When Incredibles 2 hits theaters later this month, the first family of Supers will face off against a new nemesis, The Screen Slaver, a villain who uses hypnotism to get people to do his bidding.
Only time will tell if the new bad guy will be evil enough to be added into the pantheon of great animated villains throughout history — a list that would frighten even the most incredible of the Incredibles. But while we wait, let’s celebrate some of the most wicked cartoon baddies that keep kids (and some adults) up at night.
Jafar from Aladdin
“I think it’s time to say goodbye to Prince Abubu.”
There were plenty of townspeople who had it out for Aladdin — though he always managed to stay one jump ahead of them — but the street rat met his match in the sultan’s evil advisor, Jafar. This guy’s negative qualities extend far behind his questionable facial hair. Throughout the Disney classic, Jafar attempts to overthrow the sultan, tries to force Princess Jasmine into marrying him, and plans to murder Aladdin. Oh, and all of that was phase one of his plan, with his sights really set on snagging the magic lamp in order to rule the entire universe.
Lord Farquaad from Shrek
“Now really, it’s rude enough being alive when no one wants you, but showing up uninvited to a wedding?”
Nothing sounds as magical as a kingdom made up of beloved fairytale characters, but Lord Farquaad begs to differ. The tiny tyrant wants to get rid of all the fairytale folk in the land of Duloc and he’s willing to take part in some pretty dastardly deeds to do it. Take, for instance, the moment when he tortures the Gingerbread Man just to get intel on where the rest of his enemies are hiding. Ripping off Gingy’s beautiful gumdrop buttons before breaking his legs is simply sadistic.
Scar from The Lion King
“This is exactly the way your father looked before he died.”
We can probably all agree that murdering your brother in order to become king is not great, but Scar took things a sinister step further by then convincing his nephew Simba that he was the one responsible for his father’s death. The lying lion proceeded to let his band of hyenas take over his new kingdom and it turned out his leadership skills are as horrible as his morals. When Simba came back to reclaim the throne, Scar tried to kill him, too. It’s hard to live those Hakuna Matata vibes when there’s a sinful supervillain trying to destroy everything around you.
Sid Phillips from Toy Story
“What am I gonna blow? Man, hey, where’s that wimpy cowboy doll?”
Little boys and mischief go hand in hand, but Sid Phillips took things to the next level. The 10-year-old wasn’t interested in playing with his toys, so much as completely destroying them and rebuilding them in creepy hybrid form. But it’s not only his own toys he’s interested in. He also steals his sister’s and then proceeds to terrorize her with them. This kid even used a magnifying glass to attempt to make a beam of light from the sun burn a hole through Woody’s head. Hopefully his mother puts Sid into therapy before he truly self-destructs in his animated teenage years.
Ursula from The Little Mermaid
“My dear, sweet child. That’s what I do. It’s what I live for — to help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to.”
Ariel may be the protagonist in The Little Mermaid, but it’s the evil Ursula who steals the show. With her voluptuous purple body and eight tentacles, not to mention the fact that she was based off legendary drag queen Divine, this sea witch is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. Unfortunately, she spends the whole film trying to ruin Ariel’s life in order to take the crown from her father, King Triton. Being bad has never looked as good as it does on this depraved diva.
The Joker from Batman: The Animated Series
“You just toddle on back to your mundane, meaningless little life, and when I need you, I’ll call. Fair? Good? Great! I’ll be in touch.”
While all the other animated villains on this list come from movies, there’s a TV villain that had to be included. The Joker is one of the most iconic comic book villains of all time, and each iteration of The Clown Prince of Crime provides a new reason as to why. The brilliant Batman: The Animated Series version from the ’90s is no exception, with Mr. J being voiced by the iconic Mark Hamill. Not only was the Joker intent on turning Gotham City into his own petrifying playground, but he takes great pleasure in every moment of torture he brings to others, including his faithful sidekick, Harley Quinn. That’s because not even a beautiful woman can take the Joker’s eyes off the prize — causing chaos everywhere he goes.
Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations
“My only true love, darling. I live for furs. I worship furs! After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn’t?”
You don’t have to be a dog lover to know that an obsession with scalping puppies for fur is sick and twisted. But for Cruella De Vil, it’s not just a horrible hobby but an entire way of life. Her name alone contains the words “cruel,” “devil,” and “evil,” but it doesn’t need to be spelled out for us to prove that this woman is wicked to the core. And aside from a penchant for puppy murders, she just barges into people’s homes whenever she pleases, and that is just downright rude.
Oogie Boogie from A Nightmare Before Christmas
“Mister Oogie Boogie says there’s trouble close at hand. You’d better pay attention now, cause I’m the Boogie Man.”
It would be hard to go through life as a stuffed burlap sack filled with bugs, but that’s no reason to try eating Santa Claus. Oogie Boogie, however, takes great pleasure in putting fear into the hearts of everyone around him. His true passion is gambling, but that also happens to include gambling with the lives of anyone he meets. He has his henchmen bring unsuspecting characters back to his lair in order to torture them before adding them to his Snake and Spider Stew. And that is simply no way to spend the holidays.