The Disney villains had a lasting impact on the public, spreading horror, visual excitement and, in many cases, laughter around the world.
– Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas –
Introduction
Can you imagine a Disney movie with no bad guy in it? ….Ariel without Ursula, Snow White without the evil queen, Sleeping Beauty without Maleficent or Aladdin without Jafar? For me, and I guess also for you, the answer here is simple: An exciting Disney film just needs a great villain.
But why are those charcters so important to the storyline and the progression of the plot? How are those key figures created and how do the animators approach such an important challenge?
Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, two of the legendary Disney animators we call The Nine Old Men, have all the answers. If you do not know them by now, go watch some of their interviews on youtube, look up the timeless and beloved Disney characters they created or just have a look at some of their other books and you’ll see: I don’t call them Disney legends without cause.
Their unique book The Disney Villain is like a bible when it comes to the dark side of the Disney magic, in which they provide us with some great definititions and philosophical thoughts about villains in life, fairy tales and Disney movies. There is a lot of very in-depth text (very, very well written and quite funny at times – like always with those two guys) illustrated with tons of different kinds of artwork (Film stills, cells, sketches, raw animation, clean-up animated, concept art and so on).
Thanks to its striking cover page, this is one of the books that attracted my attention the first time I saw it…The dashing purple and this fascinating magic mirror that sometimes reveals the face of the evil queen in all the colors of the rainbow. That’s just one of those really cool details, that make all the difference.
And now, let’s meet a bunch of creepy villains… but don’t be afraid, they’re funny as well!
What is a Villain?
The first chapter of the book focuses on the preliminary question, what a villain really is. Fear is one of the basic human feelings and therefore has a lot of power. As do villains when it comes to creating a story. They are evil, greedy, self-centered, brutal and dangerous and therefore often mark the beginning of the whole intrigue… the hero (or the heroine) has to react ( and fight with honor) to remain the hero and to reestablish the balance between good and evil. But “good” villains aren’t only evil, they have to be funny and entertaining at the same time.
Furthermore, although we know very well that Disney normally means that there will be a happy ending, the audience should feel like this time the bad guy could actually win. It seems also very important that it’s made clear, straight from the beginning, what the villain wants and how he plans to achieve his goals. All that is illustrated by a huge amount of examples from the different Disney movies and well explained by the two authors.
The villain is the key to your movie and you have to have everyone else rise to the same level… there must be a worthy adversary or you have no picture.”
– Peter Schneider –
The Shorts
One of the first Disney villains that appeared in Disney’s shorts of the 20s and 30 was Peg Leg Pete. Nobody knew what kind of animal he actually was, but it was quite obvious that he was a bully. The creators of those stories already knew that it was important to have a bad guy in the picture, but they didn’t realize yet, how crucial his character would actually be. So, those early villains were bad, indeed, but their personality wasn’t very complex, diverse or fascinating.
The first Disney villain to be remembered for his actions was the Big Bad Wolf that threatened the Three Little Piglets. He wasn’t as one-dimensional as Pete, he seemed to be clever, perservering and humorous, just more interesting and dangerous all in all.
Another memorable villain was the giant in the Brave Little Tailor, although rather stupid than dangerous. But it wasn’t until 1937, that a true villain was introduced by Disney.
The Golden Age
With Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney had produced the first feature length animated movie, so it is no surprise that they needed a unique and memorable villain that would be powerful enough to keep the plot running for more than an hour without ever being boring. With her cold beauty, her majestic behaviour and that boundless cusedness, the evil queen does a great job (I even remember leaving the cinema full of terror when I was a kid, because she was so scary). The Huntsman sure was less of a villain than the queen with her magic mirror on the wall. No wonder the authors dedicated a quite extensive chapter to Disney’s first true villain.
Still, we also learn a lot about other movies, like Pinocchio (with Strombolli, the cat and the fox, and last but not least Monstro representing the evil), Fantasia (with the unforgettable Chernobog), Dumbo (with the cruel elephants and the ringmaster) and Bambi (here we have the hunters with their dogs that represent the danger). Along with the very informative text, we get so much great and very diverse art work!
The Nine Old Men
The next chapter (a huge one, with its 70 pages) treats of an era full of legendary Disney classics, going from the late 40s till the early 80s… it’s the golden era of the Nine Old Men, Disney’s animation legends.
