October 25, 2006
Having been in a household with three children for the last ten years, I’ve seen my fair share of Disney movies. (Well, to be honest, I saw a lot of them before we had kids, but I’ve seen a lot more since then. Like, every one that’s been made.)
Anyway, in honor of Halloween coming upon us, I wanted to devote a blog post to my very favorite Disney villain.
She’s elegant.
She’s beautiful, in a horrific sort of way.
She’s smart.
She’s powerful and can shapeshift.
She puts Prince Phillip in a dungeon! Woohoo!
She’s the magnificent Maleficent.
I’ve always loved her. Sleeping Beauty was my favorite Disney movie when I was younger (and still is)–I adore the Middle Ages, which is basically the time period of the movie. I always thought Aurora was the most beautiful of the princesses (great hair!).
And Maleficent. Cool, calm, evil, and so very elegant.
About four years ago, we went to a Halloween party and I made my own Maleficent costume. (I wish I had a scanner so I could post a picture!) Even though it was home made, everyone knew who I was the minute I arrived. It was those horns that gave it away.
Oh, and the purple eyeshadow.
And I’m not ashamed to admit that when I was creating the villainess for my Gardella Vampire Chronicles series, I used what I liked about Maleficent to create the character for my own Lilith. (Yes, I know Nora Roberts’s vampire queen’s name is Lilith too.)
I wanted her to be frighteningly elegant and calm, and surprising too, in some ways.
My Lilith isn’t dressed in flowing black robes, and she doesn’t have purple eyeshadow up to her eyebrows. But in some ways, she’s my tribute to Disney’s fabulously evilly gorgeous Maleficent.
So…who’s your favorite Disney villain? And why?
(PS, my other favorite Disney villain is from the absolutely hilarious Emperor’s New Groove.
Her name is Yzma. She looks like she could be Maleficent’s reat-great-great-grandmother, doesn’t she?)
October 24th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
I think perhaps mine is Ursula was it? From The Little Mermaid? I love that “taking all the space in the room; you know you’re not going to mess with me” presence she had.
October 25th, 2006 at 12:30 am
Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, because he reminded me of my little brother in HS.
October 25th, 2006 at 1:14 am
Sleeping Beauty was my favorite but Malificent gave me nightmares. I think it was the horns that did it. Whoever came up with that design was an animating genius.
October 25th, 2006 at 1:56 am
I love Sleeping Beauty. I think I might only like Beauty and the Beast more for Disney cartoons. (It’s their love stories. SO much more realistic than most — cough cough, Litle Mermaid!) The production deisgn of SB was so spectacular. For villains, though, I have to go with either Ursula (what a great song she has!) or Cruella deVille.
Ooh, or Jafar. I liked him. Gaston also had a great song. And what about Madam Mim from A Sword in the Stone?
October 25th, 2006 at 5:37 am
Maleficent, because she is such a demure, yet haunting creature. Beauty, elegance, but dangerous…very, very dangerous. The costume her character wears is striking, I love it!
October 25th, 2006 at 6:54 am
They are all good…..I think I am with you about Yzma though….she never knows when to give it. And the fact that she leart to speak chipmonk can’t hurt either!
October 25th, 2006 at 7:55 am
I love Maleficent. And I’m with you on the yay she put Price Philip in a dungeon - he was a bit of a wimp wasn’t he? He totally would have died without Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.
October 25th, 2006 at 8:31 am
Yeah, Sassy, without those three little fairies, Prince Phillip would have been pretty helpless.
I loved the part (sadist that I am) when Maleficent comes to visit Phillip in the dungeon and calls him “my pet” and he tries ferociously to get loose from his chains, but cannot. Hmm. Maybe that’s where my fascination with men in chains has come from.
Marg! You’ve seen The Emperor’s New Groove! I know that movie didn’t do well, but damn, I loved it. It’s one that even though I’ve seen it dozens of times, if the kids are watching it, I will sit down and see it again. Yzma and Kronk are the funniest ever.
Diana and Sparky…I liked Gaston too. Great character. My nephew played him in his school’s version of B&tB, and he was great. The song about him was one of my son’s all time favorites too.
October 25th, 2006 at 8:32 am
Oh, I forgot to mention…in the did you know category…that the woman who voiced Maleficent also voiced Lady Tremaine (the stepmother) in Cinderella?
October 25th, 2006 at 9:22 am
It’d be a tie for me.. between The Queen from Snow White and Cruella DeVil from 101 Dalmations.
October 25th, 2006 at 9:35 am
Oh, Maleficent. So delightfully evil.
I think my second runner up would be Cruella. Oh! And Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective. Gotta love Vincent Price.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:06 am
I think Cruella was my favorite too - although she runs a close second with Edgar from The Aristocats.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:26 am
Maleficent and the Queen from Snow White }:)
October 25th, 2006 at 10:39 am
I’ve never actually seen Sleeping Beauty–at least not that I remember.
My favorite Disney villain is either Jafar (from Aladdin) or Madame Medusa from The Rescuers. Don’t know what exactly I liked about her…she’s sort of repulsive…maybe because she’s so villainous…
October 25th, 2006 at 11:17 am
Oh! Sleeping Beauty is my favorite “classic” Disney movie. You’re so right, Maleficent is just too cool for school. It’s her elegance. You find yourself wanting to like her because she’s so fascinating to hear and see.
October 25th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
Maleficent reminds me of a boss I once had! My fav is Ursula from The Little Mermaid, so deliciously rotten!
October 25th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
I was just talking with someone about Maleficent! Definitely the best villain. I get shivers when she turns into the dragon after calling on “all the powers of Hell!” And I remember being completely shocked as a kid that she said “hell”. That made her the ultimate baddy for me (with Ursula at second. That “Poor Unfortunate Souls” song? Awesome.)
October 25th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
Ursula from The Little Mermaid is my favorite. She is magnificent! I love the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. She has that white-trash quality so lacking in the more lady like villians.
October 25th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
Prince John (Robin Hood). I loved that movie so much as a kid. I could run around yelling “Oo-de-lally!” all day long.
October 25th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
Another reason why we’re friends. Maleficent was my favorite villaness of all time as well.
I didn’t care too much for Ursula, but that was probably due to the jiggling and bobbling of her breasts. I was too distracted by that to really notice any of her other qualities.
I also didn’t care for Jafar as someone else mentioned because I was too busy pondering his accent and not his actual dialogue. I kept trying to place which country he came from as it certainly was not somewhere in the Middle East.
And as for Cruella, well…when your name is being used on the license plate for a Sebring XL (TX CRU*ELA), I suppose you have reached ultracool status. However, I can’t stand behind someone who uses puppies for her own benefit. It just doesn’t sit well with me for some reason or other.