Supplementary Post: Disney Villains & Stereotypes


While watching Cinderella, it struck me at how easily Disney falls into the stereotypical image of a villain that I read about in Warner's "Fantastic Outsiders: Villains and Deviants in Animated Cartoons."  The villain is always depicted as ugly and unappealing, with slits for eyes and a cackle, usually surrounded by the color green.  I decided to categorize Disney villains into these stereotypes and see if I can find any exceptions to this rule.  Of course, some if not many villains fall into multiple categories, so I tried to place them in their primary category.

UNATTRACTIVE VILLAINS
This seems to be a common trend for less "serious" villains, when Disney still wants to indicate that they're the bad guys but doesn't want them to be scary.


UNINTELLIGENT VILLAINS
Used a lot for villains that double as the comic relief.  Also common for a lot of villains' sidekicks, which aren't all pictured.


VILLAINS WITH THE COLOR GREEN
A lot of Disney villains are in this category but more subtlely, such as only in certain scenes.



VILLAINS WITH "EVIL" FACIAL FEATURES
Squinty or bloodshot eyes, pointed features, hallowed-out cheekbones, etc.  This seems to be Disney's go-to indication of the villain.


VILLAINS WITH A TON OF MAKEUP 
For some reason, the female villain always has a face full of makeup while the heroine looks natural and youthful.


EXCEPTIONS
These seem to be more common in modern Disney movies, in which the creators want us to be surprised by the villain—but am I the only one who still notices the tiny hints of green?

Comments

  1. Ooooh. Good call on the subtle shades of green in modern villains! I hadn't seen/considered that before!

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