Disney villains are evil, but they are also an exciting part of their animated movies. Audiences have been treated to an array of characters that clearly display the fight between good and evil. Fans are well-versed in the songs, goals and characteristics of their favorite villains, but there are a few facts they might not know.

With so many animations in Disney’s canon, it would be almost impossible to know the ins and outs of them all. Not to mention, their catalog of movies is ever-growing. Whether it’s a behind-the-scenes fact or something that is hard to spot, here’s a list of weird details about Disney villains.

It Took a While for a Male Villain to Be Put In a Disney Animation

The Disney princess movies are a huge part of their feature-length animations. They began with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs back in 1937, but it wasn’t until 1991 that Disney placed a man as the villain. The film broke the 54-year trend and delivered one of the most memorable villains to date with Gaston.

The egotistical man that lives in the same village as Belle has no redeeming qualities, and is well-suited to the villainous list of characters that came before him. The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and Ursula from The Little Mermaid, are the heinous characters that predate Gaston. The likes of The Jungle Book did have male villains, but they weren’t centered around the story of a princess.

Beauty and the Beast

Release Date

November 21, 1991

Runtime

84 Minutes

• 

Scar Makes an Odd Appearance in Another Movie

Speaking of male villains, Scar is another that lives on in Disney’s history. The wickedly jealous brother of King Mufasa in The Lion King, was wrapped up in taking over the throne, killing his sibling to do so. Scar’s story didn’t end so well either, when his army of hyenas turned on him towards the end of the movie. And, if anyone wasn’t sure if he made it out alive, then checking out Hercules would clear things up.

Related

10 Perfect Final Scenes in Disney Movies That Are Flawless From Beginning to End

Some Disney endings are a harmonious blend of pure joy and triumph, making fans believe in the tangibility of happily ever after.

When the titular character is posing for a painting, he’s wearing a lion’s skin. Once he throws it to the floor, viewers see a very familiar character. Hercules had been wearing Scar’s skin. It’s pretty gruesome to think of, but it’s not unheard of for Disney to make little crossovers that sometimes take a couple of viewings to realize.

Hercules

Release Date

June 13, 1997

Runtime

93 Minutes

• 

• 

Captain Hook Wasn’t Hated by Everyone

Captain Hook could never quite outrun his arch nemesis Peter Pan. The angry pirate spends most of his time trying to get revenge. His reason being, Peter had cut off his hand and fed it to the crocodile, hence the hook in place of his hand. Despite his goal, and being presented as a villain, he wasn’t killed off like most others.

According to BuzzFeed, Walt Disney knew that audiences would actually like Captain Hook, and they wouldn’t want to see him die. Peter Pan is a slightly more complex Disney animation as the film’s hero isn’t always likable. He doesn’t defend Wendy when she was outnumbered by mermaids, and he can be rude. So, perhaps it can be said that it’s no surprise Captain Hook had a vendetta against Peter, considering Peter’s attitude and that he’d caused him a lot of harm in the past.

Peter Pan

Release Date

February 5, 1953

Runtime

77 minutes

Director

Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson

Writers

Erdman Penner

• 

The First Words of a Disney Animated Feature Were Spoken by a Villain

As well as being the first Disney princess animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is Disney’s premier animated feature. It was revolutionary for the studio and had a big impact on the future of animation. Snow White is the film’s leading princess, yet it isn’t her who had the first words.

The Evil Queen, played by Lucille La Verne, took that spot with her opening line “Slave in the Magic Mirror, come from the farthest space.” It’s quite a dramatic opening, and audiences are introduced to their main villain straight away. It might be thought that the villain would come into the narrative further into the film. Instead, she nabbed the title of first character to speak in a Disney animated feature.

One Actor Voiced Two Iconic Villains

Lady Tremaine from Cinderella and Maleficent, who originated from Sleeping Beauty, are two Disney villains that are widely-known. They’re both very different to one another, but are equally fearsome. It’s hard to tell because the voice work is so good, but they’re actually played by the same actor, Eleanor Audley.

Audley is also the voice of Madame Leota in Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride. Obviously, she had the knack for creating a chilling atmosphere with just her vocals. There’s a lot of pressure on a voice actor to bring their character to life. Having to do that for two completely different movies, and make the characters unique to one another is certainly impressive.

