "misunderstood", and pushed down the wrong path by men, when there's no realistic reason to do so.

[jadonstevens]

I actually wrote an essay on the genius of Death as a villain and how he combines attributes of Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and Kai into one genius work of art.

[sirshotty]

It’s cool that the last wish doesn’t have one great antagonist but three each of a different flavor. You have the sympathetic/redeemed antagonist, the force of nature, and the unapologetic Machiavellian villain. And despite them all being very different types of antagonists they all tie into the main theme.

[Metalseadraking]

For me Tai Lung also works so great because of his upbringing
He was frustrated not being chosen the dragon warrior, yes. He didn’t get that external validation.
But it was Shi Fu who solely trained him for that purpose (at least that’s how he thinks), give him that dream and made him work hard on that one thing, never realizing that Tai Lung just wanted to be made the dragon warrior because it’s all he knew would make Shi Fu proud of him
Shi Fu even recognizes his own failure in the end, that Tai Lung should have been raised as his son and not as a future dragon warrior. That he never told him he was proud of Tai Lung. The amazing thing why Tai Lung works as a sympathetic villain imo because him turning evil wasn’t entirely his fault, but his upbringing and Shi Fu admits it as much. But it’s too late and both mistakes were already done.

Po works great as a foil and protagonist, because his father figure IS proud of him. Peng trusts Po with the secret recipe and that he will take over the restaurant. Po grew up without great expectations and a father figure who can show his love and he was just living his life without any grandiose expectations