It is no secret that Disney has significantly evolved over the last 100 years. The company started with hand drawings of Mickey Mouse, then it moved towards various princesses finding their happily ever afters, and as of late, storylines are comprised of more relatable topics and diverse characters. Even with all the changes, there is still one commonality among Disney films: there is always a villain. These characters used to come in the form of a wicked witch or obvious individual with a clear hatred for the protagonist. However, as some films become more progressive, villainous characters are harder to identify.
For the Disney villains that cause destruction and wreak havoc, has anyone wondered about their past? What has made them so vengeful and angry? Films such as Cruella and Maleficent shine light on a couple villains’ backstories, and fans absolutely loved them. Giving a wicked character a backstory that can serve as an explanation for their future hatred and actions is brilliant. People enjoy redemption stories, but they also fancy the psychological issues and tormented childhoods of antagonists.
Check out this list of other Disney villains who deserve to have their own origin story movies hit the big screen.
10 The Sanderson Sisters — Hocus Pocus
Hocus Pocus 2 gave a brief glimpse of how the Sanderson sisters got their powers, but fans were left wanting more. Winifred has always taken the lead in her sisters’ lives, and we want to know how she got put in that position. It was mentioned that her father had passed away, but there were no details that followed that comment.
Also, where is their mother? When the trio meets Mother Witch in the forbidden woods just outside of Salem, she exclaims that Winifred has a certain temper and power to her. What has young Winnie done in the past — purposely or accidentally — that has granted her this energy? There are many ways to spin the origin story of the Sanderson sisters; Disney just needs to take the leap.
9 Ursula — The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid‘s sea witch lives in isolation with her moray eel henchmen, Flotsam and Jetsam. When Ursula speaks of Ariel’s father, King Triton, there seems to be a shared past between the two. Fanfiction writers have taken to several blogs to create an origin story for Ursula, but Disney has yet to pick up on the fans’ wishes.
We know she has a younger sister, Morgana, from the second movie, but audiences are curious to know of their upbringing. Were they always outcasts? Are there other species like them living in another underwater city? Ursula’s anger seems to stem from being left out and cast away, so there must have been a time when she felt loved and cherished.
8 Scar — The Lion King
There are two variations of Scar‘s backstory, but they are both rooted in the fact that as the younger brother to Mufasa, Scar wanted to prove himself better than his brother and become king of the lands. Given that Mufasa was firm yet not unfriendly toward his little brother in The Lion King, the film hints at Scar stewing in his own bitterness and jealousy while his righteous brother followed expectations in his younger years and became the king. Fans deserve to know how the two were raised together, and why the one-sided hatred grew so strong over the years.
7 The Evil Queen — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White’s step-mother, Queen Grimhilde, feels as if she is in competition with the princess. As the young girl grew to be beautiful, the queen felt like she was no longer “the fairest one of all.” This trope used to be very standard in classic princess movies, but to modernize the old tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney should focus on the upbringing of Queen Grimhilde.
Was she really the most beautiful in the land at one point in time? Did praise from her parents or the townspeople drive her to be so shallow? There is a great story lying beneath the surface of this rather hateful woman, and it needs to be told.
6 Shan Yu — Mulan
In Mulan, Shan Yu is depicted as the ruthless and cold-hearted leader of the Huns. Their overall goal is to conquer China and kill anyone who stands in their way. Given that the country’s leadership has been passed down through generations, Shan Yu’s brute force to take the land is rooted in his need to show he is more powerful than those in the ruling family.
What fans want to know, however, is why is Shan Yu doing this? Was he born into a clan that deemed him the leader of the Huns? Was he raised believing that he had formal rights to rule? Disney could focus on different histories and cultures in a possible origin story dealing with the invading group across the lands.
5 Yzma — The Emperor’s New Groove
Yzma‘s vengeful plans come from the fact that she felt like Kuzco wrongly fired her from her advising position in The Emperor’s New Groove. She saw him as a childish ruler who did not take his job seriously, and honestly, she was right at the time. However, for her to conspire with her own assistant to kill her former employee makes one believe that she has always had wicked tendencies.
What was young Yzma like? She is incredibly bright, and someone must have taken notice when she was just a child. Was she always made to feel like an outcast, or did she do that to herself? Yzma is one of the most comical villains, but her backstory would likely be rooted in seriousness and experimentation to better her situation.
4 Captain Hook — Peter Pan
The life of a pirate is anything but ordinary, and Captain Hook is by far one of the most infamous villains. Fans know that he and Peter Pan have a history where the latter cut off Hook’s hand and fed it to a crocodile, but we don’t know much else about him. Has he always lived in Neverland? Was he an adventurous child, and now as an adult, he is simply jealous of the life Peter Pan lives?
In Peter Pan, Captain Hook is a bit more skittish and comedic than other villains, so it is hard to believe that his upbringing was rooted in hatefulness. If anything, he seems like he would have been rebellious and humorous in his teenage years.
3 Gaston — Beauty and the Beast
Any self-respecting woman would find Gaston‘s conceited and manipulative speech in Beauty and the Beast absolutely repulsive. While he is made to be the most handsome man that townswomen swoon over, Belle, does not care for his empty promises and compliments for a moment. His confidence does make one question what he was like as a teenager.
Was he always naturally gifted, and that has gone to his head? Who were his parents or role models? Gaston’s inability to accept the answer “no,” is increasingly annoying, but fans cannot help but wonder if he was always like this.
2 Mother Gothel — Tangled
Mother Gothel may have the title in Tangled, but she is far from a loving motherly figure. She uses her intellect to manipulate situations and spin lies to seem like there is not a shred of doubt to be found. Though what she did to Rapunzel is unforgivable, her intelligence and ability to think on her feet makes fans wonder about what she has been doing for the past couple hundred years. She was self-sufficient with the magical powers of the golden flower, so how was she spending her youthful time when she was not dependent on the imprisonment of a fair princess?
1 Lady Tremaine — Cinderella
Cinderella has a dozen modern variations, but the wicked step-mother character seems to always find her way into the film. In the original Cinderella, Lady Tremaine appears as a poised yet vengeful woman towards her step-daughter. She has her own two daughters that are not as intelligent as herself, but they share their mother’s wicked disdain for Cinderella.
Fans are curious to know if this has always been the dynamic in the family. Was she ever warm and forgiving towards her children? What made her so power hungry that she would forgo her own daughter’s wishes to marry a decent but common man? Lady Tremaine is subtle and secretive with the reprimands, but he is by no means soft-spoken.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