Sleeping Beauty

Release Date

January 29, 1959

Runtime

75minutes

Director

Clyde Geronimi, Wolfgang Reitherman

Writers

Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, Milt Banta

• 

Gaston’s Death Was Going to Be Very Different

Going back to one of the worst Disney villains, Gaston. His plan to kill the Beast and win Belle over never paid off, as he died after falling from a height. That ending may be definitive enough for the villain. However, he was originally going to have a much more gory death, which would’ve been similar to how Scar died in The Lion King.

Related

10 Great Throwback Disney Movies That Don’t Get Enough Credit

Many great classic Disney movies tend to get buried in history under the shadow of more popular films, and many are fans’ childhood favorites.

After Gaston fell, he was going to survive, when a pack of wolves surrounded and ate him, (like Scar and the Hyenas). Understandably, the alternative ending was cut. It seems far too heavy for the narrative. The reason it fits with The Lion King is due to it being based around the animal kingdom. In Beauty and the Beast’s case, Gaston’s fall got the message across, and viewers didn’t need anything else.

A Lot of Disney Villains Die the Same Way

Gaston’s death-fall wasn’t the first in Disney’s catalog, and it certainly wasn’t the last either. In fact, dying from a fall is very common among Disney villains. The Evil Queen, Claude Frollo, Clayton and Mother Gothel are just a few of the others that meet their demise in the same way.

It’s actually a good idea to kill off the villains in such a way because it’s not too graphic, and young viewers don’t have to witness anything too bloody. It doesn’t really matter how the villain dies. It’s more about a hero’s victory, or the message that evil doesn’t prevail. Falling is just the best way to conclude a villain’s narrative and not leave audience members disturbed at what they’ve seen.

Lady Tremaine Has a Particular Way of Being Evil

There’s a lot of magic and violence in Disney animations, regularly used by villains. In Cinderella‘s case, the main villain, Lady Tremaine, didn’t need any of those tools at her disposal to cause fear. Her favorite way of conducting evil was psychological. She’s a terribly intimidating presence, and doesn’t have to do much to be so.

Related

10 Most Iconic Disney Animated Movie Quotes of All Time, Ranked

Disney is known for making a lasting impact with their films, and nothing comes close to its lineup of iconic quotes.

Tremaine has no love for her step-daughter. Cinderella is merely a servant to her. She places her two biological daughters in much higher regard, and treats them as though they deserve much more than Cinderella. She’s manipulative and deceitful, and knows exactly how to put someone else down without causing a scene. Audley captured the character’s sinister motives in her tone, adding to her overall persona.

Cinderella

Release Date

February 22, 1950

Runtime

74 minutes

Director

Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske

Producers

Walt Disney

Only Two Villains Meet in a Disney Show

The villains in Disney movies usually remain with their own stories, and with the characters in those stories. On one occasion, Disney decided to venture out to get two of their famous villains on screen together. The two are Hades of Hercules, and Jafar of Aladdin. The meeting comes during Hercules: The Animated Series.

In the episode “Hercules and the Arabian Night”, Hades is in the underworld, when Jafar’s soul goes down there too. They quickly form a friendship and decide it’s a good idea to get Hercules and Aladdin to fight each other. It’s a weird crossover that viewers weren’t expecting, but still entertaining. Who knows, maybe Disney will bring audiences more villain crossovers at some point.

Hercules: The Animated Series

Release Date

1998 – 1998

Showrunner

Tad Stones

Directors

Phil Weinstein

Writers

Tad Stones

• 

Be Prepared Was Sung by Two Different Voice Actors

“Be Prepared” is both an iconic song and a memorable line from The Lion King. It’s sung by Scar, as he enlists the help of Hyenas to kill Mufasa and get rid of Simba. The song is striking and well-made, so it’s very difficult to hear that there are actually two people who sing parts of the song.

Jeremy Irons, who voices Scar, began singing for the recording, but he ended up having a problem with his voice and couldn’t complete it. Jim Cummings stepped in and finished the last part of the song. The voices are so well matched, it’s very hard to notice the change in singers. Nevertheless, for that song, Scar had two voices.

The Lion King

Release Date

June 24, 1994

Runtime

88 Minutes

•