60 Fun Facts About Disney Villains

Which villain owns a talking parrot named Iago?

The parrot's original voice was Gilbert Gottfried; the character shares his name with the schemer in Shakespeare's Othello.

Cruella de Vil wants a fur coat made from puppies of which dog breed?

Her name is a pun on 'cruel devil', and her car in the cartoon was modelled on the Rolls-Royce that author Dodie Smith owned herself.

Ursula gives Ariel how many days as a human to win Prince Eric's kiss?

The sea witch was originally designed with eight tentacles like an octopus, but the count was cut to six to save money on animation.

In The Lion King, Scar is the brother of which lion?

The character is loosely based on King Claudius, the throne-stealing uncle in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Which villain is terrified of a crocodile that swallowed a ticking clock?

Walt Disney first offered the role to Cary Grant; Hans Conried ended up voicing both Hook and Mr. Darling, as in the stage play.

The wicked stepmother in Snow White asks which object who is the fairest of them all?

She was Disney's very first feature-film villain, and her face was inspired by Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.

The Huntsman fools the Queen with the heart of which animal instead of Snow White's?

Furious at the trick, she brews a potion to disguise herself as an old peddler and cooks up the poisoned apple.

What creature does Maleficent transform into at the end of Sleeping Beauty?

Animator Eric Cleworth based the dragon's head movements on a rattlesnake.

What is the name of Maleficent's pet raven?

He spots the fairies' wand duel over the colour of Aurora's dress, which gives away her hiding place.

In The Emperor's New Groove, Yzma turns Kuzco into which animal?

Yzma later gets a taste of her own potion and ends the film as a kitten in Kronk's scout troop.

Which villain hoards the magic of a golden flower to stay young in Tangled?

Her look was inspired partly by Cher, to make it obvious on sight that she and Rapunzel are not related.

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles is how far down the line to his own throne?

Being unable to inherit at home is his motive for wooing Anna and plotting to seize Arendelle instead.

Which villain is the vain hunter who wants to marry Belle in Beauty and the Beast?

He was the first handsome villain Disney had ever tried to animate, and supervising animator Andreas Deja struggled with the idea at first.

Which Disney villain rules the Underworld and has flaming blue hair?

His voice actor ad-libbed most of the lines, and animator Nik Ranieri said one one-second scene took him two weeks because the character talks so fast.

In Hercules, what are the names of the Underworld god's two shape-shifting minions?

They fail to finish off baby Hercules with the mortality potion and decide not to tell their boss.

Judge Claude Frollo is the villain of which Disney film?

Voice actor Tony Jay compared him to Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

The 'Shadow Man' villain of The Princess and the Frog practises what kind of magic?

He turns Prince Naveen into a frog and plans to marry a disguised Lawrence to Charlotte for the La Bouff fortune.

Which cat belongs to Cinderella's stepmother and torments the mice Jaq and Gus?

Bruno the dog finally sends him out of a tower window.

The Queen of Hearts plays croquet using flamingos as mallets and which animals as balls?

Her soldiers double as the hoops, and keep leaving the field every time someone is dragged off to be beheaded.

Shere Khan, the tiger of The Jungle Book, was voiced in 1967 by which suave British actor?

Milt Kahl designed and animated him; Idris Elba took the role in the 2016 remake.

Which villain from Fantasia is a giant devil who summons spirits on Bald Mountain?

His name comes from Chernobog, a god of Slavic mythology, and he was animated by the Ukrainian-American Bill Tytla.

Which actress voiced both Lady Tremaine in Cinderella and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty?

She also performed live-action reference footage for both characters to guide the animators.

Ursula's look was famously inspired by which drag performer?

She borrowed Divine's eye make-up, jewellery and body type, and an early design even gave her a mohawk from Pink Flamingos.

Who voiced Ursula in The Little Mermaid?

Howard Ashman recorded Poor Unfortunate Souls himself, playing Ursula, to persuade her to take the role.

Which Broadway veteran was originally cast as Ursula, then fired over how the song should be performed?

Directors Clements and Musker and lyricist Howard Ashman disagreed over the casting from the start.

Which actor voiced Scar in the 1994 Lion King?

All three of the others were considered; animator Andreas Deja drew on Irons's performance as Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune.

Which voice actor, credited as Ed the hyena, secretly sang part of Be Prepared in Scar's place?

Cummings, a prolific voice actor who also plays Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, has said he stepped in to finish the number.

Cruella's animated design was drawn by which legendary Disney animator, who also drew Maleficent?

Her personality came from actress Tallulah Bankhead and her lanky frame from Mary Wickes, who posed as the live-action model.

Who played Cruella in Disney's 1996 live-action remake?

She returned for 102 Dalmatians in 2000, a quarter-century before Emma Stone's punk-era origin story.

The 2021 film Cruella is set in London during which musical movement?

Estella Miller is first seen as a child in 1964, already ostracised for her half-black, half-white hair.

In the 2014 film Maleficent, how does Stefan take Maleficent's wings?

