60 - Max
While he definitely isn’t as entertaining as his dad and gets overshadowed by him, I think Max is an enjoyable character and a critical part of the core part of his appearances, with that being the compelling father-son relationship and dynamics between Goofy and Max.
59 - Mr. Incredible
I think Mr. Incredible is a very enjoyable character with a great voice performance, and a lot of why is because I find his overall character arc of trying to overcome his mid-life crisis and be viewed as a superhero again very compelling and unique for Disney standards.
58 - Bowler Hat Guy
I’m not a huge fan of Meet the Robinsons, but the Bowler Hat Guy is easily the best thing and character in the movie and is a ton of fun, being one of a handful of anti-villains in the Disney animated canon alongside Amos Slade (who I do like a lot, but won’t be on here since he isn’t in my game) and two others higher on the list, and while not as strong as them, he is a ton of fun with how pathetic he is at villainy.
57 - Aladdin
Aladdin is one of my two favorite Disney movies alongside Beauty and the Beast, and naturally, I think Aladdin himself makes for a great protagonist, and easily one of the best Disney princes, only losing to Beast for me. He has great dynamics with both Jasmine and especially Genie, and I think Scott Weinger gives a great performance. However, the character does suffer from being overshadowed by Genie, Jafar, and Iago for me, as I tend to think of them first instead of the titular character.
56 - Tod and Copper
The Fox and the Hound is in my top ten favorite Disney movies and one I think is quite underrated (and the funny thing is, I actually didn’t even like it as a kid and thought it was boring but I love it now), and the relationship between the two main characters, the heart of the movie, is quite strong, and I really enjoy seeing Tod and Copper’s relationship changing as they grow up and what the ultimate conclusion for them ends up being.
55 - Bruce
Bruce is a fun supporting character in Finding Nemo with his whole affable personality contrasting his intimidating appearance, and his bloodlust-infestation provides a hilarious line that lives rent-free in my head (“HERE’S BRUCEY!”).
54 - Carl
Carl is a very atypical Disney protagonist considering most of them tend to be either teenagers or young adults, and thus having an elderly man as the main character stands out, and I like his journey of wanting to accomplish his late wife’s dream and becoming a grandfather-figure to Russell.
53 - Mother Gothel
In my opinion, this is the last great Disney villain who acted like a classic Disney villain, and while I wouldn’t say Mother Gothel is necessarily the flashiest Disney villain ever, she’s still a very effective and enjoyable one, doing what I believe most of the all-time great Disney villains do in balancing out being threatening with being funny, and she gets a great song and makes for a good last impression, and I’m hoping we can get back to more good traditional villains soon.
52 - Randall
Monsters Inc. is my favorite Pixar movie and I think it’s such a blast to watch, and while Randall isn’t my favorite character in the movie and gets overshadowed by the two main characters for me, he’s still a fun and enjoyable villain and one of the better Pixar villains, balancing out being a threat while having funny moments, and having a neat design with fun powers.
51 - Robin Hood
Robin Hood is one of my favorite Disney movies and features some of my all-time favorite Disney characters, and while Robin Hood himself isn’t quite as good as some of his co-stars, he’s still a charming, memorable character with his clever schemes and various dynamics with his friends and enemies.
50 - Heimlich
Heimlich is arguably my favorite of the circus bugs and one of the more underrated Disney sidekicks, and I think he’s quite likable and charming with a lot of good lines and the funny ending gag of him becoming a butterfly with tiny wings.
49 - King Louie
The Jungle Book has one of my favorite ensemble of characters in any Disney movie, and while he may not have the most plot importance or screen-time ever, King Louie is a ton of fun and makes the best out of the little he is given to do. It also helps that he sings the best song in the movie and one of my favorite Disney songs of all time.
48 - Jumba
Jumba is a very fun character with the over top Russian accent and constantly boasting about how evil he is when he really isn’t that evil, and even if you do want to consider him a villain (which I personally don’t), him being one of a handful who reforms in the end also makes him interesting.
47 - Frozone
Frozone may not necessarily be the most prominent character in his movie, but he is a lot of fun with a great voice performance from Samuel L. Jackson and getting one of the most memorable and quotable lines in Pixar history (WHERE!… IS!… MY SUPER SUIT?!?!?).
