While there are many great villains in the world of cinema, surprisingly few of them are women. Typically, there aren't as many female villains as there are male villains. Maybe that's because society generally considers women to be superior in this sort of thing. But, spoiler alert: they're not.
Many an unsuspecting child watching an animated film has been drawn in by a kind, motherly character, only to be stabbed in the back when they turn out to be evil. Some iconic female villains prove to be just as good at evil as men… in fact, in many cases, better.
10 The fairy godmother was ruthless
Movie: Shrek 2
The Fairy Godmother adored her son, Prince Charming, and wanted him to marry Princess Fiona. Unfortunately, Fiona returned to Far Far Away as an ogre married to Shrek, and the Fairy Godmother was completely consumed with anger. So much so that she began to stress-eat.
The Fairy Godmother presented herself as a sweet and kind woman, but in truth it was something else entirely. She was even willing to resort to murder to get what she wanted. She gets killed at the end Shrek 2, which may have disappointed some adults in the audience. He was a terrible person but very funny to watch.
9 Mrs. Tweedy abused her chickens
Movie: Chicken Run
In real life, Mrs. Tweedy might not have been scary. After all, she was just a chicken farmer with a business to run. But to the chickens on the farm, he was a terrifying figureand it's not hard to see why. She kept chickens in tiny coops, terrorized them, and eventually began killing them for meat. Only one brave hen, Ginger, had any hope of saving them.
Mrs. Tweedy was such a good villain that she returned for a second helping in the long-awaited Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the NuggetThis time, she had married a new husband (a replacement for the much-maligned Mr. Tweedy) and started a business turning innocent chickens into chicken nuggets. She was a real menace to poultry everywhere.
8 Yubaba was a terrifying witch
Movie: Spirited Away
Yubaba's appearance may be intimidating to some, but his personality was much worse. He ran the magical Bathhouse and took away her true name when he gave her a job there. He also had magical powers, a bad temper, and deep greed. All in all, he was horrible.
However, he did have some good traits. Although he spoiled and pampered his son Boh, a giant child, he seemed to love him sincerely. And at the end of the movie, he allows Chihiro and her parents to go free once Chihiro passes her exam. A worse villain might have gone back on his word.
7 Maleficent was mean and dangerous
Movie: Sleeping Beauty
Maleficent wasn't invited to Princess Aurora's christening, so she showed up anyway and promptly placed a curse on the little girl. On her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. What kind of person places a curse on a child? But that's how terrible Maleficent was. She had powerful magic and could transform into a dragon, but everything about her was used for evil.
Disney later created a sympathetic version of Maleficent, played by Angelina Jolie, in a new live-action franchise. While many people liked the new character and her relationship with Aurora, she never quite supplanted the original, evil version.
6 Ursula was evil to the core
Movie: The Little Mermaid
If there's one thing Disney movies make clear, it's that you should never trust a witch. Ariel, the little mermaid who wished she were human, made just that mistake. She went to Ursula asking for human legs so she could be with Prince Eric, but had to give up her voice in exchange. Then, Ursula has retraced her steps trying to seduce Eric herself.
Ursula definitely has her fans. Her confidence and overall sassy image have won over many adults when they watch The Little Mermaid for the first time. But they also couldn't deny that Ursula was a horrible, horrible person.
5 Lady Tremaine was the archetype of the wicked stepmother
Movie: Cinderella
Lady Tremaine, unlike many of the most iconic female animated villains, has no superpowers. She doesn't subdue Cinderella by casting a spell on her or anything like that; she simply exerts a power over her. Lady Tremaine is creepy. because it's so close to real life. History is full of stories of women who abused their stepdaughters because they were jealous of their beauty or because they feared that they would supplant their own daughters.
Lady Tremaine does really well in the Disney movie Cinderella. In that one, she appears to suffer no loss of wealth or status, but in the original Grimm story she is forced to dance with hot slippers until she dies. It's no surprise that Disney left that part out.
4 Mother Gothel was downright violent
Movie: Tangled
Mother Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel when she was a baby, hoping to use the magic in her hair to keep herself young. She raised the child, held her captive, and grew to love her in a very toxic way. Her voice actress Donna Murphy believed it was true love, as she told Collider:
I also think there’s this thread of a kind of love that she has for Rapunzel. It’s not one that she’s established. But she raises this child and it’s the most intimate and certainly the most enduring relationship that I think the woman has had in her 387 years or whatever age she may be. So as deep as the need to get something for herself is, he can’t help but fall in love with her. She’s vibrant and creative and charming and I think that sparks something in her that’s confusing to Gothel.
Gothel was openly emotionally abusive towards Rapunzel, constantly denigrating her and insinuating that she would never survive in the outside world. When Rapunzel emerged from her tower with Flynn Rider, all she could think about was that she was disappointing her mother. Little by little, she came to understand what Gothel had done to her, and while there was a sense in which she loved her back, she was happy to be reunited with her real parents in the end.
3 Cruella De Vil wanted to kill the puppies
Movie: 101 Dalmatians
Cruella De Vil is in a Disney movie, but she is not a Disney creation. She was actually invented by Dodie Smith for her 1956 novel The Charge of the One Hundred and Onewhich was adapted by Disney into the film 101 ChargeBut it's the Disney version that most people remember, as well as the fantastic song that accompanies it.
Cruella is, quite simply, irredeemable. She wants to kill and skin puppies for fur, and she doesn't care what she has to do to achieve that goal. Disney tried out a new version of the character in 2021 Cruellawith Emma Stone playing a more sympathetic version of the character, but most fans prefer the original one.
2 Doc Ock was a twist on a classic villain
Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
When they put together a multiversal adventure of Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, the writers decided to gender-swap one of Spider-Man's most iconic villains and make Doc Ock a woman. This is Olivia Octavius, and she is just as crazy and evil as her male counterpart.
Doc Ock's design is really cool, a good translation of his iconic look, and he's voiced excellently by Kathryn Hahn. Ock is a total psychopath, obviously, and has no respect for human life… but she's a lot of fun to watch. Many considered it one of the best parts of an already very good film.
1 The other mother was a manipulative monster
In CoralineThe titular character finds herself in another world with a being called the Other Mother. At first, she seems benign and friendly… but perhaps too friendly. She offers Coraline a world of wonder, everything she's ever wanted. Fortunately, Coraline doesn't take her up on her offer, even though many children before her have, and buttons were sewn over his eyes.
The Other Mother is actually Bedlam, a hideous creature that lures children to their doom, and her true spider-like form constantly terrorizes the children who watch. Coraline for the first time. Although the film has a happy ending, Coraline and the audience must overcome all sorts of trials to get there.