Iron is lethal to fairies in the film's mythology, and he uses a bracelet of it while she sleeps.

Aladdin's scheming vizier owes a debt to a villain played by Conrad Veidt in which 1940 film?

Andreas Deja drew the vizier with sharp vertical lines to contrast with the Al Hirschfeld-inspired curves of everyone else.

Which actor voiced the Underworld god in Hercules and improvised most of his lines?

The directors reached out to Jerry Lewis to read for the part, and Michael Ironside and Martin Landau also auditioned.

Which Broadway singer, best known as Catwoman, voiced Yzma?

Kronk, her muscular henchman, was voiced by Patrick Warburton.

Tangled's villain was the film debut of which Tony-winning stage actress?

The writers only understood who Gothel really was once Mother Knows Best had been written.

Which villain, voiced by Keith David, sings Friends on the Other Side?

The song was written by Randy Newman, better known for his Pixar work.

Which villain, voiced by Vincent Price, hates being reminded that he is a rat?

The filmmakers cast Price after watching him in Champagne for Caesar, which they had rented to study Ronald Colman for Basil.

Which villain does Merlin defeat in a wizards' duel by turning into a germ?

The moral of the duel is knowledge over strength, and Mim cheats throughout.

Peter Ustinov voiced which thumb-sucking royal villain in Disney's Robin Hood?

Ustinov also recorded the character's lines for the German dub of the film.

What chemical mix does Judge Doom use to destroy toons in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

It is acetone, benzene and turpentine, and Christopher Lloyd's Doom is eventually revealed to be a toon himself.

Which villain from The Nightmare Before Christmas is a bogeyman with a passion for gambling?

He was voiced by Ken Page and gets Santa delivered to him by Lock, Shock and Barrel.

Which villain, voiced by Alan Tudyk, is revealed to really be the rogue racer Turbo?

His voice was modelled on comedian Ed Wynn's Mad Hatter from Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

In Zootopia, which seemingly meek official turns out to be the mastermind behind the savage predators?

The tiny sheep confronts Judy and Nick in a natural history museum in the finale.

Which Pixar villain is Buddy Pine, a rejected fan of Mr. Incredible?

He was voiced by Jason Lee, and his own cape becomes his undoing exactly as Edna Mode warned.

Lotso, the villain of Toy Story 3, is a teddy bear that smells of what?

Ned Beatty voiced him; he turned bitter after his owner Daisy's parents replaced him with a duplicate.

Steve Buscemi voices which Monsters, Inc. villain who can change colour like a chameleon?

His plan is a scream extractor machine, and he ends up banished into a trailer-park doorway.

In A Bug's Life, what is the gang leader Hopper afraid of?

Flik exploits the fear with a home-made bird made of leaves, and it works until P.T. Flea sets it on fire.

In Coco, how did Ernesto de la Cruz become a star?

Miguel starts the film believing Ernesto is his great-great-grandfather because of a torn photograph and a famous guitar.

Which villain, voiced by Kelsey Grammer, is a prospector doll still in his original box in Toy Story 2?

Woody meets him alongside Jessie and Bullseye as part of the Woody's Roundup collection.

Charles Muntz, the villain of Up, wants to capture which creature to clear his name?

Russell names the bird Kevin, though it turns out to be female.

Which villain, voiced by George C. Scott, is an Outback poacher hunting a golden eagle?

The Rescuers Down Under was Disney's first animated sequel, and Marahute the eagle is the prize he wants.

Madame Medusa in The Rescuers is hunting which giant diamond?

She uses the orphan Penny to crawl into a pirates' cave to reach it.

The Horned King in The Black Cauldron was voiced by which actor?

The film was the first Disney animated feature rated PG and the first to use computer-generated imagery.

Which villain, voiced by Chris Pine, is the sorcerer king of Rosas in Wish?

The 2023 film was Disney Animation's centenary release, and Alan Tudyk voices the goat.

In the 2015 Descendants film, Maleficent's daughter Mal is played by whom?

The film also gives children to the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella de Vil, all exiled to the Isle of the Lost.

Which classic villain does Lana Parrilla play as the mayor of Storybrooke in Once Upon a Time?

Her character Regina cast the dark curse that froze the town's residents in place for 28 years.

Which of Judge Frollo's songs quotes the Confiteor, a Latin Catholic prayer of confession?

The scene cuts between the archdeacon's procession and the judge singing to the Virgin Mary that he is 'a righteous man'.

When Ursula disguises herself as a human to steal Prince Eric, what name does she use?

Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel, briefly voices the disguise because it is Ariel's stolen voice coming out of it.

What is the name of Shan Yu's trained saker falcon in Mulan?

The bird brings its master a doll from a village in the Tung Shao Pass, tipping him off that the Imperial Army lies ahead; Mushu kills the Hun with fireworks.

Which booming British actor voiced the treacherous hunter Clayton in Tarzan (1999)?

William Cecil Clayton dies tangled in vines during his fight with Tarzan; Nigel Hawthorne voiced Professor Porter.