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...
Tai-Lung, in that moment, had a chance to stop. Stop the fighting, stop the rage, all of it. And perhaps, he may have become one of the greatest fighters alongside Po and The Furious Five, in time of course. And he thought about it, for that moment, I believe he genuinely considered stopping. But then the rage and the pride boiled back up to the surface. The desire for power overcame everything.
Reibey: Hehehe 🤭 Kyubey: Umm… don’t you pretend to be good? Reibey: I’m not talking about myself, I’m talking about, Perversion. P E R V E R S I O N: I don’t
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
One of my favorite lines Death says, because of the intensity in his voice and the fear it invokes within Puss, is when Puss drops his sword and the wolf responds with telling him, in a very serious tone, to “pick it up. Pick. It. Up.”
The closest to a "comedic moment" we get with Death, I think, is when he recognizes Puss has changed and yells at himself. The kind of laughter gotten out of the audience is one of nervousness rather than enjoyment, because this fully serious character has suddenly pulled away and is yelling very loudly about something, yet it isn't fully directed at Boots.
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."
I don't believe it was respect for that reason though. I think that, through the years, and becoming a father, Bob came to the realization that he acted poorly to a boy who idolized him.
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)
I heard about a myth, I believe of lattin american origin, of a man who whistles outside the homes of people, and he collects bones. I believe he was a psychopathic little boy who killed his father and told his mother to cook his father's liver, and was then killed by the grandfather, who used his hounds to rip the little boy to shreds.
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.
I think it works because from the beginning he is seen at least as an antagonist. Then he manages to sway you, and Ralph, that maybe he’s not the bad guy, he has his reasons. But then you soon realize he lied. Even without the twist reveal he was still pure villain, literally trying to kill Vanelope during the race.
"That's all a toy is!" Is one of the coldest lines ever said in the entire series of toy story him just telling the fate of all toy's when a child grows up.
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
Maleficent was great in the original animation, she was terrifying and had an amazing character design with her colours and sharp lines and menacing expressions
Something to remember is that whenever you decide to act upon a prophecy, you run the risk of causing it to occur by giving the protagonist the motivation they need to defeat you. Let us assume that you are a tyrant ruling a kingdom and a wise oracle tells you that one day a child from a village under your rule will one day rise up and kill you so you raid the village, plunder the peasants and kill any children that could rise up against you... you won't kill the child you were warned of because they'll escape or somebody will rescue them... it's how it goes. Instead, I submit that you should instead bathe the village in riches, make it's people completely loyal to you, make yourself their shining paragon that delivers them from evil, or for a more personal touch find the child themselves and rescue them or their family from poverty, uplift them, give the father a brilliant job and pay them well, you assure them that they will live happy and want for nothing. Would you kill someone you believe to be a hero? Would you kill someone who provided for your family, protected you from danger and saved you from evil? No.
@@owendiaram3870That's exactly how I think of it, they are so blinded by their ego and power that they throw all rationale out the window and never consider the consequence they may be putting on themselves or others around, and I can resonate with that when I put it on the context of my own life (not in a complete villainous aspect) as how when I get close to a goal that I want to reach, do I disregard others feelings and think about how I am almost there or willing to sacrifice my own goal if it's going to effect someone or something negatively
@@owendiaram3870If a prophecy says a child of X village will kill you, the child of X village will kill you. In your example, the child might concoct a plan to steal your riches and have you killed. Just because a prophecy says you'll be killed, it doesn't mean you're the bad guy and the one killing you is the good one.
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.
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.
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
The movie had the three main kinds of villains: Villain because of circumstances (Goldilocks and the bears) Villain because of evilness (Jack) Villain because of duty (Death)
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 😭
Azula is such a good villain. And its really sad that she went from one of the most powerfull people in their respective world to a lone, depressed and insane kid who lost everything she had
Azula's story is truly tragic because she never had a chance due to her own family. When Zuko turned out to be unsuitable for his heir, Ozai instead shifted his ideals - or rather forced them on a young and impressionable Azula. Azula wasn't all that different from Zuko really, but Ursa wasn't a good mother either. She feared Azula because she let her own fears of Ozai get the better of her rather than control them. Thus, Azula's deep desire to be loved by her own mother was left unfulfilled and she latched onto Ozai because he showed that "love", becoming the person we see in the series. And the most horrific thing? This could've happened to either of them if the roles were reversed.
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.
@@andrewgreeb916 They also treat animated movies as exclusively kids' stuff. What a way to degrade the hard work of millions of animators who put their blood, sweat and tears into crafting something for everyone to enjoy or as an expression of art. As bad as it is, even Boss Baby had to have someone trying hard in its production, which shouldn't be dismissed. You also have incredible films like Ratatouille that so much effort went into but "ThAt's FoR KiDS, iT'S BabY NonSENSe".
Exactly animation almost transcends anything reality could provide. Examples of this includes the Disney live action remakes. The energy that only an animated villain can provide is lost in live action
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.
He’s not a villain, he’s just an antagonist who’s meant to challenge the heroes. It’s Skinner who brings forth the danger of the restaurant shutting down and Linguini’s secret coming out
@@jamestolbert1856 This actually makes for a great set up! The comedic villain you don't fear poses an incredible threat to the heroes livelihood, and the dreaded food critic that everyone is afraid of is really just a normal guy who becomes their saving grace in the end. Where Skinner cared more about himself, Ego cared about the food, and that made all the difference.
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
Omg I never realized that. I bet that was on purpose. Fairies have been romanticized by modern fairy tales, but their original lore they are devious creatures that will steal your soul or trap you in another dimension.
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.
I mean tbf Death is kinda doing something wrong because he chose to go after puss prematurely. Death is only supposed to deal with those that die naturally, yet he's actively choosing to go after puss because his recklessness annoyed him. Yes, puss should've been less reckless and self obsessed, but Death was still petty to try to kill him for it
@@gremlinwc8996 death was never actually trying to kill puss though, if the literal being of death wanted someone dead I’m sure he can just snap his fingers and instakill them. He wanted to play with puss and keep him from getting the wish and make him value life which is why he let puss have a chance to stab him in the neck but puss just respected death, the concept and the being.
@@gentlyvillainous he's the _embodiment_ of death, that doesn't mean he _controls_ all death. he's not a god, he's a natural force that is never disrupted, so irritated that he went out of his way to physically manifest and intervene. he didn't "let" Puss have a chance to stab him in the neck as it would do literally nothing to him, he's just a form of something impossible to kill, like how you can't kill the concept of a colour. he even ends up shouting in Spanish something like "why the hell did I have to play with my food?" in frustration. he absolutely wanted Puss dead, but he chose to respect the different outcome
@@gentlyvillainous No, he definitely wanted to kill Puss. It's just that he is also a Wolf, and he loves the thrill of the hunt, the smell of fear. He even berates himself later, furiously asking himself why did he have to play with his food (in Spanish, so it is easier to miss).
@@gremlinwc8996 I'd like to recommend pausing at the bar scene, when Puss is drinking milk and just before Death appears: that scene has eight glasses that he's already drunk- and he's started on the ninth one... Only stopping because Death showed up. At that moment, Puss was in the process of throwing his very last life away, and Death's arrival was what prompted him to seek ways to lengthen his life, instead. Was it intentional of Death that he'd make Puss value one of his lives at last? Who knows- but he stopped chasing him only while he wasn't adventuring; and when he was, he showed up every time he was about to start getting reckless again.
The Spot probably also deserves a spot on this list. The villain is so entertaining to watch, going from a joke no one even laughs at, to an actual rival capable of destroying the hero, to becoming absolutely terrifying and promising to destroy everything the hero (Miles) holds dear. That writing was so good
For me it’s when Rameses is calling out to Moses as Moses is leaving Egypt for the first time, right after he kills the slave-driver. Rameses can’t understand what Moses is doing because he doesn’t know what Moses has been through, so he’s left bewildered and lost. It always reminds me of my own brothers, whom I used to be really close to, and the distance time has put between us, and it never fails to make me cry.
It’s fascinating that of all the people god left alive from that ocean it was Rameses. Or maybe Moses left his brother alive because he still felt some love for the man, idk
Their sibling relationship, jokes, and love was always my favourite part of the movie. The pain they both so clearly feel, and Ramesses repeatedly pleading with Moses in the second half of the movie to be brothers again has always broken my heart.
I think it's the perfect allegory for a family ruled by a narcissist. The brothers grew up in a area where everything they seen was ruled by their father. Literally, every word their father spoke was law. So the golden child (Ramesses) was doing everything in his power to follow the rules and laws, to do everything that their people saw as right and just. Moses was also under that world view, and he didn't leave because he thought he should be better. Moses left because he questioned his father's rules for a moment, then as a result broke one of the big rules. He was so scared of what would happen, that he would embarrass his father, that he decided to run away to save his family from his actions. It wasn't until Moses seen a healthy family aspect, and some of the world outside of the narcissist's control, that he seen how vile the "rules" were. Ramesses never got to see past the veil of their father's rule. He still loved his brother, you could see that in how he didn't threaten Moses, but instead those around him. He didn't want to hurt someone he loved. The only thing that changed that was when someone else he loved died, his own son. That was the last time they spoke, over the body of his son. Then his grief lead him to act out in rage, that by the time he came down from it, even the brother he loved that he fought so hard to keep from harm, also left him. In another story, Ramesses would be the good king. He would be the one following all the rules while the murderous traitor comes around to usurp the kingdom under the name of a deity. A deity didn't recognize was real because every source he had said the traitor was pulling tricks and the rest could just be delusions of the traitors mind after decodes out in the desert. He would be the one that tried to change the traitor he once called his brother back to the rule of what is seen as right in their culture. Every hero introspection even deals with the fact that the rules and governing system they are fighting for is as corrupt. Led by narcissists that would, and have, ended innocent lives to get the power they have now. Ramesses did what he thought was right, but the ethical structure he built his morals around was so twisted it made him wrong. He was unable to see it until the very end.
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.
And on top of that, what makes Mother Gothel truly an evil villain and Rapunzel a bit tragic, is that even with Gothel dead, there are some subtle hints that Rapunzel is still affected by Gothel’s abuse. Such as refusing to listen to other people’s advice because she is scared to truly trust someone at their word.
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.
Fun fact. In the original story frollo was the head deacon of the notre dame. A.k.a. a high priest. And esmeralda was 16. Which makes him genuinely worse, and I love it.
@@theMRsome12Well in that era it wasn't unusual to even marry a 13 year old girl or even younger. Pedophilia emerged in the modern era as a problem, just like sodomy (homosexuality) emerged in the modern era as a right and freedom.
@@jefferyandbob3137 well they are kinda right about no one fearing someone like scar today because most of us don't live with monarchies anymore, so while realistic for royal families, not very applicable to the average person
azula is that one side boss you struggled with and get slight PTSD from whenever you replay the game, whereas ozai is that one boss you remember, but only at a surface level. so like, reaper leviathan vs. the valkyries.
Because of how repair leviathans are - their existence as animals, I realize how horrible the fear an animalistic threat is. The feeling that them hunting you is not just for food. You feel like prey.
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.
@@masonidk6571 you are very welcome !! I highly recommend researching the backstory/lore in the books as well , it adds a whole new dimension to the film ! Keep up the great videos :)
Absolutely. I have to say Pitch is probably my favourite animated villain of all. I haven't read the books myself, but from what I've heard the books and film don't really inhabit the same world, so the characters' backstories differ. As it is, I think Pitch's character is fascinating and profound even without the backstory from the books. I think he has much, much more complexity than many people give him credit for - and I think much of that complexity comes from the way he is voiced and animated. When a child walks through him, they could have given him a look of fury and indignation - which would have made him much less relatable. Instead, his look is one of horror and despair. Again, when Jack rejects his allegiance, he doesn't look insulted. He looks shocked and heartbroken. His facial expressions reveal just how fragile and lonely of a character he is, and invite you to see things from his perspective. He is exactly like the Guardians - just as necessary and just as valuable. But because he embodies fear, a negative emotion, his fate is to be constantly misread in the name of protecting the children. The way I see it, his actions in the film are the result of a thousand years of justified frustration. To the point that at the end, his defeat feels more hollow than triumphant. If you pay close attention to this masterpiece of a film, the more you really think about its themes, the more you realise what an ambiguous ending it really has. While Rameses' complexity and tragic downfall are on the very surface of the Prince of Egypt, Pitch's tragedy is more subtle. It grows on you gradually until it starts to haunt you. At least that's the way it was for me :)
Lord shen is probably my favorite animated villain. I am so impressed by the complexity of him. He was an amazing martial artist (though not the best) but he saw what he had, realized it was insufficient, and became something different. He didn't go looking for a dragon scroll or magic mcguffin to make him the best at kung fu. He made Kung Fu obsolete.
@@agumon1605 I think what got me was the lack of sentimentality. He has Kung Fu, but sacrifices kung Fu for victory by making weapons that Kung Fu can't stop. He has his ancestral palace, but is willing to cannon it to dust to defeat his enemies. He has finally reclaimed his family's dynasty, but he is willing to destroy it. All for his true goal of proving that he was truly the most powerful and rightful ruler.
