DH and the kids have been playing Villainous, which is a Disney-based game that pits Disney-universe villains (including Marvel!) against each other.
Which got us talking– who is the most evil Disney villain? (What makes a villain evil?) On the one hand, you’ve got villains who are misguided but cause a lot of damage (Thanos though I guess that’s not cartoon), and on the other others who seem genuinely deep down evil but don’t actually end up doing that much (Sleeping Beauty’s step-mom). Does motivation matter? Does amount of destruction matter?
Is selfishness and jealousy enough, or do they have to *enjoy* causing other people to suffer? Do they have to seem especially creepy?
I think if we’re going with classic villains, Cruella de Ville has my vote. But in the expanded universe, Lotso from Toy Story is the creepiest villain I’ve seen in what is becoming the Disney Monopoly universe.
Here is the internet on the topic: Reel Rundown , Screenrant , Medium (which separates “evil” into 5 different categories).
What do you all think? Who is the most evil cartoon Disney Villain?
Grumpy Rumblings (of the formerly untenured) 
March 3, 2021 at 11:22 am
It’s hard to think of fictional cartoon villians when there are actual villains intent on killing their constituents, huh?
March 3, 2021 at 2:51 pm
True, but perhaps the same rules apply. Is selfishness/jealousy/stupidity enough, or do they have to actually enjoy making others suffer? Is it less villainous if they actually believe they are doing the “right thing”?
March 3, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Whatever is going on in TX right now, nobody in power can be thinking that’s the right thing. I wonder if there really is some psychopathic rich person calling the shots with all these politicians in order to get the twisted thrill of killing lots of people. It seems more logical than any other explanation I can think of.
March 3, 2021 at 8:43 pm
I’m going to go with Cruella De Ville as well. I don’t know WTF is up with Texas. Plenty of real life villains there… Maybe the idea is to take a page from Trump’s book and do something jacked up and outrageous to distract from the fact that a lack of regulation failed spectacularly to provide power and water for Texas? Of course, talking villains, Stephen Miller also comes to mind.
March 4, 2021 at 2:07 am
Thanos is my pick. Killing others for the benefit of those who are left behind sounds a lot like Nazis. Although the nazis also did experiments on people so again, the real world villains are a lot more brutal than the cartoon ones. Thanos wins with the sheer number of people he hurt. I am sure the nazis had very good reasons for the things they did. (Improving the economy, advancing scientific discovery). It doesn’t make it any less wrong.
March 4, 2021 at 2:30 am
I haven’t been able to decide all day and then I realized it’s a tossup between Galactus devourer of planets, Thanos or Palpatine. Darth Vader repented in his end, the other three don’t have any remorse for their death and destruction.
Core cartoon Disney doesn’t come close to touching those three, IMO.
March 4, 2021 at 6:12 am
The squirrel girl comic with galactus makes him seem a lot less evil (no spoilers but it is worth reading!!!)
March 4, 2021 at 3:54 pm
I will have to seek that out, I didn’t read much of Squirrel Girl!
March 4, 2021 at 1:52 pm
Hunchback of Notre Dame villain freaked me out the most. Too realistic and very evil!!