While Disney films are known for their loveable casts of characters, they sometimes also feature the worst of the worst. Whether they're declared evil villains from the start or wind up shocking the audience in the end with their secret plots, some Disney characters have become universally hated for their dastardly deeds.
From manipulating a princess who's longing for love to almost burning alive the entire cast of Toy Story to murdering your own brother for a spot on the throne, Disney and Pixar have some of the baddest baddies in their collection of famous characters.
The Prospector (Toy Story 2)
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The Prospector — rightfully known as Stinky Pete — winds up being not only the villain of the Woody's Round-Up franchise, but the secret villain of Toy Story 2 when he reveals that he does indeed leave his box, making him less of a collector's item.
Despite his welcoming and caring nature when Woody first meets him, Jessie and Bullseye in Al's collection, when Woody decides not to join them on display in a museum, The Prospecter traps the toys in the room until Al can package them up and bring them to the airport for his own selfish scheme to finally be on display.
Scar (The Lion King)
Scar became one of the most hated Disney characters in history when The Lion King took a devastating turn and showed Scar letting his own brother, Simba's father Mufasa, fall to his death off a cliff.
For giving viewers one of the saddest scenes in movie history when young Simba finds his father dead after being trampled by wildebeest, it was only fair that Simba grew up to beat out Scar for the throne, eliminating any chance he had of ever becoming king.
Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco)
Ernesto de la Cruz is one of those movie villains that catches you by surprise, learning by the end of the film that he was the bad guy after all in Pixar's Coco, despite being beloved by Miguel and everyone in the Land of the Dead.
Once admired by Miguel, when he meets Cruz's songwriting partner Héctor in the Land of the Dead, he learns of the way his musical idol murdered Héctor and stole his songbook in attempt to achieve fame.
Hans (Frozen)
While he's known as Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, he's more notable known as the antagonist of Frozen. Despite his sing-songy, head-over-heels relationship with Anna, it's soon revealed that Hans isn't all he seems.
Hans' despicable behavior begins with his plan to lure the lonely romantic Anna into loving him and get himself married into royalty. But his plot gets even more villainous when it's revealed that he planned to murder Queen Elsa and rule Arandelle as king with Anna as his queen.
Lotso (Toy Story 3)
While Lotso-Huggin-Bear is typically known for his hugs, in Toy Story 3, he's known for his dictatorship that leaves him to jailing Andy's toys in crates and reverting Buzz to Spanish mode for the majority of the film.
But the worst of Lotso's many misdoings was when he leaves the toy in a running incinerator and causes one of the most traumatic scenes in Toy Story history when the toys join hands and face their death until a claw swoops in and saves them thanks to the aliens.
Randall (Monsters, Inc)
At first, Randall is less of an antagonist and more of a side character, known for his sneaky slithering through Monsters, Inc and bullying Mike while being envious of Sully for being such a successful scarer.
But when it's revealed Randall has been involved in an evil plot to take over the scaring industry and plans to kidnap Boo, a memorable moment in the film comes when the monster chases Mike, Sully and Boo through the warehouse of revolving doors.
Jafar (Aladdin)
Jafar is slimy from the start, pretending to be loyal to The Sultan when he's actually attempted on several occasions to hypnotize The Sultan, take his place in ruling Agrabah and marry Jasmine. And when he wasn't doing all that, he was tricking Aladdin into scavenging the Cave of Wonders to find Genie's lamp.
When Jafar's evil plans pan out and he's the husband of Jasmine and ruler of Agrabah at the hand of Genie — who is forced to grant every wicked wish Jafar makes — his banishment of Aladdin and mistreatment of Genie are enough to leave him hated by the film's fans.
Darla (Finding Nemo)
Possibly less hated and more disliked, Darla just has nothing going for her in Finding Nemo. She's not favored by her dentist, the fish tank, and the viewers alike for her loud and obnoxious behavior at P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way.
Darla's worst quality isn't her poor dental hygiene, but her carelessness for pets as she taps wildly on the glass of the fish tank. It's later revealed that the last fish the dentist gave her to take home ended up belly-up in a bag.
Ercole Visconti (Luca)
Luca's Ercole is the insecure creep who needs validation from the Portorosso Cup race each year. A bully and narcissist, Ercole feels no remorse for the way he pretends to be a teenager in order to enter the race and remain the champion.
Throughout the film, Ercole reveals himself to be not only a cheater and a sore loser, but inevitably a murderer, with plans of killing the movie's protagonists Luca and Alberto when he finds out that they're actually sea monsters.
Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmatians)
Putting aside the 2021 101 Dalmatians spin-off centered around this villain, Cruella de Vil — while stylish — is also one of the most classic Disney villains in history and hated by animal lovers everywhere.
There's a reason this woman's name has the word 'devil' in it, because she attempts to commit the most heinous act ever in a Disney film: the murder of 99 dalmatian puppies to use their skins to make spotted fur coats.