The guy from Atlantis is also a great villain, and the best example of a twist villain because he’s not hiding himself. He acts the exact same before and after the reveal, and while you’re surprised he’s willing to be so evil, it doesn’t feel out of character.
Atlantis has one of the best villain twists because the entire crew was evil until a certain point. But rourke was that military captain America type that you would never suspect to be so evil.
One of my favorite villains. You can see him as being professional and stern to keep the crew upright. You can partially understand him getting annoyed at Milo without hating either of them. The moment that gave it away was when they had reached Atlantis, and that's were I knew something was up. It was never fully clear however to what an extent and what the consequences would be until the heroes found out. And that's when the villain worked - Rourke treating it like a treasure hunt, not caring about the possible deaths and justifying it with other inhuman actions done daily by humans (the museum stealing other countries treasures and claiming them for themselves).
@@z2yn I will admit rourke would have been a stronger villain if he was stealing the heart of atlantis for military reasons instead of just money. I mean it was during world war 1 times, so it could have been used as a weapon, reflecting the mistakes of the Atlanteans. But i digress, he was still an effective villain.
There are two that I would like to mention. First is Clayton from Tarzan. He was introduced as a supposed guide for Jane and her father. Someone who was supposed to lead the on an adventure and back to safety, only to be revealed as a poacher coming to steal away our hero’s family and home for a profit. It still hits me to this day that Tarzan associates his very name with the sound of a gunshot. And his decent into madness that was his own undoing was brilliant. Second is Captain John Silver from Treasure Planet. Another villain without whom, there is no real story because he’s the one who told Jim about the treasure in the first place and gave him the map. He makes Jim see him as a friend and something of a father figure, only to turn on him and leave him crushed. When he sees the error of his was though, he redeems himself and actually becomes a friend at the end. He may still be a pirate and treasure hunter, but the way they departed shows how much the hero and the villain grew to become better people by knowing each other
Also With Clayton we got to watch as his time slowly etching his way closer to his goal corrupted him into a literal beast of the jungle while Tarzan became the man raised in the Jungle who became a natural member of it.
There’s also admiral Rourke from Atlantis: the Lost Empire. He’s introduced as the captain of the crew who knew Milo Thatch’s grandfather and brought back the journal. He says that he wants to explore Atlantis for treasure but later, it’s revealed that he and along with the crew actually wants the Crystal and is willing to kill anyone to get it, and it’s his desire for treasure that leads to his departure of his crew and his own downfall.
From a literature perspective, it's probably worth remembering that Long John Silver has been iconic, mesmerizing, and interesting since Stevenson's original story. There's a reason why usually Silver steals the show of every adaptation. So like, not that Treasure Planet isn't awesome or anything, but part of what makes it's version of Silver so good is that it's starting from an already compelling character.
Meanwhile they sucked in the first one. I hate humpty dumpty and his pettiness, being at fault for his situation and puss and still blaming him. He just hates on the town, causes trouble and steals and doesn't care about his friend or the people. He then tricks his friend and lies to him, makes him an outlaw and then is pissed when he abandons him. And gets a supposed redemption arc at the end. That bloody egg didn't deserve it. And Jack and Jill were both obvious bad guy villains that it didn't make sense that they were working as minions for the egg until they just wanted more gold.
Death ain't even a villain. People confuse villains and antagonists all the time for some reason. Villains are evil antagonists, antagonists are characters that have opposite views and goals than the protagonist. Death, if anything, would be considered an antagonist, not a villain. And even then, he is more of an anti-hero.
The Last Wish literally showcases three types of villain/antagonist archetypes to their best degrees: Jack Horner is the stereotypical Evil for Evil's Sake Goldie is the antagonist with a redemption Death is the true antagonist and just a perfect foil to raise the story to its highest highs and lowest lows. All three are played out so well and it honestly leads to what I feel is the best movie to have come out in a decade.
Mother Gothel is one of the best ones in my eyes. I feel like there is an iceberg surrounding her behaviors and motives that lies so much deeper below the surface. It’s a lot of small and simple things that add together to create this harsh reality of her narcissistic tendencies, especially seen in both of her musical numbers: Mother Knows Best and Mother Knows Best (Reprise). She feeds her all these lies and makes her fear the outside world, telling her “don’t forget it, you’ll regret it,” to make her come running back when something goes wrong (even though she set her up). Mother Gothel’s death scene is one of my absolute favorites because of how she reacts to Rapunzel’s hair being cut. She knows that, without the power of her hair, she can no longer survive. As the hundreds of stolen years of youth begin rapidly catching up to her, you see the anger in her eyes and fear within the shattered mirror as she screams “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” Even after a life of manipulation, Mother Gothel was the mother figure to Rapunzel up until her adulthood, so I like the small detail they add when Mother Gothel falls out the tower and plummets to her death; Rapunzel reaches out with a distraught expression, as if it was horrifying to see her dying, regardless of how cold and heartless she was.
As someone with an abusive parent, watching the quick change in Mother Gothel at the start of the reprise still sends chills down my spine. The way your stomach drops out, the patronising tone, the way the parent turns every "kind" thing they did into a barbed weapon (the kindness being providing food and shelter like they are legally required to do 🙃). It's absolutely masterful, that movie is so well done
To be honest, Mr Incredible also had a slightly selfish reason for wanting the heroes to be back: He missed his glory days, the excitement, the recognition. He is shown celebrating when he hears about a fire, not showing any concern for people who might be burning alive at that very moment. Although he was definitely a better person than Syndrome, we never actually see him admit his priority is to protect and save people again, instead of feeling like a hero to feed his own ego. In fact, we see more of him acting angry and impatient towards non-heroes many times in the movie (hence the entire villain arc), coming to a point where he severely hurts someone, ignoring the fact that his power gives him a huge advantage and he could have literally killed an innocent man in an act of rage.
Yes! This does not get talked about enough! More righteous than Syndrome but still not 100% sincere himself. Vanity is in there for the glory, and it almost cost him his family
@@jaredpatterson1701I feel like Syndrome was meant to show that in both ways, he was not only the creation of Incredibles ego, but also a vision of who Mr. Incredible could become. I think its also really cool how he not only does the parent thing of projecting his own insecurities onto his kid, but we actually see him change thru that. In the beginning he wants Dash to go out for sports cause he'd be great, and in the end he's cheering him on to go for second place, probably helping Dash not make the same mistakes in the process.
To be fair to Mr. Incredible that man was telling him his job was to maximize his profit margin, not help people. Incredible was indeed vain and selfish, but he did always want to actually help people
You missed what I consider to be one of the deepest, most memorable villains in all animation history: Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. A man that creates anything, makes anything happen, and so on, yet also wants love from his daughter. Especially, with his tragic childhood, he is the greatest villain in animation history... Edit: First off, thank you, guys, so much for 1.6k likes. It will very much be repeated a thousand times, but I did not expect this comment to reach that amount of like and 21 replies. Second off, this is a joke. While he is a fairly deep villain, it's still a joke. But, thank you all again!
Saved the two best villains for last. Frollo is already an amazing villain, as he sees everyone but himself as evil. But Death is on a whole other level. He manages to become the center of the whole movie in just 7 minutes of screentime. He sends a cold chill down your spine with that haunting whistle. And the fight scenes are not a choreographed dance like in most movies, Death is actually trying to kill Puss in Boots and it really shows.
I almost think Mae’s betrayal of Azula shook her less because she cared for her and More because Mae went ahead and slapped her with “you miscalculated” the betrayal hurt but the implication that Azula could be wrong about her for years cut the deepest.
Silco from Arcane absolutely deserves a mention imo. I love how he is potrayed as just a generic bad guy in the begining, however over the season he morphs into such a complex and interesting character. The growth that is shown when he calls Vander weak for choosing his kids over the independence of Zaun, only to make the exact same decision a couple episodes later is just so damn good.
When he built up towards the Wolf from Puss In Boots at the end of this video, I was really hoping that it was going to be Silco lol. He really is a fantastic antagonist in every way, and his style, his looks and the way he moves could only have been pulled off in animation too
I guess animation for him only means Disney DreamWorks and Pixar. You don't have memorable villains lately? That's because you ain't watching hard enough
Silco has to be definately one of the strongest villain pressences in a while, and from a narrative atand point being that his manipulation of jinx turns to be his downfall as he actuallys comes to care for her, eapecially shown in the scene at xanders statue, hits hard
My favourite animated villain is Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls. He is demented, manipulative, threatening, downright terrifying, but also a ton of fun to watch. I mean, "I have some children I need to turn into corpses" is an extremely funny, yet terrifying line.
In my opinion, he's the funniest and most quotable character in the whole show (aside from Stan anyway) while also being a genuinely threatening presence. He doesn't even get that much screentime and you can't even tell early on that he's going to end up being the main antagonist, but it makes every appearance he has memorable, and his style of humor never feels played out.
Syndrome is my favorite. Interesting backstory and has made a point that has transcended the movie. "And when everyone's super. No one will be." This line applies to many real life situations.
Megatron/Galvatron was animated MASTERFULLY in Transformers Prime, they kept Frank as the VA and it worked so well, one of the things I enjoyed most about that entire series was that they kept the original VAs for Optimus and Megatron, their voices are still golden albeit slightly deeper and more raspy, which only makes Franks performance and the Metal Menace even better
One of my favorite, although criminally underutilized, villains was Rattlesnake Jake from Rango. He had an absolutely incredible character design and and the vocal performance really made him stand out.
Im not sure exactly if he can be even considered as a villain. Realisticaly he would be more antihero than villain. He have some moral code and honor obviously.
personality, charm, charisma. but underneath it all sadistic, terrifying, intelligence. his followers both love and fear him, he doesnt play favorites and they know it. the great mouse detective deserves more recognition
I think Ratigan is a deeply underappreciated villain. It's based in low self-esteem but he's arrogant and hilarious at the same time. He wrote a song for his archnemesis to listen to while waiting for his death going: 'good-bye, so soon and isn't it a shame.' Hes mocking him!
I think another reason for the lack of memorable villains in recent time (outside one certain cat sequel and a spidery boy) is the tendency to focus away from raw evil villains and have things like generational trauma take their place, some instances godawful like in Raye, mediocre Turning Red, and some great in Encanto, but really people just miss classic evil villains.
I didn't find Encanto to be that "great". It's as on the nose and generic as it can get : I lost my husband in an unspecified civil war, so I'm gonna burden my family with set expectations and boundaries. And the older sisters were just one-note.
If you want to talk about presence, look no further than to Rango. Rattlesnake Jake isn't a deep character per se, but he is a force of nature to the town of Dirt. He is everything Rango said about himself was. Ruthless, imposing, and most importantly, badass.
And, like Death, Jake's presence inadvertently pushes Rango to improve and grow as a character, ultimately becoming everything he said he was at the beginning! Rattlesnake Jake is criminally underrated.
I think that Aku from Samurai Jack is extremely underrated on the level of presence, presentation and pure wickedness, the hundreds of thousands of people he's killed, the depth of his manipulations and lies.. The abuse of his powers and followers, how much he he truly enjoys his evil ways and how he displays it... He's fascinating when not taken as a joke
Samurai Jack is one of my favorite cartoons from childhood, and I got excited thinking he was gonna mention Aku at the end. He's the literal embodiment of evil, an immortal, practically invincible, omnipotent demon god of darkness and destruction who succeeded in taking over the world, terrorizing it for probably thousands of years, to the point that he got bored of making every living thing suffer. Like come on, how can you not even mention him?
Eris from Sinbad had some great animation to her. Especially the scene she conjures a fake Sinbad and then possesses it. The animators could have just made her shapeshift but nope, they went the extra mile.
My favorite Disney Renaissance movie was Mulan, and my favorite villain stays as Shan Yu. He is so intimidating and a true force to be reckoned with. His design is great, but his voice acting is stellar. Miguel Ferrer did an incredible job. Just two lines that I remember so well "Congratulations, you found the Hun army" and "Boo" after he drops in front of the emperor at the end is just wow!
Also, he was the only one to take Mulan seriously without caring about her gender, wich has an actual historical explanation, on his country women were also on the army.
You know DreamWorks is making a comeback when their latest movie had not just 1, but 3 sets of memorable villains that each cover one of the staple archetypes: the Irredeemable Monster, the Sympathetic Changer, and the Unstoppable Force of Nature. While I adored Death and got chills whenever his whistle was heard, my favorite of the trio is definitely Big Jack Horner, but Goldilocks/Three Bears Crime Family were done wonderfully too. Just makes you wonder what kind of villain they're gonna make to rival Tai Lung or Lord Shen in KFP4
I find Dreamworks often gets overlooked in this reguard, their movies may not do so well, but take one look at something like How to Train your Dragon, race to the edge. And You'll realize they've had the villain game on point for a while. Seriously I want to see more people talk about Viggo Grimborn
Arcane's Silco is one of those villains that manages to be both a legendary animated villain, and one of the most well written antagonists of recent fiction.
