Villains Fans - Why?

[Amirah95]

It kinda fits in this topic... Disney originally thought Anna was going to be the character from Frozen that little girls loved and it turns out Elsa is hands-down the favorite.. why? Maybe because she's portrayed as the evil character in the beginning and she gets redemption..

Aesthetically Elsa looks better...everything Elsa flies out of TDS before Anna stuff does. I asked a lot of little ones why Elsa and they say it's because she's pretty and her dress is pretty. Little girls like bling bling too!

Elsa (pretty), Olaf (funny) and then Sven (cute) are asked about A LOT and barely anything else about the others.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Generally speaking, Heros/Heroines can be quite boring. They are "good" so therefore they will do the "right" thing and odds on (especially in a Disney movie) they will win. I still want the hero to win, however villains are much more entertaining to watch. They often have complex back stories, awesome lines and songs (Be Prepared is still my favourite song from the Lion King! Poor Unfortunate Souls too!)

It depends on your definition of like. I will use the character of Rumpelstiltskin/Mr Gold on Once Upon A Time. He is a very complex character, mostly a "bad guy" with perhaps very few redeeming qualities. He is my favourite character and the only reason I still watch the show. However, if I knew someone like that in real life, I would NOT like them at all. But as a character he is wonderful.

 

[SchmittyUD]

I wish, the Frozen frenzy would finally die out. As for the question about villains in many cases the cause of their villainous ways is often the most interesting point of the story for me. Or sometimes I am not enamored with the hero. I rooted for Jaws to eat everyone.

Re: villains are the new princesses.

If it helps at all, Elsa is actually villainous in the first part of the movie. "Let It Go" is basically a villain song. When she says, "The cold never bothered me anyway," think about all the people she froze out in her village whom the cold does bother. I'm not saying she's Ursula but she's not the boring princess of yesterday either.

 

[FLchick415]

The villains get some of the best lines! Do you know how many times in my life I've used the phrase "I'm surrounded by idiots"??? LOL

 

[clsteve]

Snow White is a great example. Her big actions in the film are running away, cleaning house, falling asleep, and sleeping. The Evil Queen does magic, commands people, and knows when someone is lying. That list sounds a lot cooler to me.

Princess Aurora sings in the forest. Malificent turns into a dragon. No debate for me on which one is cooler.

As far as being bad I think the quote from Hamlet sums it up:
"there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Yep,and who would Peter Pan be without Captain Hook? Just a self-centered "boy who wouldn't grow up". Hook gave him the opportunity to be great, and the story, and the movie.

Plus, boys love the Villains since they tend to give a little balance to all of the Princesses around......

 

[nancipants]

Let me throw out a possibility.

The villains can be compelling, well-written, interesting characters. They are often the protagonist that moves the story along. We like watching them for all those reasons. They can be very fun to write and to portray, I'm sure.

But all of the above aren't quite the same as actually "liking the character".

I really enjoy watching Inspector Javert, who I see as the greatest villain ever. He's fascinating, particularly in the original novel. (He also has perhaps the best song in the show.)

But rest-assured, I would never say that I literally *like* him. (Although I find it incredibly disturbing when audiences applaud his death.)

A lot of our writers in the discussion here are describing what sounds like finding the villains compelling, interesting, and well-written. That makes them watchable. I'd say that's easy enough to understand. Literally liking those characters, somewhat less so.

Agreed. Emperor Palpatine is just so darn evil that I love to hate him. Same with Javert, and the Evil Queen.

I don't like "misunderstood" villains, though. I like my villains to be pure evil, like Voldemort. Snape, on the other hand...meh.

That said, my favorite Star Wars character is Luke Skywalker, so I don't think that all heroes are necessarily boring.

 

[FLchick415]

Agreed. Emperor Palpatine is just so darn evil that I love to hate him. Same with Javert, and the Evil Queen.

I don't like "misunderstood" villains, though. I like my villains to be pure evil, like Voldemort. Snape, on the other hand...meh.

That said, my favorite Star Wars character is Luke Skywalker, so I don't think that all heroes are necessarily boring.

Let's be honest, Umbridge was far more hated than Voldemort. LOL When you LOVE to hate a villain, that's a sure sign that they're a good one.

 

[Storeyann]

Let's be honest, Umbridge was far more hated than Voldemort. LOL When you LOVE to hate a villain, that's a sure sign that they're a good one.

Agree on Umbridge. Voldemort became so evil and nutty because of what he viewed as the lack of love in his life. Umbridge was just a huge evil B***h because she could be!

 

[nancipants]

Let's be honest, Umbridge was far more hated than Voldemort. LOL When you LOVE to hate a villain, that's a sure sign that they're a good one.

Oh, I love to hate her Umbridge, too. My husband, on the other hand, gets high school PTSD every time she's on page/screen! Thankfully I never had a teacher like her!

 

[AngiTN]

The short answer is Disney makes their villains likable. You don't root for them but in most cases, you don't hate them either.

 

[Amirah95]

Let's be honest, Umbridge was far more hated than Voldemort. LOL When you LOVE to hate a villain, that's a sure sign that they're a good one.

Umbridge isn't as evil as Voldemort...Voldemort KILLED Harry's parents and tried to kill Harry too -- a few times!!!!

 

[FLchick415]

Umbridge isn't as evil as Voldemort...Voldemort KILLED Harry's parents and tried to kill Harry too -- a few times!!!!

I agree that he was more evil, but most everyone I know that has read the books/watched the movies, hates Umbridge more than Voldemort.

Anyway, the point is, like I said before...if you love to hate the villains, they've done what they were intended to do.

 

[Winnowill]

Part of what made the first four "Die Hard" movies so much fun were the compelling villains. The fifth movie changed that formula, and, as a result, it became just a routine "buddy cop" action movie. Boring.

 

[luvmylatte]

I love the tongue and cheek humor, the clothes and accessories are usually awesome and without them there would be no heroes. They are also a way for " good people" to live on the evil side vicariously and live out the fantasy without having to actually be a villian.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

How do you not love them is my question? They are very funny and so misunderstood. I would never compare them to Hannibal Lecter or Jaws though. LOL Not too much blood and gore in most Disney movies.

 

[LBIJim]

The Bad Guys (and Gals) are always more exciting than the boring Good People. Without the villains Disney movies would be like watching paint dry.

And Disney should let the villain "win" once in a while.

Jim

 

[SpringSprite]

"I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me." - Bad guy affirmation, Wreck-It-Ralph.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

I'm probably in the minority, in terms of why I wanted to go to the Villains unleashed party - as I don't particularly like the villains, but I was keen to experience a different aspect of disney.

I generally love the 'sweet and fluffy' side, so am really looking forward to experiencing the 'darker' stuff and meeting some of the lesser seen characters.

My boys are getting a bit bigger now (10 and 7) and they are thrilled at the idea of a later night with the 'naughty' ones!

 

[tjevans]

How do you not love them is my question? They are very funny and so misunderstood. I would never compare them to Hannibal Lecter or Jaws though. LOL Not too much blood and gore in most Disney movies.

How can I not love them? Because they are villains. I can't imagine liking anything about a villain. As far as them being misunderstood, I don't want to go all Godwin's Law, but the ends do not justify the means. I know that's applying some real-world logic to cartoon's but hey, that's me.

I think it's just because I'm such a goody-goody. I was the kid in high school who told the teacher that the bell didn't ring when everyone else in class was saying it had.

 

[tjevans]

"I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me." - Bad guy affirmation, Wreck-It-Ralph.

Yeah, I didn't like that movie because it forced you to route for a villain.