Top 10 Animated Villain Songs

Since their conception, animated films have been associated with music. In part, this is because of Disney, whose genre of escapist fairytales has ensured the studio’s success when it comes to movie-musicals. Many of their animated films have been transformed into stage shows (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid), and this popularity has led other animation studios to incorporate musical numbers into their own films, such as 20^th Century Fox’s Anastasia (1997) and DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt (1998).

These musical films usually have one thing in common; the villain’s song is almost always the coolest. So today, I’m counting down my top 10 animated villain songs.

Lord Shen: When Character Design Meets Character

Character design is an often-underrated aspect of character development. While personality is, without a doubt, the most crucial factor, design is surprisingly important to the way a character is perceived. This is particularly true of animation, where filmmakers are not limited by real-world biology. In animation, if you want a character to have green skin and bat wings, it can be done. If you want them to be twenty feet tall and have hair made out of octopus tentacles, it can be done. And, if you want them to be a murderous, knife-throwing, albino peacock with the voice of Gary Oldman, that can be done too. Yes, it’s finally time to talk about Lord Shen, from DreamWorks Animation’s 2011 film, Kung Fu Panda 2.

Dissecting Disney’s Twist Villains

There was once a time when the term “Disney Villain” meant one thing; a moustache twirling antagonist, swathed in darkness (literally), probably a witch or sorcerer, and almost always accompanied by a comedic, but still wicked, sidekick. I’m talking about the likes of the Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), Ursula (The Little Mermaid), and Jafar (Aladdin). There’s another thing these characters had in common; They were all unapologetically evil, and their villainy was obvious to almost everyone.

But, things have changed.

If you’re a fan of Disney films and have been keeping up with their releases since 2010, you’ve probably noticed a new trend in the kinds of villains the studio has given us. Gone are the dramatic cloak-wearing, magic staff-wielding fiends of old, and in are the unassuming, manipulative tricksters who are able to hide in plain sight. Today, we’re talking about twist villains.