The colonel in "Spirit Stallion of the Cimmeron". Similaraly to Death, he eventually respects the horse hes been chasing for days on end for making the jump, and tells his men not to fire upon him and his friend. Both the protagonist and antagonist acknowledge eachothers unwavering determination to reach their goal, and the movie ends with that sentiment. Its wonderful, and i love it!
Slade from TT is the perfect villain in my eyes Intimidating Manipulative A calm but chilling voice Has no problem with kicking your ass A clear contrast with the protagonist A strong design
What I like about Dreamwork's Death is the fact that.. while he is antagonist.. he's not your typical pyschopath looking for a prey, he's just doing his job.
I hate these comments because they are not true, he was not "just doing his job" he was killing puss in boots because he was mad that he wasted all of his lifes and wanted to end the last one himself, I dunno about you but I dont think death's job is killing someone before they naturally die. Also Death _KNOWS_ that he is not supposed to do that, in the cave where puss meets his past lifes one of them says that death killing early is "cheating" to which death responds: "Shhh *don't tell* " if thats not aknoledgmenet I dont know what is. Also don't come at me with the whole "Its justified, Puss wasted all of his lifes" i agree with this statement and I agree that it is deserved and that Death _should_ be mad but that doesnt mean that he is "just doing his job"
One thing someone had to point out to me about Death in Puss In Boots, is he appears in the background for every death. He's in the crowd during the giant fight, etc.
I think Omniman is also notable because of how much depth you can find in his inner battle between grandiose Viltrum Propaganda and simple Human Empathy
The Lich is a great villain as well. More of a force of nature, an aspect of life itself. He represents entropy, not just the end of all life, but the inevitable destruction of everything. He straight up kills people on screen, and Ron Perlman’s voice makes his times on screen even scarier and more enjoyable.
Shockwave from Transformers: Prime is forever my favorite villain character. He has such a unique character concept, strictly following what is logical. It makes for some of the BEST moments in that show.
On of my favourite animated villains is King Candy/Turbo from Wreck-it Ralph. He’s a great example of a twist villain where they don’t try and pull a “haha GOTCHA!”, but actually leave hints throughout towards who he really is. He’s a perfect mix of funny and scary, and Alan Tudyk was amazing as the voice actor
Awesome video! One of my favorite animated villains of all time is John Silver from Treasure Planet. As a cyborg with a specially rendered CG arm, he has an incredible design. In the opening action sequence, all you see is his imposing shadow before his pirates destroy the hero's home. But then while disguising his true motives, he builds a real friendship with the protagonist, who begins to see him as a father figure. His redemption is still one of my favorite arcs, up there with Prince Zuko.
I agree. The treasure planet is in general great animation but what makes it so perfect for me is this relationship you mentioned. Someone was chopping onions a lot during this animation
Agreed, Silver was also cool in the way where he shows what an obsession with a dream can do to someone and shows to Jim not to follow in his footsteps. I like how they both end of learning something from the other
My number one villain in animation (especially western animation) is absolutely Silco from Arcane. What a phenomenal, compelling character. Utterly despicable yet more human than any other villain I've ever seen, someone we'll hate and cry for at the same time, someone who fundamentally alters his entire worldview without ever becoming truly good. EVERY scene he is in is breathtaking to me, every one of his lines is a window into his character.
Azula is one of THE best villains I have ever seen in any media. She is terrifying in every single scene she shows up, you're never really sure how things are gonna play out, and the fact that she drives immense pleasure of making others miserable and fear her is so haunting. And BEST the way she is finally defeated just punches you so hard in the gut, perfect character.
Bill cipher is one of the best type of overpowered villain in any animated show, in every appearance of him he completely steals the show by either making people burst out laughing, outsmarting or manipulating the protagonists or just showing how powerful or sadistic he can be and I love it.
One of my favorite villains from animation would have to be the beast from over the garden wall. It's a small show but he just does a really good job as a distributing manipulative force. Great character design and amazing voice acting.
One of my all time favourite villians is Viggo Grimborn. His craftiness, the fact that he was almost always one step ahead of Hiccup, forcing hiccup to grow and become more tactical. The fact that he was merely motivated by greed and a desire for power, using his intelligence and skill to get it, as well as Alfred Molina's voice acting. All of those factors combined to make one of my favourite villians ever.
I was looking for someone to mention Viggo!!!! He is honestly one of my top 3 villians because he isn't just someone who hates dragons for the sake of it, he makes it clear throughout the series that it isn't personal for him to hunt down dragons, it's merely business. Hiccup not only prevents him from doing that presently, he also is a threat for the future of the dragon hunting business. Yet Viggo still continues the "game" and continues to learn from Hiccup as well as Hiccup learning from Viggo. They impact each other so well that at the end of their story, they're each a little more like the other. Viggo is so crafty and slick that the episodes where Viggo and Ryker were saying the other brother betrayed the dragon hunters, I honestly couldn't tell who was telling the truth! Viggo and Ryker are both incredible villains, and I wish they could've made the list.
@@amberhougland7168yeah he’s one of my favorite dragon hunter villains along with Grimmel cause he’s a foil to him, where Hiccup’s a hero to people because of his empathy towards dragons, Grimmel’s a hero to others because of his apathy towards them
Pitch Black from Rise of the Guardians has to be one of my favourites. From the character design and voice acting down to his personality and presence, it's just all done amazingly well and it truly is just an absolute joy to see. There is also the villains from Ice Age 3 and 4. Rudy is a masterfully crafted and teased villain in the movie that wasn't truly shown before the end but that just amplified the scariness of it all. You didn't know anything about it other than what the movie gave you, and it truly paid off. And then there's the pirate crew in the fourth movie who are jus a delight, and Captain Gutt, although maybe not the most terryfying villain out there, certainly has presence and Peter Dinklage did a masterful job as him. The crew, and Gutt especially, are really fun to see and hear (and it truly is a crime that their sea shanty isn't on spotify)
What's funny about Pitch Black is that, while he did overstep his boundaries, he was just doing what he was made to do. That's all he really knows to do. He even tried to legitimately become friends with Jack Frost
a really good recent animated villain on Disney Channel is Emperor Belos from The Owl House. His presence really picks up in the second season where we see more of his past actions, who he manipulated,,, I’m trying to be as spoiler free as possible but most of the series wouldn’t happen without him
(BIG SPOILERS FOR THE OWL HOUSE) If you think about it, Belos is almost like a screwy “reverse” twist villain. He already has massive presence and poses a very tangible threat as the story’s villain, yet exists simultaneously as another entity seen as a ray of hope throughout a large part of the series. It’s only after you learn that Belos is Phillip that you realize the terrifying scale of what this guy is actually capable of, how twisted his morals are, and the atrocities he’s willing to commit to ensure he achieve his goals. Plus the psychological toll he holds on the protagonists (and even another antagonist) is heart-wrenchingly profound.
Silver from treasure planet is one of my favorites. His pressence and menace is alluded to without showing him out the gate, has spells of humor and we get to see his simple but effective motives yo be the badguy and the internal struggle as his motives starts colliding with his relation to the protagonist, followed by a bit of a redemption arc at the end
How good of a warrior Tai Lung was that he beat 5 masters all at once after being paralyzed and jailed for 20 years shows you how hard he worked. He exceeded expectations, to a point where no other student managed to impress Shifu again. You can tell he always trained like there was no tomorrow with an unmatched thirst for perfection. His entire drive was based on the fact that Shifu assured him of the Scroll down the line. All Shifu had to do was be there for him, instead he pushed him away. Tai Lung is a tragic character, and wouldve been good if his father-figure was more competent.
A villain that I love so much (in TV since those on movies were mentioned in the video) is Emperor Belos from the Owl House. His presence as a ruler with an iron fist then revealed genocidal witch hunter who became exactly what he sought to destroy, his voice and how it sounds both as intimidating and uncannily warm when he speaks, and also his entire history being laid out for us. See, I love him for the same reasons I love Frollo as a character and more. He's in a position where he's had so many chances to change his ways and his beliefs, but not only does he double down on them, he kills in cold blood to get his way. And it's not even a one-time or every-other-time thing, no. He kills every single clone of his dead brother the moment they realize or begin to realize what's going on. Nothing stopped him from pursuing to kill every witch in the Boiling Isles, not even the only other human there. He believes the world corrupts and must be eradicated simply because of an ideology from 400 years ago. And learning that he was the previous human in the Boiling Isles named Philip Wittebane snuffed out the hope anyone had for this man. He's calculated, opportunistic, and prideful. And all of those get in the way of what he could have been. Even removing those, we can see he's a remarkable inventor and even managed to give himself magic (of course, at the cost of his body trying to reject that notion, which is why he starts committing crimes against nature and eating the essences of palismen, which are creatures carved from palistrom trees. By the time Luz enters the demon realm, those trees are now rare.). We could see that he could have helped develop the Boiling Isles to greater heights, but he chose to turn to violence by lessening their powers greatly in order to sucessfully kill the populus in one fell swoop He's also a very good manipulator. He was able to make an entire civilization bend to his will by limiting their magic to one type in the name of "the Titan", bring a god to his side simply by appealing to what the deity wanted, and was able to hold a grip on his grimwalkers for so long that his current surviving one still has trauma and sstress around him. And let's not mention the main character, because he affects Luz so much to the point she believes she's like him or that she's becoming him. Even with a great support system, she still holds those feelings and blames herself for everything she unknowingly helped in regards to Belos' plans. TLDR: i love Belos so much you have no idea
while I would argue she is more of an antagonist than a villain, Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke is one of my favorite antagonists in any film. Period. I also really love villains like The Horned King from The Black Cauldron and General Woundwort from Watership Down. Both of them have such a commanding presence and fantastic voice acting from John Hurt and Harry Andrews
Lady Eboshi is from an Eastern animation film, and my favorite animated movie of all time, so it doesn't count here. But I definitely agree. She is a far, far, FAR superior version of general jackass in the Avatar movies. Sticking to Western animation, what they did with Omniman in Invincible was just incredible. The rework of the plot twist in the show works so much better than in the comics.
I always felt like Jigo was more of a villain than anyone else in the film... he wanted to *PROFIT* from killing the guardian... at the end of the day, what Eboshi wanted was for the city to be safe and prosperous. She was just too stubborn to to accept any way but her own way to achieve that until forced otherwise. But Jigo was willing to kill Ashitaka for trying to recover the head...willing to doom the entire city to try and preserve his "payday" >.>
@@KuroiRenge yeah, she is definitely a beautifully written and complicated antagonist. Eboshi definitely deserves more appreciation, narratively speaking
Another animated villain that I really enjoyed was Silco from Arcane, and I was honestly really surprised to not see him here, considering how much the internet got obsessed over him. He's a really unique character, in the sense that he starts off as a pure evil character. Everything in his first few scenes hint towards his cruel and unhinged nature. His lines, his movement, his design, his actions, and the way he's always framed in shots reminds me a lot of Scar, and he really makes his presence known, especially when EP3 hits in. Yet as the show keeps going he starts to show less and less of these villainous traits, as more and more of his humanity gets exposed, resulting his presence getting weaker in the later episodes, which is something that other characters actually try to take advantage of. He starts acting a lot less as an evil kingpin, and much more as a caring father to Jinx, which basically puts the audience's perception of him through a complete 180. You start off hating him and looking forward to seeing his downfall, only for his death to make you cry your eyes out. There's very few villains that ever managed to pull this off, which is what makes me love him so much. Jason's voice performance is also just the best, as he did an incredibly great job, keeping up with the emotional roller coaster that his character went through.
I'm more than a little disappointed you didn't even mention Maleficent. Truly an iconic villain, and perhaps Disney's (and animation's) first truly iconic villain. All of the things you describe that make a great villain were first established in her character. She deserves more attention, because she clearly got it from her creators.
My fave is Doof. Doctor Doof may not be an evil evil guy but he’s hilariously amazing and complex. We can also see in Azula that she was obviously effected by the fact her dad was extremely abusive and manipulative. She adopted these traits and when her mother left she had nobody to help her hold onto what she really was deep down: a sister. It’s proven by The Beach episode that Azula without her father influencing her behaviour could have been such a caring and kind person specially towards Zuko, her brother who she wishes can join her, can help her and her father, what she believes is what the world needs. But she eventually falls into insanity because of the stress of trying to be perfect, not to upset her father and a whole lot more.
I actually loved Big Jack Horner in Puss in Boots. He is so chaotically evil, he even knows it and it kind of perfectly shows how trends in villains are seen. He is that classical villain in a while and he is so comedic. ~ you,. you... You're an irredeemable monster!! *- ooh, what took you so long? Idiot!* -What did I do to deserve this? - I mean *what specifically..* XD
Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls would've been great to discuss. He is the tragedy fueled reckless personification of intellect, lies and pure chaos. Everlooming presence, dramatically increasing stakes, personal relationships with all the protagonists and viciously persuades them by promising them their goals. He brings out the ego in them, each in a different way and each leading to a tremendous fall. Only to overestimate his own ego in the finale and miscalculate the value of family. What a Villain and what an insane voice and design⚠️👁️
Personally I think The Lich from Adventure Time is one of the most intimidating villains I’ve ever seen, he’s this jarring evil creature older than time itself. Scared me as a kid. Scares me today.