46 - Davy Jones
Davy Jones is probably the first live-action Disney villain who comes to mind for me, which isn’t a bad thing as I think he’s a very cool villain with a great design, while also having some tragic elements to him that make him compelling.
45 - Zurg
Yeah, I get that Zurg doesn’t really do much and only plays a small role in Toy Story 2, but he is extremely memorable and entertaining and makes the best out of the little he gets to do to be a super fun comic relief villain.
44 - Bagheera
Bagheera’s a great character who works very well as the no-nonsense straight man to the rest of the cast’s antics, and his dynamic with Baloo is top-notch and helps make one of the all-time great Disney duos.
43 - Pacha
While there is another John Goodman-voiced character I like more, Pacha is a great character who is both very likable and works very well as a straight man to Kuzco’s antics.
42 - Kuzco
Kuzco is a great example of an entertaining jerk who, while he may not technically be likable for a lot of movie, is made up for by being a ton of fun to watch, and it helps that he does change for the better by the end.
41 - Mulan
Mulan is a great protagonist, and I think is an excellent example of how to write a strong female character who is well-written and not flawless, considering she doesn’t start out that way and has to work to reach that way. I have always found it weird why Disney considers her a princess though.
40 - Quasimodo
I love Hunchback as a movie, and while Quasimodo does get overshadowed by Frollo a little bit for me, he’s still a great character and the second best in his movie, as he’s very likable and I like seeing him try to find acceptance amongst the public and break free from Frollo’s influence over him.
39 - Hector Barbossa
While I do prefer Davy Jones as a villain, I prefer Barbossa as a character overall, being an entertaining character who also has a bit more depth to him than many on here, starting out as the villain in the first movie, then becoming an anti-hero in the sequels after he was revived.
38 - Ralph
Ralph is easily one of my favorite “modern” (2010s or later) Disney characters, with only one other character from that time period being higher than him on here, and I think he’s an excellent protagonist who’s very likable and I really like his journey of trying to prove that just because he’s the villain in his game doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.
37 - Captain Hook
And now we reach the point of the list where a lot of villains are going to start popping up. Captain Hook is one of those villains that I feel does what most of the all-time great Disney villains do, in balancing out being a legitimate threat while also being very funny, and while he is one leaning more towards the funny end of the scale, he is extremely entertaining, and a little more sympathetic than most Disney villains considering Peter Pan started the conflict between them, but not too sympathetic as what makes him a villain is how he takes his anger for Peter Pan out on other people, which makes him a fun and interesting villain.
36 - Cruella De Vil
Much like Captain Hook, Cruella is such a classic villain who hits a great balance between being funny and threatening, and her being less sympathetic than Hook makes her arguably a more compelling villain for the Dalmatians to face as her lack of redeeming traits and desire to murder 99 puppies for a fur coat makes you want to see them come out on top, making her very effective, though there is a villain many compare to her who is less popular than her that I enjoy more, and we’ll get to that amazing character later.
35 - Shere Khan
Shere Khan is another excellent villain with a top-tier voice performance from George Sanders and I love his sophisticated and well-mannered yet still threatening personality so much. Despite not getting a ton of screen-time, he also works well as a constant threat due to how much the characters bring him up, and once he drops his affableness in the climax and becomes a major threat, you definitely feel the danger he presents.
34 - Stromboli
Stromboli is probably one of the funniest Disney villains due to how over the top he is, and despite his limited screen-time, he makes quite an impression. Interestingly, Stromboli is also the first twist villain, a trend that would become quite common in more modern Disney movies, and an effective use of the trope due to him being entertaining and enjoyable both before and after the reveal and the presence of other villains in the movie to help aid in the villain department.
33 - Baymax
Baymax is my favorite “modern” Disney character, and I think he’s just such an enjoyable character to watch with his appealing and unique design, and how devoted is to his healthcare duties at the expense of everything else makes for a lot of fun comedy.
32 - Basil
Basil is definitely one of the most fun Disney protagonists, and his dynamic with Ratigan in how far they go to outsmart and foil each other is just a ton of fun. Granted, I do prefer Ratigan over him, but Basil is still a very enjoyable character and in the upper echelon as far as Disney’s main protagonists go.
