It's the middle of September, the weather is slowly starting to cool down, and Starbucks' pumpkin drinks and baked goods are popping up everywhere.
In other words, it's basically Halloween.
And what better to discuss during the pre-Halloween season than villains, or more specifically, the villain-driven Disney movie vs. the conflict-driven Disney movie?
You'll notice that many of these villains are from older Disney movies, and that films like Moana and Inside Out are not featured.
Photo credit: Nathan Humphrey on Deviant Art: https://www.deviantart.com/nathanhumphrey/art/Disney-Villains-Gang-675938499?comment=1%3A675938499%3A4868715226
To clarify, all stories have conflicts, and most have villains in some form. However, I've noticed that some Disney movies have a clear villain from beginning to end while others drive their story based on a more ambiguous conflict. A conflict-driven Disney movie may still have villains throughout the story, but they are not the source of the main conflict; a villain-driven story, then, still has conflicts, but these conflicts can be pointed directly toward the villain.
In more basic storytelling concepts, the difference between these stories is whether the main conflict is person vs. person or person vs. supernatural, self, etc. Different conflicts create different stories, and interestingly, more Disney movies are being driven by a central conflict rather than a central villain.
In the past, though, Disney thrived off of the villain-driven story. Whether they were terrifying like Maleficent or goofy like Captain Hook, the Disney villain was a staple in their animated tales. What has changed, then, and what are the different effects of a story that features a villain as the bringer of conflict rather than a situation?
Villain-Driven Stories
The princess movies, especially the older ones, are prime examples of villain-driven stories. Films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty use a villain (which you'll notice are eerily similar) to drive the conflict. While the conflict becomes a little more complex throughout the years, the villains of princess movies remain the most common form of Disney storytelling that use the dichotomy between good and evil to create conflict: Gaston tries to kills the Beast, Ursula is determined to see Ariel fail, Mother Gothel manipulates Rapunzel, etc.
While this dichotomy isn't always as strong in other Disney films, there are definitive bad people we are meant to root against. The dentist and Darla in Finding Nemo, Sid in Toy Story, Robert Callaghan in Big Hero 6—there is no doubt that the main conflict in the stories wouldn't exist without the villain's doing.
The use of villains and heroes in Disney movies typically provides a simpler conflict. We don't doubt that the villain, whether it be Jafar or Sid, is the bad guy, and having someone we vehemently root against makes us more attached to the heroes. Belle is a likable character, but seeing her stand up to or humiliate Gaston makes us root for her even more.
If villains were so successful in previous Disney films, then why are modern stories leaning away from the notorious or creepy antagonists?
Conflict-Driven Stories
Conflict-driven stories do not rely on villains. This isn't to say there are no antagonists in the stories but that these antagonists are not responsible for the conflict, acting more like roadblocks or obstacles than villains. We see more conflict-driven stories from Disney's most recent movies.
Moana, for example, has minor antagonists such as the coconut pirates and Tamatoa. We think Te Ka is the villain until we discover Te Ka is just Te Fiti without the heart. Moana's journey is driven not by a villain but by a supernatural disturbance that is destroying Moana's home. Frozen, too, is driven more by Elsa's fear than by a villain; while Hans is certainly a bad guy we are meant to root against, he only adds to the conflict instead of creating it.
Inside Out, though, is one of the strongest examples of the conflict-driven Disney movie because there is no tangible villain in Inside Out. All the conflicts derive from an internal source, making the film much more complex and showing an accurate depiction of mental health and adolescence. While conflict-driven stories don't have the benefit of clear heroes and villains, they do provide more thought-provoking stories.
Although we are in Riley's brain for most of the movie, she is more of a secondary character compared to the five emotions. We may be prone to think at first that Sadness is a villain or that Joy causes too many conflicts, but both characters are simply subject to the nuances of emotions and conflicts.
Photo credit: https://letterboxd.com/film/inside-out-2015/
The villain-driven Disney movie is not obsolete, but it is less common. If we look at the most recent movies (Onward, Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Incredibles 2, etc.) only two, Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2, have clear villains—though even Toy Story 4 is a stretch considering Gabby Gabby is no longer a villain at the end. In general, several movies are becoming more complex and not relying on the cookie cutter good heroes/bad villains trope. Improvements in storytelling, movies, media, etc. over the years may be partly responsible for more complex writing. With strong technology and more money placed into the film industry, writers can afford to think more about their stories and go beyond simple villains and tropes.
For Disney movies specifically, audience also plays a role. Disney's audience will always focus on children and families, but now that it is more common for teenagers and adults to watch Disney movies by themselves, Disney movies evolve to cater to audiences who appreciate more complex storytelling. The black and white good vs. evil works fine for children, but adults appreciate the complex issues explored with more ambiguous conflicts.
Do you prefer villain-driven movies or conflict-driven movies? Do you think we are entering a shift in which the villain-driven Disney stories from the past are becoming less and less common? Drop a comment below or send a message!
Until later, have courage and be kind.
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