Everyone loves a good villain, and Disney films are full of great ones. Villains are necessary evils for most storytelling. They provide the hero with a challenge to overcome, providing balance for the story line. Not every story has a specific, tangible villain – sometimes there are just hardships to overcome, which are not related to a specific character. But most Disney films have a solid, recognizable villain (or multiple villains) against which we – the audience – can rally.
Some villains are legendary just for their pure evilness and the scare they put into viewers. Rarely is this type of villain humorous or endearing in any way. They simply exist to combat the hero, or the greater good, of the film. Good examples of this type of villain include Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent, Cinderella’s Lady Tremaine, A Bug’s Life’s Hopper, Star Wars’ Darth Vader, and Marvel’s Thanos. Outside of Disney – Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise is quite terrifying (even more so in the books than in the films).
Other villains present larger than life personalities, and even strike our funny bones. These villains tend to be among the most popular, and include the likes of Peter Pan’s Captain Hook, Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of Hearts, Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston, The Little Mermaid’s Ursula, and A Nightmare Before Christmas’ Oogie Boogie. Villains parties at the Disney parks tend to include these exuberant characters with large personalities.
The Other Bad Guys
Now let’s dig a little deeper. All of the villains I listed above – regardless of their personality – are considered “primary antagonists.” They are the most significant driving force pushing against our hero. What about the other ones – those who posed a challenge of their own, but their name wasn’t in lights? While most films have clear cut primary villains, many films in the Disney universe also have quite memorable secondary villains – those that work against our hero, though not as the largest or most direct challenge. These characters often work in concert with the primary villain, but sometimes they are just out there presenting their own challenge to the hero.
These secondary villains are the poor unfortunate souls I’d like to recognize. They don’t get top bad guy billing in the box office, and they are not prevalent in every film. Sometimes it is not even clear who in the film is a primary villain or a secondary villain. Pinocchio features four major villains – J. Worthington Foulfellow, Stromboli, Lampwick, and Monstro.
All four act as Pinocchio’s primary antagonist at one point or another, but it is not so easy to pinpoint who is the overall largest antagonist of the film, and therefore who is recessed as a secondary antagonist. The same could be said for Toy Story 2 villains Al McWhiggin and Stinky Pete. Both present different, but relatively comparable, challenges to Woody along his journey.
With these basic villain descriptions in mind, I present to you my list of notable secondary villains in the Disney universe. But before I start, I should add one qualifier to my list – the henchman. This character type is often considered to be a secondary villain, working in the direct employ of the film’s primary antagonist. While I see and understand this point, I feel this is a class of villain that deserves its own discussion, which you can find here in a list of my favorite Disney henchmen and goons!
Without further ado, let’s get started.
Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine (and Lucifer) – Cinderella
Red with rage and green with envy – Anastasia and Drizella don’t have the looks, the talent, or most of all the heart, to be that special person Prince Charming seeks. These clumsy sisters depend on their mother Lady Tremaine for everything they want, and lack the ability to gracefully succeed or earn anything themselves. Their one saving grace, and what makes them appealing villains to many, is their goofy nature, which plays very well to guests at character dining and meet and greets at the parks.
In an ongoing subplot throughout the film, Cinderella’s friends Gus and Jaq are targeted left and right by Lucifer, the Tremaine family's sinister plump pussycat. It takes a full team of mice, along with Bruno (one of my favorite Disney dogs) to overcome Lucifer’s scheming ways en route to helping Cinderella get out from under her jealous stepfamily.
Cheshire Cat – Alice in Wonderland
Is Cheshire Cat truly an antagonist? I suppose it depends on who, when, and where you ask. This mysterious character is equal parts friend, foe, and mischief. Just when you think he’s helping our poor friend Alice, he confuses her and sends her down the wrong path. Then he disappears. As the expression goes “I trust him as far as I can throw him” (metaphorically speaking of course. Since he is a cat, I could probably throw him quite far).
Duke of Weselton – Frozen
Now this guy has all the characteristics of a villain. He’s scheming, conniving, manipulative, and has those pointy features that just scream “bad guy.” Except – spoiler alert – he’s not the main day guy! That honor belongs to Prince Hans (of the Southern Isles). So while the Duke is not the big bad, he is a major thorn in Elsa’s side throughout the film. I think he’s just grouchy because everyone thinks he’s from “Weaseltown.”
King Louie and Kaa – The Jungle Book
Much like Pinocchio, Mowgli’s journey through the jungle is one unique encounter after another, meeting different friends and foes along the way. But unlike Pinocchio, The Jungle Book has a clear primary antagonist, and several secondary antagonists. Here are the key players.