31 - Percival C. McLeach
Funny enough, I’m actually not a big fan of The Rescuers Down Under and I feel like I’m one of the only people who actually likes the original Rescuers more than it (and by a significant margin, as it’s one of my favorite Disney movies). However, the one aspect of this movie that I do think is amazing is McLeach, who is such a great villain. He’s arguably even more evil than Medusa due to him being a poacher and getting more sadistic enjoyment out of doing bad things to Cody than was the case with Medusa to Penny, but he still manages to be very funny with George C. Scott’s amazing voice performance. He’s honestly the only thing in the movie I really like all that much, but goodness, does he elevate it significantly.
30 - Scar
Scar is yet another one of the all-time great Disney villains and does what they do best, in being both threatening and funny at the same time, while also having a great voice performance from Jeremy Irons and singing an absolute banger of a song with “Be Prepared”.
29 - Belle
Belle is easily my favorite Disney princess and one of my favorite female Disney characters who isn’t a villain. Belle is a very enjoyable and likable character who sings great songs and is a part of one of Disney’s most well-developed and compelling couples; even if she’s definitely not as quite as great as Beast or Gaston, she is still a all-time classic Disney character.
28 - Sykes
Sykes is easily one of Disney’s most underrated villains and one who stands out for being quite dark with his lack of comedy and realistic portrayal. Despite that, he manages to remain charismatic and cool with a great voice performance from Robert Loggia and how much dread he instills into Fagin, working similarly to Shere Khan in being able to maintain a threatening aura throughout the movie despite not getting that much screen-time.
27 - Yzma
Yzma is just so quotable and fun that, even though she isn’t that threatening of a villain and is one who is a little more sympathetic than most considering for a lot of the movie, Kuzco isn’t a saint himself and, if anything, comes across as being worse than her until he comes around, you don’t really care due to how entertaining and funny she is.
26 - Kronk
Who doesn’t like Kronk? He’s just so likable and funny, and Patrick Warburton’s performance is so strong, that anytime I hear his voice in anything, I’m immediately reminded of Kronk, which is not a bad thing.
25 - Jafar
As another one of the all-time great classic Disney villains, Jafar is yet another excellent character to watch, balancing out being a legitimate threat while also being funny and having a super fun dynamic with Iago, though unlike a few villains coming up, does suffer a little bit from the fact that he does get overshadowed by another character in the movie for me, but still, Jafar is awesome, and in most other Disney movies, he would probably be the best character.
24 - Ichabod Crane
Another criminally underrated character from low-key one of my favorite Disney movies, Ichabod is a great character who’s a ton of fun with a ton of great animation and his obsession with eating, and also great for being a very atypical protagonist considering he himself is far from a saint with him clearly stating that he only likes Katrina because she’s rich, and his comic rivalry with Brom is also fantastic.
23 - Ursula
Ursula is just such an iconic and classic Disney villain who is super enjoyable and entertaining to watch; once again, balancing out being a big threat while also being really funny, and what elevates her slightly above Jafar is singing a banger of a song with “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and being the best character in her movie and not being overshadowed by another character.
22 - Hades
Yeah, I think you can guess what I’m going say. Hades is another all-time great Disney villain who once again hits that great balance of being threatening and funny, and I think is elevated by having one of the all-time great Disney voice performances with James Woods, giving him such a unique style and charisma to him that makes him feel like a little more effort was put into him than most Disney villains.
21 - Hopper
I’d argue Hopper is probably one of the most underrated Disney villains and I think he’s such a really cool and charismatic character that you enjoy watching, but still want to see get defeated. Granted, I’d say he’s probably not quite as funny as someone like Hades or Ursula, but he still gets funny moments, and I think him being underrepresented and somewhat forgotten about does make him a little more interesting since we don’t see him as often as a lot of other villains on here.
20 - Willie the Giant
One of my favorite underrated Disney characters, Willie is a ton of fun with his lovable oafish personality, singing a great song and being the most genuinely likable Disney villain, a fact further helped by the fact that he is more of an anti-villain since he isn’t truly evil and the fact that he’s been a full-on good guy in everything he’s been in since his debut. At the same time, Willie fulfills his role of the antagonist well since he manages to pose a threat, especially in the climax, making him work well as an opposing force to Mickey, Donald, and Goofy despite his overall lack of evilness and being primarily comedic.