Flipping through that part of the book, I’m amazed over and over again, since there are just so many extremly good movies with countless unique and memorable villains, one better than the other. The personality of those evildoers is so complex and interesting, so it is absolutely fascinating to learn everything (!) first-hand about them thanks to two of those Nine Old Men.
We all know and “love” them, we watch them perform their magic and follow their plans over and over again and still are fascinated by them and their actions: Cinderella’s evil stepmother, her hideous and stupid stepsisters, their cat Lucifer, the choleric Queen of Hearts and the Chesire Cat, the deceitful Captain Hook with his brutal pack, the bitchy cats and the rat that gave Lady and the Tramp a hard time, the legendary Maleficent with her raven, the crazy Cruella in her weird car with her helpers Horace and Jusper, Madame Mim and the wolf, Shere Khan and the other dangerous creatures from the jungle, Edgar the butler, Prince John, the greedy Madame Medusa with her crocodile friends and Mister Snoops…. do I need to say more.
This part of the book just brims over with all kinds of stunning and fascinating art work – a pure delight!
The New Era Begins
And now, let’s make room for a new generation of Disney animators. With all of the Nine Old Men gone, the company went through a very rough time, kind of having to reinvent the wheel. Although a “good” villain, Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective can’t really be compared to the evil legends stated above, don’t you think? Same for the Horned King (The Black Cauldron) and the bad guys from Oliver & Company.
But then, something magical happened: The Little Mermaid! Sure there had to be a villain in the picture, but at that time nobody would have thought that Ursula would become an alltime favorite (she sure is one of my faves!), taking place alongside the most memorable villains the Disney Studios ever created. Lucky for us, we get nine pages full of information and art about our favorite octopus!
The authors then move on to The Rescuers Down Under, explaining how the bad guy of the movie, McLeach, was created. Even though he’s far less interesing (for me), I like that Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas even write about the computer-generated half-track – an object they call the most villainous character of the movie.
Beast (from Beauty and the Beast) is without doubt one of the most interesting “villains”, since he’s very mean at the beginning of the movie, but can’t be considered a villain anymore after he rescued Belle from the wolves. That change of personality is also visible in his gesture, his facial expressions and his body movements. Gaston, on the other hand, although beautiful and strong, is just pure evil! (#beautyisfoundwithin)
The last movie that is covered is Aladdin, showcasing a very special villain: Jafar. While Maleficent wanted revenge, Cruella a coat, Medusa a huge diamond …, Jafar just wants everything!
Again, a chapter full of art and background information on every important character of that golden era!
Résumé
The Disney Villain by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas is an absolute must-have for any Disney fan. Wether you like just Disney in general, concept art, the art of animation, movie making, story or simply beautiful books…. this book is for you.
While watching a movie, we tend to focus on the good guys, the heros and heroines, maybe also their funny sidekicks… but rarely on the villains. After reading this book, that will change definitely! I learned so much interesting things and realized how important a well-done, funny and evil villain is for the relevance of a captivating story line. If you do not have a real villain, you won’t have a hero. It’s as simple as that.
I love how the authors combined text and art perfectly (like they do in all their books!) – we get so much information, without ever being too much, since after one or thwo paragraphs we always get some fascinating art work (sometimes tiny, sometimes filling a double-page, sometimes full of color, sometimes a black and white sketch)… that way, every page looks and feels very different and unique.
What I also like is the fact that at the end of the book, there is an index telling us which animator did which villain (again, there isn’t only text but also photos of the animators).
Oh, and once again: I am in love with the cover page and that magic mirror! How cool is that !
Where to get it?
Title: The Disney Villain
Author: Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas
Year: 1993
Since this book was published in 1993, it can be quite hard to find a nice copy of it nowadays. Still, after some research it shouldn’t be a problem to find one on Amazon Marketplace or on Ebay. The original price was about 50 $. Depending on what you are looking for you can sometimes find copies in acceptable condition for a good price… but prices also can go up to 70 $ and more if you want one in “like new” condition. By using the link below (klicking on the respective picture), you help me to keep The Disney Bookshop going.
I hope you enjoyed reading this review – let me know, what you think about it.
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