Disney’s 10 Least Successful Villains
The actions of each disney and Pixar villains are driven by their need to achieve their goals, whether those goals are to gain power, fight the protagonist, or simply live a life of luxury. Yet while viewers may rationalize the easiest ways for villains to achieve their goals, villains are usually blindsided by their own stupidity or hubris, making victory impossible.
Some goals may seem simple or achievable, but there are villains who just aren’t very good at what they do, no matter how threatening. A few villains are even downright incompetent, blaming those around them for their own failures.
ten Frollo did nothing with his power
From the start of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frollo was already established as the ultimate power in Paris, being the high and mighty judge. The only person who ever opposed Frollo was the Archdeacon, but Frollo never had to follow his orders, he only did it to protect his own image. Yet even with all his might, Frollo failed to achieve any of his goals. He never managed to keep Quasimodo locked up, failed to marry Esmeralda, and was unable to kill Captain Phoebus; for a character with unlimited resources and few to oppose him, Frollo was a massive failure.
9 Hans fell victim to opportunism
As the thirteenth in line to the throne, all Hans ever wanted was to rule his own kingdom, and he got the perfect opportunity to do so when he met Anna. All Hans had to do was toy with the idea of marriage and Anna would have given it her all, however, as a greedy opportunist, Hans had no patience and couldn’t help himself when offered the opportunity to let Anna perish.
Given the situation with Elsa, anyone could have understood why the so-called kind Prince Hans would try to kill her to save the kingdom, but by getting too greedy and working against Anna, Hans failed in his goals.
8 Jafar wasted all his opportunities
Jafar had the kingdom of Agrabah handed to him on a silver platter, but the villain couldn’t see his strengths or how to use them to his advantage. With a magical snake that had the power to hypnotize people, Jafar could have forced the Sultan to make him the new ruler of Agrabah; instead, Jafar used him in mean ways that didn’t help his cause.
After losing his snake staff, Jafar had both the genie and Princess Jasmine as hostages. Instead of wishing himself to be the leader of Agrabah, Jafar could have used Jasmine as leverage to gain power and save a wish in the process. Jafar failed a third time because he didn’t have the foresight to see that wanting to be a genius would trap him for eternity; no matter how many opportunities were given to Jafar, he squandered them all.
seven Maleficent failed overnight
Maleficent was called the “Mistress of All Evils”, but a more appropriate title would have been “Queen of Lesser Curses”. Maleficent cursed Aurora to die by a spindle, and despite knowing her curse would succeed due to her dark magic, Maleficent still insisted on seeking out Aurora.
Maleficent sent her minions to complete the task and thus failed to find Aurora for 16 years. To add insult to injury, Aurora was hiding with the most incompetent guardians Maleficent could have hoped for. After Aurora finally succumbed to the curse, Maleficent failed to hold Prince Phillip hostage and she died because of it. While Maleficent might seem scary, she’s nothing more than a braggart and a failure, losing her mission just one night after completing her goal.
6 Charles Muntz lost his life hunting a bird
Charles Muntz spent most of his adult life hunting a single bird to clear his name with the scientific community. Yet despite the inventions fabricated by Muntz or his army of canine companions, he failed in his aim thanks to Kevin’s natural instinct for survival. While his failure was inevitable, Muntz could have returned to the scientific community as a hero.
His inventions were brilliant, and over the years of hunting Kevin, Muntz had hunted down countless other unique creatures, adding them to the collection aboard his ship. Instead of choosing to be a living legend for his discoveries or inventions, Muntz lost himself in madness, never achieving his goal no matter how hard he tried.
5 Ursula achieved her goal… for five minutes
Despite her great power, Ursula spent most of her life wasting away in her pitiful cave, so when she finally had the chance to make a deal with Ariel, things were looking up for her. The deal ultimately worked out in Ursula’s favor, earning her everything she ever wanted. However, Ursula was too myopic to see the consequences of her actions.
After earning the trident and going mad with power, Ursula died at the hands of Prince Eric, who impaled her with a vessel. The problem with that is that Ursula’s death was completely preventable. The ship that killed her was driven by a whirlpool she created, riding a current she controlled, and all the while Ursula had the power to blast the ship into pieces with the trident. Prince Eric did not kill Ursula; his own madness did.
4 Captain Hook never moved
Captain Hook was an obsessed villain fighting his rationality against the irrationality of children. In doing so, he gave Peter Pan the perfect target to engage with, ensuring a battle that lasted countless years.
Hook’s crew aboard the Jolly Rodger even defied their leader, wondering why they hadn’t continued to sail the seas and commit crimes more worthy of true piracy; the problem was that Hook was tormented by the existence of Peter Pan, and by not letting his obsession go, he was opening himself up to failure and humiliation at the hands of a boy who couldn’t grow up.
3 Oogie Boogie was a prisoner for no reason
In The nightmare before Christmas, it is quickly established that Oogie Boogie is a prisoner in his mansion, but viewers never learn why he was placed under house arrest by Jack, or why he remains there. There are no guards to keep Oogie prisoner, only Jack’s Law, so why would the supposedly powerful villain stay instead of leaving to commit more atrocities and wreak havoc?
Instead of escaping from his prison, Oogie interfered with Jack’s plans and kidnapped Santa Claus, but even then he was unable to hold his hostage, losing when Jack came to challenge him; Oogie Boogie never had a real goal, and without proper planning he had no hope of success.
2 Cruella was impulsive and lazy
Cruella wasn’t the kind of villain to work hard or plan her next move, she was impulsive and lazy, hiring two idiots to do the job for her, though she was wealthy enough to hire better henchmen. who would have been much more capable. On the other hand, even if Cruella had succeeded in her plans, she would have been instantly recognized as a criminal and the thief of the Dalmatians, since she would have borne the proofs of her crime; Cruella didn’t think about the future, and it was because of her impulsiveness and madness that she was taken.
1 Edgar was foiled by five cats
With regard to villainous conspiracies, Edgar de The Aristocats came up with the worst plan, although that was mainly because he was a butler, not a criminal mastermind. While preparing a meal for Duchess and her kittens, Edgar was surrounded by a myriad of ingredients and other products. If he had only thought a little more about his plan, he could have poisoned the cats instead of putting them to sleep, then buried them anywhere on the huge estate owned by Madame Adelaide. However, Edgar was ruled by his paranoia and opted for a more complicated plan which resulted in the cats returning home and even beating him in battle.