19 - Woody
The first three Toy Story movies are all classics, and a lot of it is held up by its two main characters. Woody is a very solid and classic character, from a great voice performance from Tom Hanks, to his development of becoming friends with Buzz despite his initial jealousy of him, and I think makes for a very well-rounded and enjoyable protagonist.
18 - Buzz Lightyear
Truth be told, Buzz and Woody are very close and which one I prefer could change from day to day, but at the current moment, I’ll probably put Buzz slightly higher. Once again, the voice performance for Buzz is fantastic with Tim Allen being exceptional in the role, and while he may not have quite as much depth to him as Woody, I think Buzz is a little more entertaining and quotable, especially when he’s acting deluded and obsessing over Star Command. Overall, the two of them make for an exceptional and highly entertaining duo, though there is a duo of Pixar protagonists I prefer over them who will be coming up shortly.
17 - Goofy
Goofy is such an easy character to like and out of the main Mickey Mouse gang, has the strongest collection of classic shorts, from the 40’s cartoons with the “How To” formula to the 50’s cartoons where he is an everyman. His current portrayal from Bill Farmer is just so iconic, charming, and memorable, and I feel he balances out stupid humor well by being an idiot without ever becoming annoying, and the two Goofy movies also add a lot of depth to him in being a single dad trying to raise his son and have a good relationship between the two of them.
16 - Sulley and Boo
This spot is specifically for Sulley, and I think the combination of both him and Mike make for my favorite duo of Disney protagonists in my favorite Pixar movie and one of my favorite movies of all time, and certainly the most entertaining pair with how well they work off each other. While I definitely don’t struggle in saying I prefer Mike, Sulley is still an excellent character who gets a lot of great lines and moments, with an exceptional voice performance from John Goodman and being a fantastic classic character.
15 - Mike Wazowski
Unsurprisingly, you can take what I said about Sulley and apply it to Mike as well. The voice performance from Billy Crystal is one of the best there is, and Mike is consistently hilarious from start to finish, with so many great and quotable lines (“Put that thing back where it came from or so help me!”).
14 - Sheriff of Nottingham
The Sheriff is my favorite Disney villain who isn’t the main villain in their franchise, and while he may not be the most intimidating villain ever, I think he (and especially Prince John, who we’ll get to soon) make up for it by being two of the funniest Disney villains, with a lot of that coming down to Pat Buttram’s fantastic delivery and voice work, in being able to take these lines that objectively aren’t that funny or entertaining and make them really entertaining and quotable.
13 - Syndrome
Syndrome is easily the best Pixar villain and one of the best Disney villains in general, and of all the villains on this list, I’d argue he hits the strongest balance between being threatening and funny, as he has quite a high kill count, but his over-the-top mannerisms and geeky personality also make him hilarious and super quotable, which makes him feel like he’s firing on all cylinders the whole movie.
12 - Pete
I absolutely adore Pete, and I think his variety of roles he’s played over the years from a traditional villain in the earlier shorts and House of Mouse to his less villainous roles like Goof Troop and its follow-up movies make him a bit more unique than the average Disney villain. While he isn’t a very threatening villain, there are shorts like Mickey’s Christmas Carol where he does manage to be intimidating, and on top of that, Pete is generally hilarious to boot, especially when Jim Cummings is voicing him and gives him this fantastic larger-than-life personality.
11 - Prince John
Prince John is, hands down, the funniest Disney villain, and, with the possible exception of the character in the #1 spot, is potentially my pick for the funniest Disney character period. Peter Ustinov’s S-tier voice performance and insane hamminess make the character gut-bustingly hilarious from start to finish, and while he isn’t the most intimidating villain ever, he does become more of a threat as the movie goes on. Objectively, he probably isn’t one of the best Disney villains, and there are 4-5 villains higher than him on here, but he is so entertaining and funny that he more than makes up for that.
10 - Ratigan
Ratigan is another phenomenal villain and much like many others in the upper parts of the list, hits that great balance between being evil and threatening with his numerous crimes and memorable breakdown at the end, and funny and entertaining with his hamminess and charismatic demeanor, getting two great songs and having an amazing voice performance by Vincent Price.
