By Lucas Camacho and Judy Shields
For the last few years, I have written an article about the Disney Villains around Halloween. At first, my cousin Judy and I ranked our all-time favorite villains. Last year, I did the scariest villain “deaths”. This time, we’re going all musical: our favorite songs sung by Disney Villains. Judy has her list, and I have mine. As usual, we start with number five.
NUMBER FIVE: JUDY – “CRUELLA DE VIL”, LUCAS – “HELLFIRE”
For my cousin Judy, you can’t go wrong picking the song about Cruella De Vil from the movie 101 Dalmatians. Even though it wasn’t sung by the villain herself, it still counts in my opinion, and Judy will agree. Besides, who wouldn’t love the sound the piano makes in this song. The song in the cartoon was composed by Roger, and he did a good job describing Cruella down to a “T” with this classic Disney song.
To start my list, I went with “Hellfire” from the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was yet another feather in the cap of the legendary actor Tony Jay, who voiced Judge Claude Frollo. This song is considered to be one of the darkest songs in any Disney film, depicting Hell, damnation, lust, and sin, examples of subject matter that would generally be considered inappropriate for younger audiences.
NUMBER FOUR: JUDY – “GASTON”, LUCAS – “THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?!”
Another solid pick from Judy. She picked the song about Gaston, the main antagonist of Beauty and the Beast. The song was sung by both LeFou and Gaston when Gaston needed an ego boost after being rejected by Belle (although I’d argue that the LAST thing Gaston needs is an ego boost). Both the cartoon and live-action versions are memorable with the hilarious lyrics of the cartoon and the dance sequence of the live-action.
For my number four pick, I decided to go more modern. I went with the song “This is the Thanks I get?!”, sung by the main antagonist from the movie Wish: King Magnifico. First off, full props to the voice of Magnifico: Chris Pine. I honestly didn’t think he had singing in his repertoire, but he did a pretty good job. The song itself is a classic villain song: villain expressing anger and resentment and feeling he isn’t getting the recognition he thinks he deserves. If that isn’t a textbook villain song, I don’t know what is.
NUMBER THREE: JUDY – “BE PREPARED”, LUCAS – “FRIENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE”
I believe this is the third year in a row that Scar has made our lists. This time, it’s his song that we are celebrating. The infamous main antagonist from The Lion King had many spectacular visuals and lyrics, and even the music was amazing. The song features diverse imagery, with the background colors becoming more intense throughout the song. It certainly feels like Scar will be on any list that relates to the Disney Villains.
My pick is from someone who has also graced our lists for three years in a row. Once again, it’s Dr. Facilier, the main antagonist from The Princess and The Frog, with his song “Friends on the Other Side.” It’s creepy, a little funny, a bit scary, but loads of fun. Facilier demonstrates his voodoo magic for Prince Naveen and Lawrence while putting his plan into action. It was a masterclass in villainy, and I absolutely loved it.
NUMBER TWO: JUDY – “HELLFIRE”, LUCAS – “OOGIE BOOGIE’S SONG”
This is definitely a first for us: a pick that ends up on both our lists. Judy’s pick for number two is actually my number five pick: “Hellfire.” I can’t blame Judy, we both have an affinity for the song (if it wasn’t for some of the songs I had on my list, this would have been higher up for me as well). I already explained how great this song is. But I didn’t go into the fact that the sequence also contains heavy visuals to match the lyrics, including provocative dancing from images of Esmeralda in the fire. Yeah, kinda dark for Disney.
My pick for number two, yet another familiar face. I made it no secret in the first article that my favorite villain is Oogie Boogie, the sinister main antagonist of The Nightmare Before Christmas. So naturally, he makes it to number two on my Disney Villains songs list. The song features Oogie arrogantly stating he plans to gamble with Santa Claus’ life. Again, this is why he’s the top villain: who would gamble with the life of Santa Claus?! The whole song was fun and sinister, and I loved every second of it.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
As per the last few Disney Villain articles, we have a list of songs that just barely missed the cut. One song that could have made my personal list was the song “Mother Knows Best” from the movie Tangled. The song sung by main antagonist Mother Gothel was one of my favorites, so it broke my heart that it barely missed the cut. The song is basically Gothel manipulating Rapunzel by scaring her with dangers of the outside world to keep her in the tower. That way, Gothel can stay eternally young by keeping Rapunzel’s magic hair to herself.
Another song that missed the lists was the song “Mine, Mine, Mine” from the movie Pocahontas. The song is sung by a newcomer to our Disney Villains list, and someone who is quite underappreciated: Governor Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe sings of his ambitions of what he plans to do with any of the gold he and the settlers come across in Virginia. Given his sinister nature, it’s a wonder that Ratcliffe never made our list before (although he doesn’t die, which is why he wasn’t in the last one).
It keeps breaking my heart, but Captain Hook, the main antagonist of the film Peter Pan, continues to just miss the list (last list he wasn’t on because he didn’t die). I definitely enjoyed the short song from the movie titled “The Elegant Captain Hook” just because I love pirates in general. In the song, Hook and his crew try to convince the captured Lost Boys and the Darling siblings to join the pirate crew.
Another song that could have made either list was the song “The Headless Horseman” from the movie The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. It was sung by the short’s secondary antagonist, Brom Bones, meant to scare Ichabod Crane by singing of the short’s real antagonist, the Headless Horseman. It’s a particular favorite of mine around Halloween time, and you can’t go wrong with a song sung by Bing Crosby. Now let’s get on with the number one songs from both lists.
NUMBER ONE: JUDY – “POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS”, LUCAS – “BE PREPARED”
I tend to agree with my cousin Judy a lot when we make these lists, but this was a stretch for me. But I respect my cousin’s pick with the song sung by the main antagonist of the movie The Little Mermaid, the sea witch Ursula. Now, Ursula used the song to seduce Ariel into trading her voice for the chance to temporarily become human and be with Prince Eric. It definitely fitted a villain of Ursula’s caliber, no doubt.
As for me, my pick for number one surprisingly is not Oogie Boogie. That’s because my pick was one that Judy had ranked further down her list: “Be Prepared” from The Lion King. What can I say? Scar is one of the most iconic Disney Villains, and this song is legendary. The version from the cartoon was great, and the live action version was just as good in a different way. The original had great visuals while the live action was adapted to make Scar even more vicious than his cartoon counterpart. Two great versions of the same song? Beat that…I dare you!