Yeah, but being evil without direction or cause, only showing up randomly without consistency does make him forgettable. Intimidating and cool looking for sure But lacks in almost everything else
@@maniacalmurderer4123 There is a cause, it’s nature. Villains that have direction other than that are definitely more dynamic and compelling but that also leads into the sympathetic villain category. Not every villain needs some grand reason why they do what they do just like some villains do need that. But I definitely think that the psychology behind animals or animalistic characters doing evil stuff because that’s what they were created for is something that’s under appreciated simply because it can be perceived as lazy or forgettable. Maybe you think it’s forgettable but sometimes the scariest thing is not knowing when or where someone evil is going to show up, and the fact they can’t be cured of being evil.
Extremely underrated channel and video! I completely agree that the villains in recent animated movies have been lackluster or just nonexistent and the wolf in Puss in Boots was an amazing return to form. He’s so menacing and despite being given so little screen time, once he’s introduced you can’t help but think about him the entire movie. The moments where he is actually on the screen makes your heart drop, as it goes from silly adventure to fear and foreboding in a matter of seconds. Great video, and you’ve earned a new subscriber!
Holy heck I just watched the best vixeo of 2023. Music choices? W. Smashed it outta the park. Scene choices from the movies? Also amazing. Topics of discussion, the villain choices, the analysis of it all was so good. I could watch this for hours. You really speak the collective mind of all of us I think
The Beast from Over the Garden Wall is a really compelling villain. And while he does have a motive and his actions center around furthering that motive, its the way he embodies the larger concept of hopelessness that cements him as something special to me. That along with his imposing voice and eerie design.
I feel like Lord Business from The Lego Movie deserves to be talked about in a similar vein to some of these iconic bad guys. Easily one of the most underrated animated villains in my opinion.
Although not animated, I think the most immaculate representation of a one dimensional villain is Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars. The man simply wanted to be evil and understood the assignment. Killing his own people not because it’s a “villainy” thing to do, but because it meant something. He played the galaxy like a game of chess because, well, he’s evil and he wants to watch the galaxy burn with himself at the helm.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention emperor belos from the owl house. He’s a perfect example of a manipulative villain who’s just pure evil and has given up on his chance of redemption long ago. And how he psychologically torments the heroes and even down to his voice acting and character design is amazing.
I believe that one of the reasons animated villains hit different is that the artists can actually control the body language a villain has to give off the EXACT vibe they want while with live action actors there’s chance of hit or miss if they can’t find the right “groove”.
This is such a good analysis! Honestly you should get more attention for this. I love it. Another villain I really love is Silco from Arcane. He was manipulative and his power was in his words, not strength - but still he still had a weakness and I think that was written brilliantly. I absolutely love animated villains and they are some of the most memorable villains to me. There is just SO MUCH justice you can do with them in the animation medium - villains like Hades, Lord Shen and Death just WOULDN'T have worked in live action.
Zaheer from Legend of Korra is one of my favorite villains of all time. Incredibly terrifying in his ability to lead very powerful people to do terrible things. He brought the most challenge to the protagonist by disrupting her mind and poisoning the world around her. The argument can be made that his reasoning behind his actions are justifiable and his end goal is understandable, freedom. While his means are more than unethical it's still great to watch him outsmart Korra on multiple occasions.
I expected Death, the thing is, when Death is done right, you know Death. Its certainty, inevitability and can be personified in many ways and we all have our own vision of what Death will look like, but the underlying themes always remain regardless of the form Death takes. Constant, yet, also personified, unique to every individual.
Belos from the owl house is also one of the most gothic/horrifying villains in recent memory. I mean he killed his own brother and tried to do a genocide just for his religious beliefs. It kind of reminds me of Frollo sometimes.
@@sharmelfattakhov5041if the fucking collector didn't exist and if the show didn't get shortened I think that Belos could've lived up to his full potential.
i really have to say the "big bad wolf" (death) is my most favorite villain in a while. because i felt genuine fear whenever i saw him on screen, and it's a fear that i haven't felt in a LOOONG time since LORD SHEN or Tai Lung or even Scar when i was a kid. and it was very primal, too. more primal than i could ever understand. i was practically hypnotized but also afraid of that whistle, it makes my heart RACE. and i really don't remember the last pg film that made me feel the way i do with puss in boots: the last wish, i genuinely don't remember.
To me what makes a twist villain is the subtle, but also obvious build up to their reveal. Use their body language to react to what the hero is talking about. The main focus is on the hero, but those who see beyond that will see hints towards the villains true identity. Hell, the villain could be the one talking, then as the camera pans to the hero, still show them smirking. Show something. Sometimes it is certain phrases or descriptions. The way they describe an event, a creature or another character. It is fun to rewatch the movie, TV show or even replay the video game to see these subtle hints and clues. Even something that seems mundane at the time can be a vital clue. For example, let's look at G.T. Blitz from Jak X by Naughty Dog. He is designed intentionally to be someone who only cares about the ratings of his show. Because of this, one would expect that he would be happy that Jak and crew would reject Mizo's offer to quit the championship. After all, they are generating tons of views and ratings. More ratings, more money in the bank. However we see Blitz off center getting angry that Mizo's offer was rejected. This contradicts the characterization of the character from the start of the game. Likewise earlier on, as a gag, we learn that Blitz is wearing a wig. For someone who prides himself on his image, this lines up. He doesn't want such an embarrassing detail become public. At some point Razor, Mizo's no.2 and a retired racing champion comments about how everyone eventually works for his boss. Whether they know it or not. Making you suspect that someone in the higher ups of the racing championship is Mizo. Finally our last clue, and one that is more obvious is that Krew and Mizo made a bet. Whoever wins the next Kraz City racing champion gets the others 'totally legal' business. We also learn that Blitz is more than the presenter for the sport. He is the owner. Out of spite for the father who valued racing more than him. Finally, in the final cup, Mizo makes a last minute entry for a mysterious driver. This driver is none other than Blitz himself. Put these five clues together and you get a strong case that Blitz is Mizo. And it turns out he is. And Mizo's most defining feature is his tattoo on his head. That explains why Blitz was angry at Pecker for unintentionally revealing he has a wig (also why Blitz quickly makes sure it didn't reveal the tattoo). It is why he got angry at Jak for rejecting the offer to stand down. As Jak and his team are racing on Krews behalf (although they have no choice in the matter). Therefore he has a strong chance of losing the bet he made with Krew. Although Krew is dead at this point, the bet is still on through his daughter, Ryan. Who is in on it (Ryan is also another twist villain, but has less of a focus). Hence why he enters the final race himself. It is why Razor claims that everyone eventually works for him. Mizo owns the racing championship. So even if you race independently or have another sponsor (say a rival crime lord and his daughter), you work for him one way or another. The audience should be rewarded for piecing the clues together if they do so before the reveal. It is not bad writing to have foreshadowing in your story. Besides, if someone doesn't gather nor understand the clues, they can go back and see where they are. Like I said, have the twist villain react in the background to what the hero(es) are saying and doing. On the first viewing, most people will probably be glued on the hero, who would be in the center of the screen. They wouldn't be focusing on what is happening in the background.
For TV series I feel that it's also about reframing their past actions Look at Trader Jouhan from the How to Train your Dragon farnchise, he never has those kinds of hints in his early appearances, only showing such expression after his reveal. What he *does* have is *history* a history of constantly nearly getting the heroes killed cause he happened to leave out a crucial detail or lead them down a dangerous path. A history, the reveal completely reframes in a way that not only makes perfect sense... but also makes them highly menacing. Something done perfectly with Trader... or should I say *traitor* Jouhan.
The best twist villains are the ones that were obvious in hindsight But whose actions are ambiguous enough to require the full picture to truly understand what really happened So that when the twist comes you can realize that it puts everything before that point in a new light That realization of recontextualization is one of my favorite things when they happen
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...
Very good choice
Yes of all the animated villains rameses and tai king are the ones that hurt the most when they did not get redeemed.
What's funny to me is that Tai Lung is as much of a fanboy/nerd as Po is.
@@mabogibo525 that is what makes a movie so good, when the hero and villain is almost identical.
Tai-Lung, in that moment, had a chance to stop. Stop the fighting, stop the rage, all of it. And perhaps, he may have become one of the greatest fighters alongside Po and The Furious Five, in time of course.
And he thought about it, for that moment, I believe he genuinely considered stopping. But then the rage and the pride boiled back up to the surface.
The desire for power overcame everything.
“We don’t have any memorable bad guys anymore!”
Puss in boots the last wish: “hold my beer”
"Hold My Leche." *
Reibey: Hehehe 🤭
Kyubey: Umm… don’t you pretend to be good?
Reibey: I’m not talking about myself, I’m talking about, Perversion.
P E R V E R S I O N: I don’t
@@orrorsaness5942 what
@@paw0960 perversion is a villain in my comic book series, The Pensuke Files!
Pinnoc- ok the villains in that movie are the only aspect that isn’t peak film stuff
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
One of my favorite lines Death says, because of the intensity in his voice and the fear it invokes within Puss, is when Puss drops his sword and the wolf responds with telling him, in a very serious tone, to “pick it up. Pick. It. Up.”
His "quippy" lines feel less like jokes and more like pure mockery of puss.
also its a neat contrast with jack horner bc every line he says is supposed to be a joke
The closest to a "comedic moment" we get with Death, I think, is when he recognizes Puss has changed and yells at himself. The kind of laughter gotten out of the audience is one of nervousness rather than enjoyment, because this fully serious character has suddenly pulled away and is yelling very loudly about something, yet it isn't fully directed at Boots.
plus the fact that he's only around for such a short amount of time really gives him a presence.
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."
Every line that man said was so fucking true and badass
incel talk
"When everyone is super - Heheheheheheeee-
...No one is"
I don't believe it was respect for that reason though. I think that, through the years, and becoming a father, Bob came to the realization that he acted poorly to a boy who idolized him.
@@Aithalothes I agree. By the end of the movie, you know Bob realized he messed up with Buddy. It was just too late to change him.
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)
Oh thats cool to learn. I did not know that
I heard about a myth, I believe of lattin american origin, of a man who whistles outside the homes of people, and he collects bones. I believe he was a psychopathic little boy who killed his father and told his mother to cook his father's liver, and was then killed by the grandfather, who used his hounds to rip the little boy to shreds.
In Korea too (although I am not sure about the supernatural beings buttt) elders tell us not to whistle at night as it brings snakes or bad luck
Filipino, and I think someone once told me not to whistle at night when I was a kid but I wasn't told why. This is really interesting to learn!
it's night and for some reason I got chills from that
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.
Same. Especially in Kingdom Hearts 3.
James Wood is a treasure, I don’t care what people say!
He actually told Disney he’s always on call for Hades to do the voice, he loves it so much.
well it's like with Family Guy. He found the skit so funny about him being a jealous psycho that he wanted to voice himself lol@@kate2create738
@@kate2create738 You say he's a treasure because you like Hades, but that doesn't make him being a notorious POS any less credible.
King Candy brought 'Twist Villains' to its peek but it also ruined the trope because nothing has reached his level.
EXACTLY WHAT I'M SAYING
I think it works because from the beginning he is seen at least as an antagonist. Then he manages to sway you, and Ralph, that maybe he’s not the bad guy, he has his reasons. But then you soon realize he lied. Even without the twist reveal he was still pure villain, literally trying to kill Vanelope during the race.
Thank you! That's one of the reasons why he's my favorite Disney villain.
Flowers for Algenor'd twist villains as whole imo. God, that was such a good movie. Shame the sequel was a horrible case of character assassination.
King Candy made me angry because I knew, as a writer, that I would never be able to write such a flawlessly executed twist LOL
“We’re all just trash waiting to be thrown away” is line so saturated in pain; never fails to get a tear.
Seriously I can’t watch that movie without being completely emotionally drained afterwards, it’s so fucking upsetting
I haven’t finished watching the video yet but can you please tell me what movie is this line from?
@@xPuRpLeCoBrAx Toy Story 3
Thank you! @@TheOtherBoobJustDropped
"That's all a toy is!"
Is one of the coldest lines ever said in the entire series of toy story him just telling the fate of all toy's when a child grows up.
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
Maleficent was great in the original animation, she was terrifying and had an amazing character design with her colours and sharp lines and menacing expressions
Something to remember is that whenever you decide to act upon a prophecy, you run the risk of causing it to occur by giving the protagonist the motivation they need to defeat you.
Let us assume that you are a tyrant ruling a kingdom and a wise oracle tells you that one day a child from a village under your rule will one day rise up and kill you so you raid the village, plunder the peasants and kill any children that could rise up against you... you won't kill the child you were warned of because they'll escape or somebody will rescue them... it's how it goes.
Instead, I submit that you should instead bathe the village in riches, make it's people completely loyal to you, make yourself their shining paragon that delivers them from evil, or for a more personal touch find the child themselves and rescue them or their family from poverty, uplift them, give the father a brilliant job and pay them well, you assure them that they will live happy and want for nothing.
Would you kill someone you believe to be a hero? Would you kill someone who provided for your family, protected you from danger and saved you from evil?
No.
