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#7: VANITY
Foolish pride and the vain quest for perfection can easily lead to megalomania. If you have an urge for world domination, this is the spot for you.
- FILM: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)
- VOICE ACTOR: Lucille LaVerne
- ANIMATORS: Art Babbitt (Queen herself) and Norm Ferguson (Queen as witch)
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Walt Disney Signature Collection release available since February
- She doesn't have a name per se, but if she did, no matter what it is, it would always fit the phrase, "Vanity, thy name is..." Obsessed with her own beauty (and threatened by Snow White's), she destroys it via a dark spell that transforms her into a haggard crone with a special gift for the fair maiden in the form of a luscious red apple.
- OCCUPATION(S): Monarch
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: The Slave in the Magic Mirror, the Huntsman
- QUOTES: (as the Queen) "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" (as the witch; to Snow White) "Now make a wish and take a bite..."
- FINAL VERDICT: Pursued by the Seven Dwarfs to the top of a high peak, lightning strikes and the Queen-as-witch falls to her doom.
- FILM: "Cinderella" (1950)
- VOICE ACTORS: Eleanor Audley (Lady Tremaine), Lucille Bliss (Anastasia), Rhoda Williams (Drizella), June Foray (Lucifer)
- ANIMATORS: Frank Thomas (Lady Tremaine), Ollie Johnston (the stepsisters) and Ward Kimball (Lucifer)
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Lady Tremaine, the mother of all stepmothers, coddles and spoils her two homely daughters Anastasia and Drizella (not to mention that brat of a cat Lucifer) at the expense of stepdaughter Cinderella, who she has browbeaten into submission as their scullery maid. What more proof could there be of her inherent wickedness?
- OCCUPATION(S): Socialites
- GOTTA SING-SING: An off-key version of "Sing Sweet Nightingale", sung by Drizella
- QUOTES: Lady Tremaine: (to the Grand Duke, about Cinderella) "Oh. Pay no attention to her." Drizella: (appalled at the idea of Cinderella at the ball) "Ha! Her, dancing with the Prince!" Anastasia: "I'd be honored, Your Highness. Would you mind holding my broom?" (both sisters laugh sadistically)
- FINAL VERDICT: Although Lucifer supposedly falls to his doom out the tower window, the fate of the Tremaine trio is left unsaid in the film. However, that might have been for the best, since, in the original story, their eyes get pecked out by angry birds.
- FILM: "Alice In Wonderland" (1951)
- VOICE ACTOR: Verna Felton
- ANIMATOR: Frank Thomas
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- This loudmouth is practically bursting with rage, and woe to anyone who crosses her. It's ironic that she would be the queen of hearts, because she doesn't seem to have a heart of her own. Witness the revelry in her eyes when she whacks at that poor hedgehog in the bizarre croquet game or has some unfortunate done in for the most miniscule offense.
- OCCUPATION(S): Monarch
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: The King of Hearts, an entire deck of card soldiers
- QUOTE: "Off with their heads!"
- FINAL VERDICT: She, along with the rest of Wonderland, it seems, chases that foolish girl, Alice, out of the dreamlike realm
- FILM: "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954)
- ACTOR: James Mason
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- The infamous captain of the Nautilus submarine wishes to create his own undersea utopia, and he's not above a little terrorism to make his plans a success. All the time underwater has driven Nemo mad... mad at the world, that is. He plans to unleash his discoveries (such as a little thing called atomic power) upon all of mankind, his idea of payment for all of its injustices.
- OCCUPATION(S): Submarine captain
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: The crew of the Nautilus
- QUOTE: "I am not what is called a civilized man. I have done with society for reasons that seem good to me. Therefore, I do not obey its laws."
- FINAL VERDICT: Mortally wounded, Nemo blows up his island fortress of Vulcania and orders the Nautilus to the ocean floor one last time.
- FILMS: "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961)/"101 Dalmatians" (1996)
- VOICE ACTOR/ACTOR: Betty Lou Gerson/Glenn Close
- ANIMATOR: Marc Davis
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Both available separately
- Proof that wicked drama queens will never go out of style, the shock-haired, chain-smoking, fur-loving fashion diva Cruella de Vil continues to delight and outrage, even though her shenanigans are none too politically correct; she just wants to kill a bunch of cute dogs after all. In both her animated and live-action incarnations, Miss de Vil is the height of self-centered elaboration, but we love her for it just the same.
