Happy Friday everyone! Can you believe we're already halfway through October? This Halloween season is different than before, but I'm glad there are still several ways to stay spooky, like eating pumpkin bread or watching Halloween movies or making a ranking of the best Disney villain sidekicks.
Maybe the last one is just me.
If you read 25 Best Disney Sidekicks Ranked, you know that I love Disney sidekicks. I couldn't even narrow my favorites down to ten! As much as I adore our protagonists' sidekicks, a good villain sidekick can go a long way (and there are much fewer villain sidekicks than hero sidekicks). Without further ado, here are my top ten villain sidekicks ranked.
10 Anastasia and Drizella
While some people may consider the stepsisters to be central villains, Lady Tremaine is the reigning villain in Cinderella, while Anastasia and Drizella are more like pests acting on their mother's wishes. Cruel and annoying, they don't bring any humor or added enjoyment like some sidekicks do, and they're not particularly interesting either.
9 Diablo
Back when Disney sidekicks were mostly one-dimensional characters and didn't even speak, it's hard for earlier films to feature great sidekicks. The silent but spooky raven Diablo (which is Spanish for "devil") adds to the creepiness factor, but with a villain like Maleficent, any other sidekick, no matter how scary, is no match.
Pure evil.
Photo Retrieved from Hugh Fox III.
8 Horace and Jasper
I have to be honest: the only reason Horace and Jasper rank so low is because it's been forever since I have seen 101 Dalmations. Had I watched it recently, they may rank a little higher. Or not. I guess we'll never know. Horace and Jasper may not be the most original sidekicks, but they're still fun to watch.
7 Flotsam and Jetsam
Flotsam and Jetsam get bonus points for having such fun names, and the fact that "flotsam" and "jetsam" have specific meanings only adds to the humor; "flotsam" is unintentional debris in the sea, like from a shipwreck, and "jetsam" is debris intentionally thrown in the sea.
Other than their cool names, Flotsam and Jetsam are sneaky and slithery, matching their eel forms and imagery quite well. While it isn't uncommon to have a diabolical Disney villain paired with a humorous sidekick, Flotsam and Jetsam are instead just as manipulating and evil as Ursula, making them a fun trio of villains to watch.
6 Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed
Sinister villain + silly sidekick is a storytelling trope used in several children's films, not just Disney. The trio of hyenas is hilarious, of course, and their goofiness is especially effective compared to Scar's wickedness. Mostly, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed are great because they allow us to have such iconic Scar lines:
It's always a good time to watch "Be Prepared," but Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed offer some hilarious commentary at the beginning and around the 2:06-2:28 mark
5 Pain and Panic
The fact that the henchmen for Hades are called Pain and Panic is just great. Again, we have the goofy sidekicks trope, though it's always hard for me to picture Hades' as a truly malicious villain. Pain and Panic don't contribute a whole lot plot-wise; they mostly just mess up Hades' plans, which makes them even funnier to watch.
I also think those Hercules shoes look dashing (actually they're kinda ugly).
Gif Retrieved from The Prompt.
4 Kronk
Is there anything that needs to be said about Kronk that hasn't been said already? In a movie that's already goofy to the core and takes pretty much nothing seriously, it would be hard for a sidekick to stick out for being goofy and unserious. Yet, Kronk manages to do just that. And of course, his iconic line has become utterly quotable now:
You've probably seen this used as a meme for "me trying to meet the minimum word count." You can thank Kronk for that humor.
Photo Retrieved from Meme.
3. Mr. Smee
If Flotsam and Jetsam/Ursula disrupt the villain/sidekick trope with their wickedness, Mr. Smee/Captain Hook disrupt it with their goofiness. Neither is particularly scary, and it's fun to watch the two of them attempt to be actual bad guys. Watching Mr. Smee protect Captain Hook from the crocodile is an added bonus because it subverts our normal expectations: the short, grubby sidekick protects the so-called elegant villain.
2 LeFou
We have to give LeFou bonus points for "Gaston." He's definitely the goofy sidekick to the vicious villain of Gaston, but let's not forget that when LeFou does get evil, it's pretty scary:
LeFou is the complete opposite of Gaston in every way, yet he still manages to be both goofy, lovable, and a little diabolical. Plus, is there anything better than seeing Gaston and LeFou scheming? It's such a weird dynamic, but entertaining nonetheless.
Photo Retrieved from Aveley Man.
LeFou and Gaston's plan is 100% diabolical and actually pretty scary, but somehow the combination of an egotistical hunter and his goofy sidekick scheming such an evil idea is oddly entertaining to watch. Maybe it's just the opening lines of "LeFou, I'm afraid I've been thinking/ A dangerous pastime/ I know."
1 Iago
Look, you should have expected this. Almost all my rankings will have something or someone from Aladdin at the top. Just like how the good sidekicks make Aladdin my favorite movie, the villain's sidekicks do as well. Iago is the complete opposite of what a parrot is supposed to be. He's sassy, he's fiery, and he's definitely spewing original thoughts.
All excellent Iago moments.
Photos Retrieved from Pinterest | An Iago Quote 1, Pinterest | An Iago Quote 2, and Pinterest | The Disney Princess.
Still not convinced? Watch the best YouTube compilation to ever be created:
The only tragedy with this video is that it is less than three minutes long.
My rankings were very Disney-heavy as opposed to Pixar-heavy because I've noticed Pixar doesn't have a lot of villain sidekicks. Did I miss any of your favorites? Would you shift around the order for your rankings? Feel free to send me a message or drop a comment below.
I am also now on Instagram! Come say hi and see more magical Disney content: @genielampofstories.
Until later, have courage and be kind.
Kommentare