@@owendiaram3870That's exactly how I think of it, they are so blinded by their ego and power that they throw all rationale out the window and never consider the consequence they may be putting on themselves or others around, and I can resonate with that when I put it on the context of my own life (not in a complete villainous aspect) as how when I get close to a goal that I want to reach, do I disregard others feelings and think about how I am almost there or willing to sacrifice my own goal if it's going to effect someone or something negatively
@@owendiaram3870If a prophecy says a child of X village will kill you, the child of X village will kill you. In your example, the child might concoct a plan to steal your riches and have you killed. Just because a prophecy says you'll be killed, it doesn't mean you're the bad guy and the one killing you is the good one.
And Cat R. Waul
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.
He also has a unique nose shape.
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.
"Worry less about the tides which have already made up its mind about killing you, and worry about me, who's still mulling it over."
After Zuko locked her up in the cell I was right down SHOCKED that she came to help him! Says a thing ot two about her feelings
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
True
He’s indeed an irredeemable monster after all 😂
@@yoshi_chuck05he even gave the psychiatrist a trauma😅😅😅
I don't know why but I he reminds me of judge Holden from blood meridian
The movie had the three main kinds of villains:
Villain because of circumstances (Goldilocks and the bears)
Villain because of evilness (Jack)
Villain because of duty (Death)
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 😭
Azula is such a good villain. And its really sad that she went from one of the most powerfull people in their respective world to a lone, depressed and insane kid who lost everything she had
That is completely true, although someone still wanting friendship doesn't stop them from rejecting it.
@@cherrydragon3120 well she was a war criminal
Azula's story is truly tragic because she never had a chance due to her own family. When Zuko turned out to be unsuitable for his heir, Ozai instead shifted his ideals - or rather forced them on a young and impressionable Azula. Azula wasn't all that different from Zuko really, but Ursa wasn't a good mother either. She feared Azula because she let her own fears of Ozai get the better of her rather than control them. Thus, Azula's deep desire to be loved by her own mother was left unfulfilled and she latched onto Ozai because he showed that "love", becoming the person we see in the series.
And the most horrific thing? This could've happened to either of them if the roles were reversed.
couldn't agree more
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.
the Oscars made a separate animation category so they could dismiss animated movies, it's rather insulting.
@Andrew Greeb if I remember correctly was Shrek the first animated movie to be given an animated movie Oscar/Award.
@@andrewgreeb916 They also treat animated movies as exclusively kids' stuff. What a way to degrade the hard work of millions of animators who put their blood, sweat and tears into crafting something for everyone to enjoy or as an expression of art. As bad as it is, even Boss Baby had to have someone trying hard in its production, which shouldn't be dismissed. You also have incredible films like Ratatouille that so much effort went into but "ThAt's FoR KiDS, iT'S BabY NonSENSe".
Coco had generational trauma AND a decent villain (despite being a twist villain)
Exactly animation almost transcends anything reality could provide. Examples of this includes the Disney live action remakes. The energy that only an animated villain can provide is lost in live action
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.
He’s not a villain, he’s just an antagonist who’s meant to challenge the heroes. It’s Skinner who brings forth the danger of the restaurant shutting down and Linguini’s secret coming out
"I don't like food. I *love* it. If I don't love it, I don't *swallow."*
@@sailordaigurren8225P E R S P E C T I V E
@@jamestolbert1856
This actually makes for a great set up! The comedic villain you don't fear poses an incredible threat to the heroes livelihood, and the dreaded food critic that everyone is afraid of is really just a normal guy who becomes their saving grace in the end. Where Skinner cared more about himself, Ego cared about the food, and that made all the difference.
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
Omg I never realized that. I bet that was on purpose. Fairies have been romanticized by modern fairy tales, but their original lore they are devious creatures that will steal your soul or trap you in another dimension.
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.
I mean tbf Death is kinda doing something wrong because he chose to go after puss prematurely. Death is only supposed to deal with those that die naturally, yet he's actively choosing to go after puss because his recklessness annoyed him. Yes, puss should've been less reckless and self obsessed, but Death was still petty to try to kill him for it
@@gremlinwc8996 death was never actually trying to kill puss though, if the literal being of death wanted someone dead I’m sure he can just snap his fingers and instakill them. He wanted to play with puss and keep him from getting the wish and make him value life which is why he let puss have a chance to stab him in the neck but puss just respected death, the concept and the being.
@@gentlyvillainous he's the _embodiment_ of death, that doesn't mean he _controls_ all death. he's not a god, he's a natural force that is never disrupted, so irritated that he went out of his way to physically manifest and intervene. he didn't "let" Puss have a chance to stab him in the neck as it would do literally nothing to him, he's just a form of something impossible to kill, like how you can't kill the concept of a colour. he even ends up shouting in Spanish something like "why the hell did I have to play with my food?" in frustration. he absolutely wanted Puss dead, but he chose to respect the different outcome
@@gentlyvillainous
No, he definitely wanted to kill Puss. It's just that he is also a Wolf, and he loves the thrill of the hunt, the smell of fear. He even berates himself later, furiously asking himself why did he have to play with his food (in Spanish, so it is easier to miss).
@@gremlinwc8996 I'd like to recommend pausing at the bar scene, when Puss is drinking milk and just before Death appears: that scene has eight glasses that he's already drunk- and he's started on the ninth one... Only stopping because Death showed up.
At that moment, Puss was in the process of throwing his very last life away, and Death's arrival was what prompted him to seek ways to lengthen his life, instead. Was it intentional of Death that he'd make Puss value one of his lives at last? Who knows- but he stopped chasing him only while he wasn't adventuring; and when he was, he showed up every time he was about to start getting reckless again.
The Spot probably also deserves a spot on this list. The villain is so entertaining to watch, going from a joke no one even laughs at, to an actual rival capable of destroying the hero, to becoming absolutely terrifying and promising to destroy everything the hero (Miles) holds dear. That writing was so good
not yet, it would be better to wait untill the second half is out
No
From wich movie?
@@m_s_r2130 spiderverse
@@m_s_r2130across the spiderverse
Ramesses and Moses story was genuinely heartbreaking. Every time I reached the end of the movie and saw Ram cry out to Moses, my heart just sinks.
For me it’s when Rameses is calling out to Moses as Moses is leaving Egypt for the first time, right after he kills the slave-driver. Rameses can’t understand what Moses is doing because he doesn’t know what Moses has been through, so he’s left bewildered and lost. It always reminds me of my own brothers, whom I used to be really close to, and the distance time has put between us, and it never fails to make me cry.
It’s fascinating that of all the people god left alive from that ocean it was Rameses. Or maybe Moses left his brother alive because he still felt some love for the man, idk
Their sibling relationship, jokes, and love was always my favourite part of the movie. The pain they both so clearly feel, and Ramesses repeatedly pleading with Moses in the second half of the movie to be brothers again has always broken my heart.
I think it's the perfect allegory for a family ruled by a narcissist.
The brothers grew up in a area where everything they seen was ruled by their father.
Literally, every word their father spoke was law.
So the golden child (Ramesses) was doing everything in his power to follow the rules and laws, to do everything that their people saw as right and just.
Moses was also under that world view, and he didn't leave because he thought he should be better.
Moses left because he questioned his father's rules for a moment, then as a result broke one of the big rules.
He was so scared of what would happen, that he would embarrass his father, that he decided to run away to save his family from his actions.
It wasn't until Moses seen a healthy family aspect, and some of the world outside of the narcissist's control, that he seen how vile the "rules" were.
Ramesses never got to see past the veil of their father's rule.
He still loved his brother, you could see that in how he didn't threaten Moses, but instead those around him.
He didn't want to hurt someone he loved.
The only thing that changed that was when someone else he loved died, his own son.
That was the last time they spoke, over the body of his son.
Then his grief lead him to act out in rage, that by the time he came down from it, even the brother he loved that he fought so hard to keep from harm, also left him.
In another story, Ramesses would be the good king.
He would be the one following all the rules while the murderous traitor comes around to usurp the kingdom under the name of a deity.
A deity didn't recognize was real because every source he had said the traitor was pulling tricks and the rest could just be delusions of the traitors mind after decodes out in the desert.
He would be the one that tried to change the traitor he once called his brother back to the rule of what is seen as right in their culture.
Every hero introspection even deals with the fact that the rules and governing system they are fighting for is as corrupt. Led by narcissists that would, and have, ended innocent lives to get the power they have now.
Ramesses did what he thought was right, but the ethical structure he built his morals around was so twisted it made him wrong.
He was unable to see it until the very end.
I like to believe he was eventually able to understand why Moses did what he did and was able to find happiness again.
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.
And on top of that, what makes Mother Gothel truly an evil villain and Rapunzel a bit tragic, is that even with Gothel dead, there are some subtle hints that Rapunzel is still affected by Gothel’s abuse. Such as refusing to listen to other people’s advice because she is scared to truly trust someone at their word.
Definitely agree !
But everyday people can do that, and DO, unfortunately. That makes her less special, and more common.
@@WorldWalker128 but it makes her more relatable at the same time because people like her do exist in real life
@@WorldWalker128 I would argue the fact that it's so possible to encounter someone like her makes her significantly more terrifying
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.
Fun fact. In the original story frollo was the head deacon of the notre dame. A.k.a. a high priest.
And esmeralda was 16.
Which makes him genuinely worse, and I love it.
@@theMRsome12Well in that era it wasn't unusual to even marry a 13 year old girl or even younger. Pedophilia emerged in the modern era as a problem, just like sodomy (homosexuality) emerged in the modern era as a right and freedom.
i mean is the concept of a jealous sibling plotting to murder their ruler brother really that unrealistic back in the day?
Actually Scar represents the jealously of an sibling and envy what they have but never know what to do next
@@jefferyandbob3137 well they are kinda right about no one fearing someone like scar today because most of us don't live with monarchies anymore, so while realistic for royal families, not very applicable to the average person
azula is that one side boss you struggled with and get slight PTSD from whenever you replay the game, whereas ozai is that one boss you remember, but only at a surface level.
so like, reaper leviathan vs. the valkyries.
Deviljho vs the Moon Presence
Jevil VS Chaos King
Xemnas vs Sephiroth
Would be like Jetstream Sam vs Senator Armstrong if Senator Armstrong wasn't so charismatic and memorable. More like Sam vs Monsoon.
Because of how repair leviathans are - their existence as animals, I realize how horrible the fear an animalistic threat is. The feeling that them hunting you is not just for food. You feel like prey.
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.
I remember really liking Rise of the Guardians. It's been a few years since I've watched it. I'll have to rewatch now!
Thank you for your comment!
@@masonidk6571 you are very welcome !! I highly recommend researching the backstory/lore in the books as well , it adds a whole new dimension to the film ! Keep up the great videos :)
Absolutely. I have to say Pitch is probably my favourite animated villain of all. I haven't read the books myself, but from what I've heard the books and film don't really inhabit the same world, so the characters' backstories differ. As it is, I think Pitch's character is fascinating and profound even without the backstory from the books. I think he has much, much more complexity than many people give him credit for - and I think much of that complexity comes from the way he is voiced and animated. When a child walks through him, they could have given him a look of fury and indignation - which would have made him much less relatable. Instead, his look is one of horror and despair. Again, when Jack rejects his allegiance, he doesn't look insulted. He looks shocked and heartbroken. His facial expressions reveal just how fragile and lonely of a character he is, and invite you to see things from his perspective. He is exactly like the Guardians - just as necessary and just as valuable. But because he embodies fear, a negative emotion, his fate is to be constantly misread in the name of protecting the children.
The way I see it, his actions in the film are the result of a thousand years of justified frustration. To the point that at the end, his defeat feels more hollow than triumphant. If you pay close attention to this masterpiece of a film, the more you really think about its themes, the more you realise what an ambiguous ending it really has. While Rameses' complexity and tragic downfall are on the very surface of the Prince of Egypt, Pitch's tragedy is more subtle. It grows on you gradually until it starts to haunt you. At least that's the way it was for me :)
He was SO close to being perfect, but the ending ruined it. That movie was a mess, designed by committee.
Underrated film and a great villain, I do agree
The moment the Wolf's whistle played I got shivers all across my body. He truly is an amazing Villain.
Ikr
Only villain that makes me shiver consistently
Lord shen is probably my favorite animated villain. I am so impressed by the complexity of him. He was an amazing martial artist (though not the best) but he saw what he had, realized it was insufficient, and became something different. He didn't go looking for a dragon scroll or magic mcguffin to make him the best at kung fu. He made Kung Fu obsolete.
He is as menacing as a dictator imo
@@agumon1605 I think what got me was the lack of sentimentality. He has Kung Fu, but sacrifices kung Fu for victory by making weapons that Kung Fu can't stop. He has his ancestral palace, but is willing to cannon it to dust to defeat his enemies. He has finally reclaimed his family's dynasty, but he is willing to destroy it. All for his true goal of proving that he was truly the most powerful and rightful ruler.
The guy from Atlantis is also a great villain, and the best example of a twist villain because he’s not hiding himself. He acts the exact same before and after the reveal, and while you’re surprised he’s willing to be so evil, it doesn’t feel out of character.