“Oh oobee doo, I wanna be like you.” King Louie is jealous of Man's red fire, and wants Mowgli to share the secret. Mind you, Mowgli is somewhere around ten years old, and wasn’t raised by humans, so he was of little help to Louie and had to be bailed out of the orangutan’s temple by Baloo and Bagheera.
On to the next encounter, this time with Kaa the python. You do not “trussst” in Kaa, even if your life depends on it (which Mowgli’s does). Mowgli is spared again, this time through intervention by the film’s primary villain, Shere Khan, who looms like a shadow over Mowgli’s entire journey through the jungle.
Maximillian – The Black Hole
Ok, so at the height of Star Wars fever, Disney took the plunge with a different type of space saga, and came up with The Black Hole. The film hasn’t aged particularly well, but if you’ve seen this dated space drama, you were likely creeped out several times. If lone survivor (and primary antagonist) Dr. Hans Reinhardt and his crew of faceless drones didn’t give you the willies, then Reinhardt’s terrifying robot Maximilian certainly raised the hair on the back of your neck. Maximilian is essentially a security enforcing machine, who will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal. Since he has no heart or conscience to speak of, he feels no regret when it comes to terminating a life. Maximilian is not the type of guy you want to encounter in an aged/deserted space station.
Brom Bones – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Most memorable villains have previous character inspirations to thank for their charming personalities. And as such, Gaston can thank Brom Bones for inspiring him with his strength, good looks, and jealous competitiveness. Brom Bones may not be the primary antagonist in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he is the one who scared the you-know-what out of Ichabod Crane, setting him up for the fright of his life at the hands of the Headless Horseman. It is never truly clear what actually happened to Ichabod Crane on that fateful night. Did he die, or did he run away mad crazy? To Brom Bones, it doesn’t matter much – he was once again the toast of the town.
Hector Barbosa – Pirates of the Caribbean
Now here’s a character of many facets. Barbosa – brilliantly played by Geoffrey Rush, is a one-time friend and partner of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He turned arch enemy over the years, as pirates are want to do, yet sometimes still deep down he is still an admirer and respecting comrade of Captain Jack. This former-ally-turned-secondary-antagonist eventually reunited with Captain Jack later in the film franchise.
Tamatoa – Moana
This “shiny” foe of Moana and Maui is a classic secondary antagonist – a hurdle our hero has to best on their way to the bigger challenge. He is a bottom feeding collector of all things valuable, but with the help of a little distraction routine, this giant coconut crab is outsmarted by our dynamic duo to recover the item they need – Maui’s precious and powerful hook. Tamatoa may be memorable, though for me it is for his irritating theme song.
Giant Squid – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Monstro – Pinocchio
Sometimes an antagonist isn’t bad just for the sake of being bad. These foes are just being who they are. And if you are a giant squid looking for a satisfying meal, or a blue whale with a boat and smoldering fire irritating your belly, you are going to act accordingly in your own self interest. These gargantuan foes have no real beef with the heroes they challenge, but by being themselves, they definitely pose a significant threat.
Randall Boggs – Monsters Inc. and Monsters University
When you think of the main villain from Monsters, Inc., Randall just may be the first that comes to mind. He is immediately established as Sulley’s greatest competition in the race to the all-time scare record. Randall is devious, dishonest, and unlikeable, especially to little folks like Mike Wazowski.
One thing he is not? The primary villain. That distinction belongs to the president of Monsters, Inc., Mr. Waternoose. Randall’s position here is somewhere between a henchman and a co-main antagonist. He is working in concert with Mr. Waternoose on setting up a new scaring system, but he also has his own ambitions of achieving personal glory by winning the scare record. Randall could be considered one of the most well-established villains in the Pixar universe, even without being a primary antagonist.
Dewdrop – Onward
Ian and Barley Lightfoot spend most of the Pixar film Onward trying to complete a quest to find an artifact that will temporarily bring back their dead father. Along the way, they have the misfortune of encountering Dewdrop and her gang of Pixie Duster fairies.
These fairies are no Tinkerbells! If you mess with a biker fairy then you mess with the whole gang, and Dewdrop takes her lead fairy position seriously. She and the fairies chase Ian and Barley for much of the film, but eventually get left in the dust, and are ultimately inconsequential to the conclusion of the film.
They Were Almost the Biggest and the Baddest
Well, we really threaded the needle here, finding that sweet spot where the not-so-threatening villains roam. Did I recognize any of your favorite secondary antagonists in this list? Are there any you think I missed? Reach out with a comment or a message on social media, to let me know what you think.
Also, check out a companion article celebrating The Best Secondary Villains in the Marvel and Star Wars Universes.
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