- OCCUPATION(S): Socialite
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Horace and Jasper Badun
- QUOTE: "I don't care how you kill the little beasts, but do it and do it now!"
- FINAL VERDICT: In murderous pursuit of the Dalmatians, Cruella accidentally gets her fancy roadster T-boned by her henchmen's rickety old truck and is left adrift, howling, in a snow bank.
- FILM: "The Sword In the Stone" (1963)
- VOICE ACTOR: Martha Wentworth
- ANIMATOR: Milt Kahl
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- This wacky witch claims to be the most powerful magic maker in the land. All she has to do to prove herself is beat that goody-two-shoes wizard, Merlin. So a "wizard's duel" is proposed, with the mad madam herself providing the rules... all the better to break them. Alas, the tricky sorcerer goes and uses his head, inflicting upon Mim his own brand of "germ warfare".
- OCCUPATION(S): Witch
- GOTTA SING-SING: "The Magnificent Marvelous Mad Madam Mim"
- QUOTE: "Sounds like someone's sick. How lovely."
- FINAL VERDICT: Infected with Merlin's disease, Mim is left bedridden, sicker than a dog and helpless against sunshine.
- FILM: "The Love Bug" (1969)
- ACTOR: David Tomlinson
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- At first, this snooty proprietor of a foreign car dealership in San Francisco wants absolutely nothing to do with a Volkswagen Beetle that seems to have a mind all its own. But when he discovers Jim Douglas driving it in a race, he intends to own the VW for himself, in an effort not to be shown up. Thorndyke's plans are forever trapped in high gear, but he'd better beware of Douglas and his VW Beetle pal.
- OCCUPATION(S): Car dealer, racecar driver
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Carole Bennett (for a while), Havershaw, the staff of Thorndyke's dealership
- QUOTE: (to Carole) "You keep your eye on your friend in the Bug, my dear - I'm going to squash him."
- FINAL VERDICT: Thorndyke loses more than just a major race, the El Dorado, to Douglas and Herbie; he also loses his dealership, which is now under new management. He still works there, however, just as a lowly mechanic.
- FILM: "The Black Hole" (1979)
- ACTOR: Maximilian Schell
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Like Captain Nemo before him, Reinhardt is on a mad mission, one that has taken him to the end of the universe. Blinded by his insanity, he foolishly charters the spaceship Cygnus into the destructive black hole, hoping to find his own paradise on the other side
- OCCUPATION(S): Spaceship captain
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Maximilian, a crew of drones
- QUOTE: "The word 'impossible', Mr. Booth, is only found in the dictionary of fools."
- FINAL VERDICT: Uh, good question. The ending of this movie is as perplexingly murky as the titular phenomenon.
- FILM: "Hocus Pocus" (1993)
- ACTORS: Bette Midler (Winifred Sanderson), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah Sanderson) and Kathy Najimy (Mary Sanderson)
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- These sibling witches had been hanged three centuries ago by the Salem community for sapping life from children so that they can stay young themselves. But now a newcomer in the neighborhood had inadvertently brought them to back to life by lighting a black candle. Now they have until sunrise the next morning to continue on with their plans to maintain their youth.
- OCCUPATION(S): Witches
- GOTTA SING-SING: "I Put a Spell On You"
- QUOTES: Winifred: " You know, I've always wanted a child. And now I think I'll have one... ON TOAST!" Sarah: "I am beautiful! Boys will love me!" Mary: "I smell children."
- FINAL VERDICT: In their last-ditch effort to suck out the lives of Max and Dani Denison, the sun rises and the three sorceresses are reduced to dust.
- FILM: "Herbie: Fully Loaded" (2005)
- ACTOR: Matt Dillon
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Trip Murphy is a hotshot racecar driver with his own thriving multi-media company: endorsements, personal appearances, even his own video game. So he certainly isn't going to be shown up by a girl driving a Volkswagen. Oozing his own brand of smarmy charm, and like Peter Thorndyke some 35 years before him, Trip has an ego forever stuck in high gear, but he better watch out for the redhead in the vintage bug.