Atlantis has one of the best villain twists because the entire crew was evil until a certain point. But rourke was that military captain America type that you would never suspect to be so evil.
@@AndreNitroX He also had that kindly father sort of vibe and he doesn't drop it. He's just as sane and charismatic when he reveals himself.
@@DestinyObake being played by james garner helps as well, a man who always played the hero. An effective twist that is believable.
One of my favorite villains. You can see him as being professional and stern to keep the crew upright. You can partially understand him getting annoyed at Milo without hating either of them.
The moment that gave it away was when they had reached Atlantis, and that's were I knew something was up. It was never fully clear however to what an extent and what the consequences would be until the heroes found out.
And that's when the villain worked - Rourke treating it like a treasure hunt, not caring about the possible deaths and justifying it with other inhuman actions done daily by humans (the museum stealing other countries treasures and claiming them for themselves).
@@z2yn I will admit rourke would have been a stronger villain if he was stealing the heart of atlantis for military reasons instead of just money. I mean it was during world war 1 times, so it could have been used as a weapon, reflecting the mistakes of the Atlanteans. But i digress, he was still an effective villain.
There are two that I would like to mention. First is Clayton from Tarzan. He was introduced as a supposed guide for Jane and her father. Someone who was supposed to lead the on an adventure and back to safety, only to be revealed as a poacher coming to steal away our hero’s family and home for a profit. It still hits me to this day that Tarzan associates his very name with the sound of a gunshot. And his decent into madness that was his own undoing was brilliant.
Second is Captain John Silver from Treasure Planet. Another villain without whom, there is no real story because he’s the one who told Jim about the treasure in the first place and gave him the map. He makes Jim see him as a friend and something of a father figure, only to turn on him and leave him crushed. When he sees the error of his was though, he redeems himself and actually becomes a friend at the end. He may still be a pirate and treasure hunter, but the way they departed shows how much the hero and the villain grew to become better people by knowing each other
I’ve been scrolling through the comment section for a while looking for someone talking about John silver
Also With Clayton we got to watch as his time slowly etching his way closer to his goal corrupted him into a literal beast of the jungle while Tarzan became the man raised in the Jungle who became a natural member of it.
There’s also admiral Rourke from Atlantis: the Lost Empire. He’s introduced as the captain of the crew who knew Milo Thatch’s grandfather and brought back the journal. He says that he wants to explore Atlantis for treasure but later, it’s revealed that he and along with the crew actually wants the Crystal and is willing to kill anyone to get it, and it’s his desire for treasure that leads to his departure of his crew and his own downfall.
From a literature perspective, it's probably worth remembering that Long John Silver has been iconic, mesmerizing, and interesting since Stevenson's original story. There's a reason why usually Silver steals the show of every adaptation. So like, not that Treasure Planet isn't awesome or anything, but part of what makes it's version of Silver so good is that it's starting from an already compelling character.
*“Animation is a medium, not a genre”*
What a wonderful piece of a video, my props to you 👏👏👏
Literally all of the villians in Puss in Boots the Last Wish are amazing examples of how tk do that type of villan perfectly
Meanwhile they sucked in the first one. I hate humpty dumpty and his pettiness, being at fault for his situation and puss and still blaming him.
He just hates on the town, causes trouble and steals and doesn't care about his friend or the people. He then tricks his friend and lies to him, makes him an outlaw and then is pissed when he abandons him.
And gets a supposed redemption arc at the end. That bloody egg didn't deserve it.
And Jack and Jill were both obvious bad guy villains that it didn't make sense that they were working as minions for the egg until they just wanted more gold.
YES
Death ain't even a villain. People confuse villains and antagonists all the time for some reason. Villains are evil antagonists, antagonists are characters that have opposite views and goals than the protagonist. Death, if anything, would be considered an antagonist, not a villain. And even then, he is more of an anti-hero.
@@z2yn Humpty Dumpty wasn't a villian, just a hurten child; the real villains wher Jack and Jill
The Last Wish literally showcases three types of villain/antagonist archetypes to their best degrees:
Jack Horner is the stereotypical Evil for Evil's Sake
Goldie is the antagonist with a redemption
Death is the true antagonist and just a perfect foil to raise the story to its highest highs and lowest lows.
All three are played out so well and it honestly leads to what I feel is the best movie to have come out in a decade.
Mother Gothel is one of the best ones in my eyes. I feel like there is an iceberg surrounding her behaviors and motives that lies so much deeper below the surface. It’s a lot of small and simple things that add together to create this harsh reality of her narcissistic tendencies, especially seen in both of her musical numbers: Mother Knows Best and Mother Knows Best (Reprise). She feeds her all these lies and makes her fear the outside world, telling her “don’t forget it, you’ll regret it,” to make her come running back when something goes wrong (even though she set her up). Mother Gothel’s death scene is one of my absolute favorites because of how she reacts to Rapunzel’s hair being cut. She knows that, without the power of her hair, she can no longer survive. As the hundreds of stolen years of youth begin rapidly catching up to her, you see the anger in her eyes and fear within the shattered mirror as she screams “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” Even after a life of manipulation, Mother Gothel was the mother figure to Rapunzel up until her adulthood, so I like the small detail they add when Mother Gothel falls out the tower and plummets to her death; Rapunzel reaches out with a distraught expression, as if it was horrifying to see her dying, regardless of how cold and heartless she was.
As someone with an abusive parent, watching the quick change in Mother Gothel at the start of the reprise still sends chills down my spine. The way your stomach drops out, the patronising tone, the way the parent turns every "kind" thing they did into a barbed weapon (the kindness being providing food and shelter like they are legally required to do 🙃). It's absolutely masterful, that movie is so well done
To be honest, Mr Incredible also had a slightly selfish reason for wanting the heroes to be back: He missed his glory days, the excitement, the recognition. He is shown celebrating when he hears about a fire, not showing any concern for people who might be burning alive at that very moment. Although he was definitely a better person than Syndrome, we never actually see him admit his priority is to protect and save people again, instead of feeling like a hero to feed his own ego. In fact, we see more of him acting angry and impatient towards non-heroes many times in the movie (hence the entire villain arc), coming to a point where he severely hurts someone, ignoring the fact that his power gives him a huge advantage and he could have literally killed an innocent man in an act of rage.
Yes! This does not get talked about enough! More righteous than Syndrome but still not 100% sincere himself. Vanity is in there for the glory, and it almost cost him his family
@@jaredpatterson1701I feel like Syndrome was meant to show that in both ways, he was not only the creation of Incredibles ego, but also a vision of who Mr. Incredible could become.
I think its also really cool how he not only does the parent thing of projecting his own insecurities onto his kid, but we actually see him change thru that. In the beginning he wants Dash to go out for sports cause he'd be great, and in the end he's cheering him on to go for second place, probably helping Dash not make the same mistakes in the process.
I never thought about all of that before now!! WOW 😮
To be fair to Mr. Incredible that man was telling him his job was to maximize his profit margin, not help people. Incredible was indeed vain and selfish, but he did always want to actually help people
@@rileyh520but he was still vain and selfish
You missed what I consider to be one of the deepest, most memorable villains in all animation history: Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. A man that creates anything, makes anything happen, and so on, yet also wants love from his daughter. Especially, with his tragic childhood, he is the greatest villain in animation history...
Edit: First off, thank you, guys, so much for 1.6k likes. It will very much be repeated a thousand times, but I did not expect this comment to reach that amount of like and 21 replies. Second off, this is a joke. While he is a fairly deep villain, it's still a joke. But, thank you all again!
How could I have forgotten? Perhaps the greatest hero/villain rivalry in fiction.
Thank you for your comment!
@@masonidk6571 Shame on you.
He's pretty Awesome
He is not a villain. He is a pharmacist, why else would he wear the coat?
He's got a point...
Saved the two best villains for last. Frollo is already an amazing villain, as he sees everyone but himself as evil. But Death is on a whole other level. He manages to become the center of the whole movie in just 7 minutes of screentime. He sends a cold chill down your spine with that haunting whistle. And the fight scenes are not a choreographed dance like in most movies, Death is actually trying to kill Puss in Boots and it really shows.
I almost think Mae’s betrayal of Azula shook her less because she cared for her and More because Mae went ahead and slapped her with “you miscalculated” the betrayal hurt but the implication that Azula could be wrong about her for years cut the deepest.
Silco from Arcane absolutely deserves a mention imo. I love how he is potrayed as just a generic bad guy in the begining, however over the season he morphs into such a complex and interesting character. The growth that is shown when he calls Vander weak for choosing his kids over the independence of Zaun, only to make the exact same decision a couple episodes later is just so damn good.
Arcane is cool af.
This comment right here. This is what I came for!
When he built up towards the Wolf from Puss In Boots at the end of this video, I was really hoping that it was going to be Silco lol. He really is a fantastic antagonist in every way, and his style, his looks and the way he moves could only have been pulled off in animation too
I guess animation for him only means Disney DreamWorks and Pixar.
You don't have memorable villains lately? That's because you ain't watching hard enough
Silco has to be definately one of the strongest villain pressences in a while, and from a narrative atand point being that his manipulation of jinx turns to be his downfall as he actuallys comes to care for her, eapecially shown in the scene at xanders statue, hits hard
Ironically, animated villains are simply more human than most "real" villains.
My favourite animated villain is Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls. He is demented, manipulative, threatening, downright terrifying, but also a ton of fun to watch. I mean, "I have some children I need to turn into corpses" is an extremely funny, yet terrifying line.
In my opinion, he's the funniest and most quotable character in the whole show (aside from Stan anyway) while also being a genuinely threatening presence. He doesn't even get that much screentime and you can't even tell early on that he's going to end up being the main antagonist, but it makes every appearance he has memorable, and his style of humor never feels played out.
@@conflictbrooks oh yes he most certainly is extremely quotable. 😂
Remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!
“I’ve got some children that I need to make into corpses” -Bill Cipher
Honestly, that line would fit Freddy Krueger rather well.
Syndrome is my favorite. Interesting backstory and has made a point that has transcended the movie. "And when everyone's super. No one will be." This line applies to many real life situations.
And a fair number of other works of fiction.
Megatron/Galvatron was animated MASTERFULLY in Transformers Prime, they kept Frank as the VA and it worked so well, one of the things I enjoyed most about that entire series was that they kept the original VAs for Optimus and Megatron, their voices are still golden albeit slightly deeper and more raspy, which only makes Franks performance and the Metal Menace even better
One of my favorite, although criminally underutilized, villains was Rattlesnake Jake from Rango. He had an absolutely incredible character design and and the vocal performance really made him stand out.
Im not sure exactly if he can be even considered as a villain. Realisticaly he would be more antihero than villain. He have some moral code and honor obviously.
Rattigan is easily one of my favorite villains. He oozes personality every second he's on screen.
personality, charm, charisma. but underneath it all sadistic, terrifying, intelligence. his followers both love and fear him, he doesnt play favorites and they know it. the great mouse detective deserves more recognition
Yes it deserves! I'm always sad when people mentions great Disney villains and forget about Rattigan. He's just so great and so underrated
Underrated movie
I would attribute that to Vincent Price’s performance.
and he has a very underrated villain song too
I think Ratigan is a deeply underappreciated villain. It's based in low self-esteem but he's arrogant and hilarious at the same time. He wrote a song for his archnemesis to listen to while waiting for his death going: 'good-bye, so soon and isn't it a shame.'
Hes mocking him!
Finally someone talking about him, he's the best villain ever for me
I think another reason for the lack of memorable villains in recent time (outside one certain cat sequel and a spidery boy) is the tendency to focus away from raw evil villains and have things like generational trauma take their place, some instances godawful like in Raye, mediocre Turning Red, and some great in Encanto, but really people just miss classic evil villains.
Absolutely agree. Not inherently wrong to explore the personal side of the bad guy, but we lost the classic feel.
Me too!
I didn't find Encanto to be that "great". It's as on the nose and generic as it can get : I lost my husband in an unspecified civil war, so I'm gonna burden my family with set expectations and boundaries.
And the older sisters were just one-note.
Raya was ok
@@tobsonasanya4765 Nah
If you want to talk about presence, look no further than to Rango. Rattlesnake Jake isn't a deep character per se, but he is a force of nature to the town of Dirt. He is everything Rango said about himself was. Ruthless, imposing, and most importantly, badass.
Bill Nighy’s voice certainly helps.
And, like Death, Jake's presence inadvertently pushes Rango to improve and grow as a character, ultimately becoming everything he said he was at the beginning! Rattlesnake Jake is criminally underrated.
Man of culture
Love how you mentioned my boy Megatron off the bat, one of the most iconic villains in media imo.
I think that Aku from Samurai Jack is extremely underrated on the level of presence, presentation and pure wickedness, the hundreds of thousands of people he's killed, the depth of his manipulations and lies.. The abuse of his powers and followers, how much he he truly enjoys his evil ways and how he displays it... He's fascinating when not taken as a joke
Samurai Jack is one of my favorite cartoons from childhood, and I got excited thinking he was gonna mention Aku at the end. He's the literal embodiment of evil, an immortal, practically invincible, omnipotent demon god of darkness and destruction who succeeded in taking over the world, terrorizing it for probably thousands of years, to the point that he got bored of making every living thing suffer. Like come on, how can you not even mention him?
