Animated villains hit different...

Syndrome is almost agreeable at times, the strongest point he made was when he said "See? now you respect me, because I'm a threat, and that's the way it works."

Fun fact about the Wolf on Puss in Boots: in Latin America, many supernatural creatures are heard whistling when approaching. Usually when the whistling is loud it means the being is far away and if the sound is far away the thing is really close. Also for this reason old people will tell you not to whistle, specially at night, because the sound attracts supernatural beings (almost never good ones)

Another aspect about Death that makes him standout in Puss in Boots, is that he never tells a joke. There's a few comedic timing moments with him in his first scene, but he himself never tells a single joke. In a movie where every other character tells many jokes and are comedic, Death sticks out even more. It emphasizes that he is a being outside the confines of the world's reality and instantly raises the tension as soon as he's onscreen. Just a fantastic character despite having around 6 minutes of screen time

The best thing about Hades is that James Woods LOVES Hades so much. He comes back for multiple kingdom hearts games just to voice hades because he adores the character. One of the best comedic villains in my book hands down.

Tai Lung's face after Shifu admits he is in fact proud of him, and that he's regretful for unwittingly leading him down the path he's on and that he's justified in his frustration, and Shen's face when he accepts his fate at the end of his final battle with Po... Just... Hit different...

My favorite thing about Puss In Boots 2 is that there’s 3 villains, and they’re all completely different. Jack Horner is “evil for evil’s sake.” Goldilocks is “redemptive villain with tragic past.” But Death is something unique. He’s not doing anything “wrong,” he’s just fulfilling his literal life’s goal, and is having sadistic fun while doing it.

I truly regret the lack of even an honorable mention of Big Jack Horner. No, he didn't steal the show in the same way as Death, but it was surreal and a real treat to watch a villain who's just giddy about being evil. He LOVES it and I LOVE watching him for it

azula is that one side boss you struggled with and get slight PTSD from whenever you replay the game, whereas ozai is that one boss you remember, but only at a surface level. so like, reaper leviathan vs. the valkyries.

King Candy brought 'Twist Villains' to its peek but it also ruined the trope because nothing has reached his level.

“We don’t have any memorable bad guys anymore!” Puss in boots the last wish: “hold my beer”

Jafar, Scar, & Malificent are perfect examples of evil defeating itself. If they had never started their plan, they wouldn't have spelled their own doom

One of my favorite animated villains is Ego from Ratatouille. He has the greatest presence of, I believe, any Pixar villain. Every time he’s onscreen, it’s terrifying. Everything about him gives off death vibes. His office is shaped like a coffin, his typewriter has a skull carved into it, and his ghastly pallor makes him appear vampiric. His nickname is even The Grim Eater. He looms over everyone with a height of nearly seven feet and commands the room wherever he is. Peter O’Toole voices him to perfection with a sinister biting tone and harsh words. All this, and he’s not even evil, he’s just a food critic.

I love everything you said about Azula, but I disagree that she “rejected” friendship. The true tragedy of Azula to me is that she honestly doesn’t know HOW to have a friendship or any kind of positive relationship. She cannot exist without a war. She is the favorite child because of her ability to rage war. She has honed herself in every possible way to be a human weapon. In the beach episode, she is the only one unable to relax and have fun, she turns every single situation into a battle strategy. She instinctively sized everyone she meets up as a potential fight, enemy or ally, and knows exactly what pressure points to hit to make them sway either way. But that’s the limit of her ability. Azula is truly incapable of forging friendships, no matter how hard she clearly wanted them and fooled herself into thinking she had. She doesn’t know how to NOT be at war. It’s what humanizes her and makes her such an amazing villain 😭

You missed what I consider to be one of the deepest, most memorable villains in all animation history: Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. A man that creates anything, makes anything happen, and so on, yet also wants love from his daughter. Especially, with his tragic childhood, he is the greatest villain in animation history... Edit: First off, thank you, guys, so much for 1.6k likes. It will very much be repeated a thousand times, but I did not expect this comment to reach that amount of like and 21 replies. Second off, this is a joke. While he is a fairly deep villain, it's still a joke. But, thank you all again!

The Spot probably also deserves a spot on this list. The villain is so entertaining to watch, going from a joke no one even laughs at, to an actual rival capable of destroying the hero, to becoming absolutely terrifying and promising to destroy everything the hero (Miles) holds dear. That writing was so good

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING ON FROLLO! He is hands down my favorite villain, because he is the most real feeling to exist. Like scar is evil but unrealistic there is no fear of real life scars but frollo is absolutely within the realms of reality, uncomfortably so. It's fantastic, in the most disgusting way.

“We’re all just trash waiting to be thrown away” is line so saturated in pain; never fails to get a tear.

You didn't mention Lady Gothel as a MASTER manipulator! She doesn't have explicit powers, but she manages to hold a girl captive in a one-room tower for 18 years because...manipulation and gaslighting. And pure evil because it's only for beauty and she's a total narcissist. I think she deserves to be in the great villain tier, and she has that humor you've also mentioned. And her "Mother Knows Best" reprise?? Divine. Fun video! PS Didn't mention Maleficient either, but her music motif and her presence are iconic.

The moment the Wolf's whistle played I got shivers all across my body. He truly is an amazing Villain.

There are two that I would like to mention. First is Clayton from Tarzan. He was introduced as a supposed guide for Jane and her father. Someone who was supposed to lead the on an adventure and back to safety, only to be revealed as a poacher coming to steal away our hero’s family and home for a profit. It still hits me to this day that Tarzan associates his very name with the sound of a gunshot. And his decent into madness that was his own undoing was brilliant. Second is Captain John Silver from Treasure Planet. Another villain without whom, there is no real story because he’s the one who told Jim about the treasure in the first place and gave him the map. He makes Jim see him as a friend and something of a father figure, only to turn on him and leave him crushed. When he sees the error of his was though, he redeems himself and actually becomes a friend at the end. He may still be a pirate and treasure hunter, but the way they departed shows how much the hero and the villain grew to become better people by knowing each other