9 - Madame Medusa
The Rescuers is one of my favorite Disney movies, and while not my #1 favorite, I think Medusa is possibly what I consider to be the best example of a perfect villain. She’s hilarious with how over-the-top she is, yet she’s still super despicable with her treatment of Penny to where you’re excited and invested in seeing her get her comeuppance, and her being one of the more realistic Disney villains adds to her larger-than-life presence. This makes her possibly the perfect example of a villain that you love to hate, and like many of these great villains, the voice performance is phenomenal, with Geraldine Page doing spectacular as Medusa in both her more comedic and more detestable moments.
8 - Penny, Bernard, and Bianca
Bernard and Bianca are both likable and great protagonists, but this spot is specifically for Penny, who I think is easily the best kid character in the Disney library and one of the unsung heroes of the Disney animated canon in general. She’s very charming and likable, but does have a backbone and isn’t afraid to call out the villains for their poor treatment of her. Despite being a damsel-in-distress, she remains an active character the whole movie with sending out bottles for help and continually trying to run away, and continues to remain active once the mice show up to help her, arguably contributing more to her own escape than the mice do, and they do a great job of making her incredibly brave and strong-willed for someone her age that you really get invested in and want to see escape her kidnappers and get adopted.
7 - Gaston
Gaston is one of the best Disney villains of all time and an amazing character. I think he works well as such a great contrast and foil to Beast considering they start out similar, but as the movie goes on, they develop in different directions with Beast changing for the better and Gaston resorting to evil methods to force Belle to marry him, and balances that all out by singing two excellent songs and being hilarious and really quotable as well (“And every last inch of me’s covered with HAIR!”).
6 - Beast
As far as Disney characters go, I believe Beast and one character coming up are the two strongest in regards to character development, and Beast’s redemption arc of learning to treat others with kindness and how to truly love is done super well, and I think his design is really interesting and it helps that he’s the first prince in a princess movie that felt like they mattered just as much, and arguably more, than the princess.
5 - Frollo
In terms of full-out traditional Disney villains, Frollo is the best there is and is such a phenomenal villain (though if any type of antagonist counts, then he does lose to one character higher on the list). He’s one of the darkest Disney villains with his realistic portrayal and heinous crimes, has an amazing voice performance from Tony Jay, is super charismatic and cool despite his lack of comedy, and he sings the best Disney villain song with “Hellfire”.
4 - Baloo
What is there to dislike about Baloo? Really, nothing, and in my opinion, he has probably the all-time greatest voice performance of any Walt-era character, tying with another character voiced by the same person for second and only losing to one character higher up for the greatest voice performance overall. Phil Harris gives the character such a charming, fun, laid-back personality, and he’s just so likable and entertaining while singing one of the all-time great Disney songs, having a great arc of learning to give Mowgli what he needs rather than what he wants, and having a fantastic dynamic with Bagheera.
3 - John Silver
John Silver was the other character I was referring to in having one of the two best character arcs of any Disney character, and I think he’s a phenomenal and well-written character who’s a bit more unique than the average Disney character. He’s one of the few characters who’s both the main villain in his movie, yet isn’t truly evil and is more an anti-villain who has redeeming traits and ultimately reforms in the end, and combined that with him becoming an excellent father figure to Jim, the great voice performance from Brian Murray, and his innovative and not distracting blend of both traditional animation and CGI on his robotic parts, makes him a one of a kind character and criminally underrated.
2 - Little John
Little John is pretty much Baloo 2.0, and while he may have come later and I understand why most would probably put Baloo above him, I’m biased towards Robin Hood, and I think Little John is just such a fun and entertaining character, getting tons of quotable lines (“HEY! Who’s driving this flying umbrella?!?”), functioning as a entertaining straight man to Robin’s dangerous schemes, singing a great and, in my opinion, very underrated song, with yet another phenomenal voice performance from Phil Harris. Speaking of phenomenal voice performances, let’s get to the top spot…
1 - Genie
Genie is easily the best character on the list and my favorite fictional character of all time. Really, what is there to dislike with Genie? Robin Williams’ voice performance is, in my opinion, the greatest voice performance of all time, pretty much everything he says is super quotable and entertaining (“PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS!!! Itty bitty living space…”), he also poses as a good mentor to Aladdin in his more serious moments, and he sings one of the all-time great Disney songs with “Prince Ali”, and my favorite Disney song of all time with “Friend Like Me”.
Hope you all had fun reading this, and feel free to discuss anything on here you think is interesting or warrants further discussion.