@Leonidas Enetanya he's not a fan I guess
@@flewis02 Not a fan of Samurai Jack? The possibility didn't even occur to me... lol.
Idk he might group it in with anime just because the style and story were heavily inspired by Eastern media
Eris from Sinbad had some great animation to her. Especially the scene she conjures a fake Sinbad and then possesses it. The animators could have just made her shapeshift but nope, they went the extra mile.
Eris was a fantastic villain.
ERIS!??!! SHE'S ON A MOVIE?!?!? OMG YES
My favorite Disney Renaissance movie was Mulan, and my favorite villain stays as Shan Yu. He is so intimidating and a true force to be reckoned with. His design is great, but his voice acting is stellar. Miguel Ferrer did an incredible job. Just two lines that I remember so well "Congratulations, you found the Hun army" and "Boo" after he drops in front of the emperor at the end is just wow!
Also, he was the only one to take Mulan seriously without caring about her gender, wich has an actual historical explanation, on his country women were also on the army.
You know DreamWorks is making a comeback when their latest movie had not just 1, but 3 sets of memorable villains that each cover one of the staple archetypes: the Irredeemable Monster, the Sympathetic Changer, and the Unstoppable Force of Nature. While I adored Death and got chills whenever his whistle was heard, my favorite of the trio is definitely Big Jack Horner, but Goldilocks/Three Bears Crime Family were done wonderfully too. Just makes you wonder what kind of villain they're gonna make to rival Tai Lung or Lord Shen in KFP4
I find Dreamworks often gets overlooked in this reguard, their movies may not do so well, but take one look at something like How to Train your Dragon, race to the edge. And You'll realize they've had the villain game on point for a while.
Seriously I want to see more people talk about Viggo Grimborn
i hope there is no kfp4, the trilogy could only stand to get worse because of it, it's fine how it is
@@theredneckdrummerco.6748 well, we'll see how that ages. you might be right, or it might be really good
Arcane's Silco is one of those villains that manages to be both a legendary animated villain, and one of the most well written antagonists of recent fiction.
The colonel in "Spirit Stallion of the Cimmeron". Similaraly to Death, he eventually respects the horse hes been chasing for days on end for making the jump, and tells his men not to fire upon him and his friend. Both the protagonist and antagonist acknowledge eachothers unwavering determination to reach their goal, and the movie ends with that sentiment. Its wonderful, and i love it!
Slade from TT is the perfect villain in my eyes
Intimidating
Manipulative
A calm but chilling voice
Has no problem with kicking your ass
A clear contrast with the protagonist
A strong design
facts
What I like about Dreamwork's Death is the fact that.. while he is antagonist.. he's not your typical pyschopath looking for a prey, he's just doing his job.
A lot like AUTO.
Remember when Disney was cool?
I hate these comments because they are not true, he was not "just doing his job" he was killing puss in boots because he was mad that he wasted all of his lifes and wanted to end the last one himself, I dunno about you but I dont think death's job is killing someone before they naturally die.
Also Death _KNOWS_ that he is not supposed to do that, in the cave where puss meets his past lifes one of them says that death killing early is "cheating" to which death responds: "Shhh *don't tell* " if thats not aknoledgmenet I dont know what is.
Also don't come at me with the whole "Its justified, Puss wasted all of his lifes" i agree with this statement and I agree that it is deserved and that Death _should_ be mad but that doesnt mean that he is "just doing his job"
@@Manimanocas Looking back at it, yea he’s not really doing his job. It’s personal, he shows true malice and he’s a sadistic son of a bitch-
@@Manimanocas Isn't protecting the value of death is also his job as well ?
No he was pretty clearly a sadist
One thing someone had to point out to me about Death in Puss In Boots, is he appears in the background for every death. He's in the crowd during the giant fight, etc.
Every time I hear Death’s whistle I immediately get shivers down my spine.
I think Omniman is also notable because of how much depth you can find in his inner battle between grandiose Viltrum Propaganda and simple Human Empathy
This is not only a great video about Villains, but a wonderful appreciation piece for great art and animators. Thank you for making this!
The Lich is a great villain as well. More of a force of nature, an aspect of life itself. He represents entropy, not just the end of all life, but the inevitable destruction of everything. He straight up kills people on screen, and Ron Perlman’s voice makes his times on screen even scarier and more enjoyable.
I am so glad someone else mentioned the lich
@@not_doxing_myself yeah man
It's nice to have villains that are just evil for the sake of evil and it is also nice to have villains with flaws.
I like villains being evil and you understand why they want what they want BUT you don't want them to win.
Shockwave from Transformers: Prime is forever my favorite villain character. He has such a unique character concept, strictly following what is logical. It makes for some of the BEST moments in that show.
On of my favourite animated villains is King Candy/Turbo from Wreck-it Ralph. He’s a great example of a twist villain where they don’t try and pull a “haha GOTCHA!”, but actually leave hints throughout towards who he really is. He’s a perfect mix of funny and scary, and Alan Tudyk was amazing as the voice actor
Yes. Yes. Yes. All of that.
Awesome video!
One of my favorite animated villains of all time is John Silver from Treasure Planet. As a cyborg with a specially rendered CG arm, he has an incredible design. In the opening action sequence, all you see is his imposing shadow before his pirates destroy the hero's home. But then while disguising his true motives, he builds a real friendship with the protagonist, who begins to see him as a father figure. His redemption is still one of my favorite arcs, up there with Prince Zuko.
I agree. The treasure planet is in general great animation but what makes it so perfect for me is this relationship you mentioned. Someone was chopping onions a lot during this animation
Agreed, Silver was also cool in the way where he shows what an obsession with a dream can do to someone and shows to Jim not to follow in his footsteps. I like how they both end of learning something from the other
My number one villain in animation (especially western animation) is absolutely Silco from Arcane. What a phenomenal, compelling character. Utterly despicable yet more human than any other villain I've ever seen, someone we'll hate and cry for at the same time, someone who fundamentally alters his entire worldview without ever becoming truly good. EVERY scene he is in is breathtaking to me, every one of his lines is a window into his character.
Prince of Egypt is simply a masterpiece among animated films.
"for our heroes to become great, they must first overcome a great villain". That line is so cold
Azula is one of THE best villains I have ever seen in any media. She is terrifying in every single scene she shows up, you're never really sure how things are gonna play out, and the fact that she drives immense pleasure of making others miserable and fear her is so haunting. And BEST the way she is finally defeated just punches you so hard in the gut, perfect character.
Bill cipher is one of the best type of overpowered villain in any animated show, in every appearance of him he completely steals the show by either making people burst out laughing, outsmarting or manipulating the protagonists or just showing how powerful or sadistic he can be and I love it.
One of my favorite villains from animation would have to be the beast from over the garden wall.
It's a small show but he just does a really good job as a distributing manipulative force. Great character design and amazing voice acting.
Oh yeah, this one's good
You're very right!
Oh yeah! That’s a good one.
One of my all time favourite villians is Viggo Grimborn. His craftiness, the fact that he was almost always one step ahead of Hiccup, forcing hiccup to grow and become more tactical. The fact that he was merely motivated by greed and a desire for power, using his intelligence and skill to get it, as well as Alfred Molina's voice acting. All of those factors combined to make one of my favourite villians ever.
I was looking for someone to mention Viggo!!!! He is honestly one of my top 3 villians because he isn't just someone who hates dragons for the sake of it, he makes it clear throughout the series that it isn't personal for him to hunt down dragons, it's merely business. Hiccup not only prevents him from doing that presently, he also is a threat for the future of the dragon hunting business. Yet Viggo still continues the "game" and continues to learn from Hiccup as well as Hiccup learning from Viggo. They impact each other so well that at the end of their story, they're each a little more like the other.
Viggo is so crafty and slick that the episodes where Viggo and Ryker were saying the other brother betrayed the dragon hunters, I honestly couldn't tell who was telling the truth! Viggo and Ryker are both incredible villains, and I wish they could've made the list.
@@amberhougland7168yeah he’s one of my favorite dragon hunter villains along with Grimmel cause he’s a foil to him, where Hiccup’s a hero to people because of his empathy towards dragons, Grimmel’s a hero to others because of his apathy towards them
Pitch Black from Rise of the Guardians has to be one of my favourites. From the character design and voice acting down to his personality and presence, it's just all done amazingly well and it truly is just an absolute joy to see.
There is also the villains from Ice Age 3 and 4. Rudy is a masterfully crafted and teased villain in the movie that wasn't truly shown before the end but that just amplified the scariness of it all. You didn't know anything about it other than what the movie gave you, and it truly paid off. And then there's the pirate crew in the fourth movie who are jus a delight, and Captain Gutt, although maybe not the most terryfying villain out there, certainly has presence and Peter Dinklage did a masterful job as him. The crew, and Gutt especially, are really fun to see and hear (and it truly is a crime that their sea shanty isn't on spotify)
What's funny about Pitch Black is that, while he did overstep his boundaries, he was just doing what he was made to do. That's all he really knows to do. He even tried to legitimately become friends with Jack Frost
a really good recent animated villain on Disney Channel is Emperor Belos from The Owl House. His presence really picks up in the second season where we see more of his past actions, who he manipulated,,, I’m trying to be as spoiler free as possible but most of the series wouldn’t happen without him
Such a great series!
Thank you for commenting!
Emperor Belos is great.
Yeah he
Really left an impact
I feel bill should have also been included
(BIG SPOILERS FOR THE OWL HOUSE)
If you think about it, Belos is almost like a screwy “reverse” twist villain. He already has massive presence and poses a very tangible threat as the story’s villain, yet exists simultaneously as another entity seen as a ray of hope throughout a large part of the series. It’s only after you learn that Belos is Phillip that you realize the terrifying scale of what this guy is actually capable of, how twisted his morals are, and the atrocities he’s willing to commit to ensure he achieve his goals. Plus the psychological toll he holds on the protagonists (and even another antagonist) is heart-wrenchingly profound.
The truly great thing about Megatron is how much his story has become more and more, deeper and more compelling all the time
Silver from treasure planet is one of my favorites. His pressence and menace is alluded to without showing him out the gate, has spells of humor and we get to see his simple but effective motives yo be the badguy and the internal struggle as his motives starts colliding with his relation to the protagonist, followed by a bit of a redemption arc at the end
How good of a warrior Tai Lung was that he beat 5 masters all at once after being paralyzed and jailed for 20 years shows you how hard he worked. He exceeded expectations, to a point where no other student managed to impress Shifu again.
You can tell he always trained like there was no tomorrow with an unmatched thirst for perfection. His entire drive was based on the fact that Shifu assured him of the Scroll down the line. All Shifu had to do was be there for him, instead he pushed him away. Tai Lung is a tragic character, and wouldve been good if his father-figure was more competent.
Prince of Egypt is simply timeless. The animation is so beautiful... ❤❤
A villain that I love so much (in TV since those on movies were mentioned in the video) is Emperor Belos from the Owl House. His presence as a ruler with an iron fist then revealed genocidal witch hunter who became exactly what he sought to destroy, his voice and how it sounds both as intimidating and uncannily warm when he speaks, and also his entire history being laid out for us.
See, I love him for the same reasons I love Frollo as a character and more. He's in a position where he's had so many chances to change his ways and his beliefs, but not only does he double down on them, he kills in cold blood to get his way. And it's not even a one-time or every-other-time thing, no. He kills every single clone of his dead brother the moment they realize or begin to realize what's going on. Nothing stopped him from pursuing to kill every witch in the Boiling Isles, not even the only other human there. He believes the world corrupts and must be eradicated simply because of an ideology from 400 years ago. And learning that he was the previous human in the Boiling Isles named Philip Wittebane snuffed out the hope anyone had for this man.
He's calculated, opportunistic, and prideful. And all of those get in the way of what he could have been. Even removing those, we can see he's a remarkable inventor and even managed to give himself magic (of course, at the cost of his body trying to reject that notion, which is why he starts committing crimes against nature and eating the essences of palismen, which are creatures carved from palistrom trees. By the time Luz enters the demon realm, those trees are now rare.). We could see that he could have helped develop the Boiling Isles to greater heights, but he chose to turn to violence by lessening their powers greatly in order to sucessfully kill the populus in one fell swoop
He's also a very good manipulator. He was able to make an entire civilization bend to his will by limiting their magic to one type in the name of "the Titan", bring a god to his side simply by appealing to what the deity wanted, and was able to hold a grip on his grimwalkers for so long that his current surviving one still has trauma and sstress around him. And let's not mention the main character, because he affects Luz so much to the point she believes she's like him or that she's becoming him. Even with a great support system, she still holds those feelings and blames herself for everything she unknowingly helped in regards to Belos' plans.
TLDR: i love Belos so much you have no idea
while I would argue she is more of an antagonist than a villain, Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke is one of my favorite antagonists in any film. Period.
I also really love villains like The Horned King from The Black Cauldron and General Woundwort from Watership Down. Both of them have such a commanding presence and fantastic voice acting from John Hurt and Harry Andrews
Great picks!
