Ever since I was a child, I found Snow White and the like pretty insipid. They just seemed to waft around waiting for things to happen, they had little to no agency. Good girls and boys were boring. I liked the villains., or the creepy ones. Cruella DeVil is a style icon, albeit one that PETA would refuse to collaborate with. Ursula the Sea Witch, based on drag legend Divine, is kinda badass and gets a cool song, whereas Ariel is a drip. The Wicked Queen is hugely compelling, likewise the magnificent Maleficent (also my pub quiz team name).
There’s a reason that bad characters’ origin stories have been placed under the spotlight in the last twenty years. Audiences want the baddies. Nuance works by stealth. Light needs dark to co-exist as part of a complex holistic narrative arc. Sugar needs salt. We need a little spice to keep things grounded in some semblance of reality. Villains didn’t start out that way after all, unless they were the rare ones who were born psychotic. Often, they’re just thwarted, picked upon, harangued or kicked down by life. And they react accordingly, because they operate from a place of lack, disappointment or hurt- like hedgehogs, they turn spikes outward against perceived threats. And boy, are they sexy and/or stylish. Who doesn’t love lascivious lips, a dapper hat, or a twirly moustache? When a Disney villain enters the space, they own it.
I’m not suggesting you hug a Disney villain (do keep a safe distance wherever possible) but just remember they probably aren’t ALL that bad. In the immortal words of cartoon siren Jessica Rabbit, the absolute antithesis of cutesie Disney gals, they’re ‘just drawn that way’.
Hit The North 