Thank you for your comment!
Lady Eboshi is from an Eastern animation film, and my favorite animated movie of all time, so it doesn't count here. But I definitely agree. She is a far, far, FAR superior version of general jackass in the Avatar movies.
Sticking to Western animation, what they did with Omniman in Invincible was just incredible. The rework of the plot twist in the show works so much better than in the comics.
I always felt like Jigo was more of a villain than anyone else in the film... he wanted to *PROFIT* from killing the guardian... at the end of the day, what Eboshi wanted was for the city to be safe and prosperous. She was just too stubborn to to accept any way but her own way to achieve that until forced otherwise.
But Jigo was willing to kill Ashitaka for trying to recover the head...willing to doom the entire city to try and preserve his "payday" >.>
@@KuroiRenge yeah, she is definitely a beautifully written and complicated antagonist. Eboshi definitely deserves more appreciation, narratively speaking
I was gonna mention Eboshi before I realized this was a Western video. But yeah, and also the Emperor's lackeys were impressive.
Another animated villain that I really enjoyed was Silco from Arcane, and I was honestly really surprised to not see him here, considering how much the internet got obsessed over him.
He's a really unique character, in the sense that he starts off as a pure evil character. Everything in his first few scenes hint towards his cruel and unhinged nature. His lines, his movement, his design, his actions, and the way he's always framed in shots reminds me a lot of Scar, and he really makes his presence known, especially when EP3 hits in.
Yet as the show keeps going he starts to show less and less of these villainous traits, as more and more of his humanity gets exposed, resulting his presence getting weaker in the later episodes, which is something that other characters actually try to take advantage of.
He starts acting a lot less as an evil kingpin, and much more as a caring father to Jinx, which basically puts the audience's perception of him through a complete 180.
You start off hating him and looking forward to seeing his downfall, only for his death to make you cry your eyes out. There's very few villains that ever managed to pull this off, which is what makes me love him so much.
Jason's voice performance is also just the best, as he did an incredibly great job, keeping up with the emotional roller coaster that his character went through.
I'm more than a little disappointed you didn't even mention Maleficent. Truly an iconic villain, and perhaps Disney's (and animation's) first truly iconic villain. All of the things you describe that make a great villain were first established in her character. She deserves more attention, because she clearly got it from her creators.
My fave is Doof. Doctor Doof may not be an evil evil guy but he’s hilariously amazing and complex. We can also see in Azula that she was obviously effected by the fact her dad was extremely abusive and manipulative. She adopted these traits and when her mother left she had nobody to help her hold onto what she really was deep down: a sister. It’s proven by The Beach episode that Azula without her father influencing her behaviour could have been such a caring and kind person specially towards Zuko, her brother who she wishes can join her, can help her and her father, what she believes is what the world needs. But she eventually falls into insanity because of the stress of trying to be perfect, not to upset her father and a whole lot more.
I actually loved Big Jack Horner in Puss in Boots. He is so chaotically evil, he even knows it and it kind of perfectly shows how trends in villains are seen. He is that classical villain in a while and he is so comedic.
~ you,. you... You're an irredeemable monster!!
*- ooh, what took you so long? Idiot!*
-What did I do to deserve this?
- I mean *what specifically..*
XD
Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls would've been great to discuss. He is the tragedy fueled reckless personification of intellect, lies and pure chaos. Everlooming presence, dramatically increasing stakes, personal relationships with all the protagonists and viciously persuades them by promising them their goals. He brings out the ego in them, each in a different way and each leading to a tremendous fall. Only to overestimate his own ego in the finale and miscalculate the value of family. What a Villain and what an insane voice and design⚠️👁️
Commander Rourke from ATLANTIS is my hands down favorite. The passion, the anger, the willingness to do whatever it takes….ahhh a masterpiece
Personally I think The Lich from Adventure Time is one of the most intimidating villains I’ve ever seen, he’s this jarring evil creature older than time itself. Scared me as a kid. Scares me today.
Yeah, but being evil without direction or cause, only showing up randomly without consistency does make him forgettable.
Intimidating and cool looking for sure
But lacks in almost everything else
@@maniacalmurderer4123 There is a cause, it’s nature. Villains that have direction other than that are definitely more dynamic and compelling but that also leads into the sympathetic villain category. Not every villain needs some grand reason why they do what they do just like some villains do need that. But I definitely think that the psychology behind animals or animalistic characters doing evil stuff because that’s what they were created for is something that’s under appreciated simply because it can be perceived as lazy or forgettable. Maybe you think it’s forgettable but sometimes the scariest thing is not knowing when or where someone evil is going to show up, and the fact they can’t be cured of being evil.
The Lich also has Slade's voice (Ron Pearlman)
@@Fragmentsinfractals488so which would you rather have haunting every dark corner of your mind? For me its Slade. Bc Slade
@@derpasoruswrecks2773 "I will never let you rest.. Robin."
Extremely underrated channel and video! I completely agree that the villains in recent animated movies have been lackluster or just nonexistent and the wolf in Puss in Boots was an amazing return to form. He’s so menacing and despite being given so little screen time, once he’s introduced you can’t help but think about him the entire movie. The moments where he is actually on the screen makes your heart drop, as it goes from silly adventure to fear and foreboding in a matter of seconds.
Great video, and you’ve earned a new subscriber!
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!
Holy heck I just watched the best vixeo of 2023. Music choices? W. Smashed it outta the park. Scene choices from the movies? Also amazing. Topics of discussion, the villain choices, the analysis of it all was so good. I could watch this for hours. You really speak the collective mind of all of us I think
The Beast from Over the Garden Wall is a really compelling villain. And while he does have a motive and his actions center around furthering that motive, its the way he embodies the larger concept of hopelessness that cements him as something special to me. That along with his imposing voice and eerie design.
I feel like Lord Business from The Lego Movie deserves to be talked about in a similar vein to some of these iconic bad guys. Easily one of the most underrated animated villains in my opinion.
A wonderful villian honestly thst movie was so much better than i expected it ti be
Lego villains in general are underrated.
@@Pixel_PedroYT *Cough*lord garmadon*cough*
@@thetruetradic5859 Ninjago's villains are all legendary, they could get their own 30-minute video by themselves.
Although not animated, I think the most immaculate representation of a one dimensional villain is Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars. The man simply wanted to be evil and understood the assignment. Killing his own people not because it’s a “villainy” thing to do, but because it meant something. He played the galaxy like a game of chess because, well, he’s evil and he wants to watch the galaxy burn with himself at the helm.
Well he doesn’t exactly want everyone to die since he doesn’t want to rule over a galaxy of the dead
Missed the Nowhere King from Centaurworld. Terrifying design, great build up to his reveal, and a heart breaking back story
I’m surprised you didn’t mention emperor belos from the owl house. He’s a perfect example of a manipulative villain who’s just pure evil and has given up on his chance of redemption long ago. And how he psychologically torments the heroes and even down to his voice acting and character design is amazing.
@@zocritter I think the show got cut before that
Yeah he’s my favorite
I was waiting for this comment 😂
I believe that one of the reasons animated villains hit different is that the artists can actually control the body language a villain has to give off the EXACT vibe they want while with live action actors there’s chance of hit or miss if they can’t find the right “groove”.
This is such a good analysis! Honestly you should get more attention for this. I love it. Another villain I really love is Silco from Arcane. He was manipulative and his power was in his words, not strength - but still he still had a weakness and I think that was written brilliantly.
I absolutely love animated villains and they are some of the most memorable villains to me. There is just SO MUCH justice you can do with them in the animation medium - villains like Hades, Lord Shen and Death just WOULDN'T have worked in live action.
That’s why Hades was kinda ‘meh’ in Once Upon a Time.
Eh debatable
emperor belos from the owl house is the only recent animated villain i could talk about in as much depth as i can with the older ones
Zaheer from Legend of Korra is one of my favorite villains of all time. Incredibly terrifying in his ability to lead very powerful people to do terrible things. He brought the most challenge to the protagonist by disrupting her mind and poisoning the world around her. The argument can be made that his reasoning behind his actions are justifiable and his end goal is understandable, freedom. While his means are more than unethical it's still great to watch him outsmart Korra on multiple occasions.
I expected Death, the thing is, when Death is done right, you know Death. Its certainty, inevitability and can be personified in many ways and we all have our own vision of what Death will look like, but the underlying themes always remain regardless of the form Death takes. Constant, yet, also personified, unique to every individual.
Belos from the owl house is also one of the most gothic/horrifying villains in recent memory. I mean he killed his own brother and tried to do a genocide just for his religious beliefs. It kind of reminds me of Frollo sometimes.
He could have been better, but pretty good as is
@@sharmelfattakhov5041 yeah but Disney canceled the owl house it was supposed to have four seasons
Agreed and literally manipulates grimwalkers (his brother's clones)
@@sharmelfattakhov5041if the fucking collector didn't exist and if the show didn't get shortened I think that Belos could've lived up to his full potential.
@@unoriginal2552 IF Disney would not have canelled the show it could have been better.
That was simply one of the greatest explinations on something as simple as a animated villian ive ever watched ..Bro keep doing what you doing👊
i really have to say the "big bad wolf" (death) is my most favorite villain in a while.
because i felt genuine fear whenever i saw him on screen, and it's a fear that i haven't felt in a LOOONG time since LORD SHEN or Tai Lung or even Scar when i was a kid.
and it was very primal, too. more primal than i could ever understand.
i was practically hypnotized but also afraid of that whistle, it makes my heart RACE.
and i really don't remember the last pg film that made me feel the way i do with puss in boots: the last wish, i genuinely don't remember.
To me what makes a twist villain is the subtle, but also obvious build up to their reveal. Use their body language to react to what the hero is talking about. The main focus is on the hero, but those who see beyond that will see hints towards the villains true identity. Hell, the villain could be the one talking, then as the camera pans to the hero, still show them smirking. Show something. Sometimes it is certain phrases or descriptions. The way they describe an event, a creature or another character. It is fun to rewatch the movie, TV show or even replay the video game to see these subtle hints and clues. Even something that seems mundane at the time can be a vital clue.
For example, let's look at G.T. Blitz from Jak X by Naughty Dog. He is designed intentionally to be someone who only cares about the ratings of his show. Because of this, one would expect that he would be happy that Jak and crew would reject Mizo's offer to quit the championship. After all, they are generating tons of views and ratings. More ratings, more money in the bank. However we see Blitz off center getting angry that Mizo's offer was rejected. This contradicts the characterization of the character from the start of the game. Likewise earlier on, as a gag, we learn that Blitz is wearing a wig. For someone who prides himself on his image, this lines up. He doesn't want such an embarrassing detail become public. At some point Razor, Mizo's no.2 and a retired racing champion comments about how everyone eventually works for his boss. Whether they know it or not. Making you suspect that someone in the higher ups of the racing championship is Mizo. Finally our last clue, and one that is more obvious is that Krew and Mizo made a bet. Whoever wins the next Kraz City racing champion gets the others 'totally legal' business. We also learn that Blitz is more than the presenter for the sport. He is the owner. Out of spite for the father who valued racing more than him. Finally, in the final cup, Mizo makes a last minute entry for a mysterious driver. This driver is none other than Blitz himself.
Put these five clues together and you get a strong case that Blitz is Mizo. And it turns out he is. And Mizo's most defining feature is his tattoo on his head. That explains why Blitz was angry at Pecker for unintentionally revealing he has a wig (also why Blitz quickly makes sure it didn't reveal the tattoo). It is why he got angry at Jak for rejecting the offer to stand down. As Jak and his team are racing on Krews behalf (although they have no choice in the matter). Therefore he has a strong chance of losing the bet he made with Krew. Although Krew is dead at this point, the bet is still on through his daughter, Ryan. Who is in on it (Ryan is also another twist villain, but has less of a focus). Hence why he enters the final race himself. It is why Razor claims that everyone eventually works for him. Mizo owns the racing championship. So even if you race independently or have another sponsor (say a rival crime lord and his daughter), you work for him one way or another.
The audience should be rewarded for piecing the clues together if they do so before the reveal. It is not bad writing to have foreshadowing in your story. Besides, if someone doesn't gather nor understand the clues, they can go back and see where they are. Like I said, have the twist villain react in the background to what the hero(es) are saying and doing. On the first viewing, most people will probably be glued on the hero, who would be in the center of the screen. They wouldn't be focusing on what is happening in the background.
For TV series I feel that it's also about reframing their past actions
Look at Trader Jouhan from the How to Train your Dragon farnchise, he never has those kinds of hints in his early appearances, only showing such expression after his reveal. What he *does* have is *history* a history of constantly nearly getting the heroes killed cause he happened to leave out a crucial detail or lead them down a dangerous path. A history, the reveal completely reframes in a way that not only makes perfect sense... but also makes them highly menacing.
Something done perfectly with Trader... or should I say *traitor* Jouhan.
The best twist villains are the ones that were obvious in hindsight
But whose actions are ambiguous enough to require the full picture to truly understand what really happened
So that when the twist comes you can realize that it puts everything before that point in a new light
That realization of recontextualization is one of my favorite things when they happen