- OCCUPATION(S): Racecar driver
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: His brother Larry and lackey Crash
- QUOTE: "I'm gonna exterminate this bug."
- FINAL VERDICT: After losing the big race to Maggie and Herbie, Trip loses it and is taken away to the funny farm.
- FILM: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005)
- ACTOR: Tilda Swinton
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Jadis the White Witch, in the absence of its true ruler of Aslan the lion, assumes control of the land of Narnia and holds it under an eternal sleep. And she intends to keep it that way at all times. And at all costs.
- OCCUPATION(S): Would-be monarch
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Magrium and a pack of wolves
- QUOTE: "You know, Aslan, I'm a little disappointed in you. Did you honestly think by all this that you could save the human traitor? You are giving me your life and saving no one. So much for love. Tonight, the Deep Magic will be appeased, but tomorrow, we will take Narnia forever! In that knowledge, despair... and die!"
- FINAL VERDICT: As the White Witch is about to kill the Pevensie siblings and their army, Aslan jumps her and mauls her to death in the face.
- FILM: "Enchanted" (2007)
- VOICE ACTOR/ACTOR: Susan Sarandon
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- ANIMATOR: Andreas Deja
- Reminiscent of the Queen in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and Maleficent in "Sleeping Beauty", this ruler of Andalasia, threatened by Giselle's likelihood to live "happily ever after" after marrying her stepson, sends Giselle via magic portal to New York City, but still finds love there. To remain in her position, Narissa vows to take matters into her own hands...
- OCCUPATION(S): Monarch
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Nathaniel
- QUOTE: "We're coming to the end of our story now. Are you at the edge of your seat, Giselle? Just dying to know how it ends? How about this: 'And they all lived happily ever after.' Well, at least I did."
- FINAL VERDICT: Chased to the top of the Woolworth Building by Giselle, Narissa, now turned into a dragon, and with Giselle's new true love her captive, tries to do them both in at the same time once and for all, only to fall off the roof and to her doom.
- FILMS: "Alice In Wonderland" (2010)/"Alice Through the Looking Glass" (2016)
- ACTOR: Helena Bonham Carter
- HOME VIDEO RELEASES: Both available separately, "Looking Glass" having debuted in August
- In an upgrade from the loudmouth in the animated feature of the 1950s, Iracebeth the Red Queen has overtaken all of Wonderland, now called Underland, and is at great odds with her sister, Mirana the White Queen, besides. When the Red Queen learns that a much older Alice has arrived on the scene and threatens to overthrow her rule by the Frabjous Day... well, let's just say she just won't allow that to happen.
- OCCUPATION(S): Would-be monarch
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: The Knave of Hearts, the Jabberwocky
- QUOTE: "How would you like to have your head hacked off?"
- FINAL VERDICT: With the Jabberwocky vanquished, the White Queen banishes the Red Queen and the Knave of Hearts to the Outlands, never to return. But it seems Iracebeth holds even more sinister secrets as revealed in past history in "Alice Through the Looking Glass".
- FILM: "Tangled" (2010)
- VOICE ACTOR: Donna Murphy
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Fearful of losing her youth and beauty, she tries to use a flower with healing powers, but when it gets taken away, she instead spirits away a young girl whose beautiful golden hair has those same youthful powers. Posing as Rapunzel's mother, Gothel "protects" her from the outside world to keep her "safe" and, more importantly, herself young. But when Rapunzel goes missing, Gothel is in a race against time to find her.
- OCCUPATION(S): Parent
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: The Stabbington brothers
- GOTTA SING-SING: "Mother Knows Best"
- QUOTE: "The world is dark, selfish and cruel. If it finds the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it."
- FINAL VERDICT: Flynn Rider cuts off Rapunzel's hair, effectively cutting off Gothel's source of youth once and for all, causing her body to age so fast that she dies of old age.
- FILM: "Frozen" (2013)
- VOICE ACTOR: Santino Fontana
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- He seems like a good-looking guy, but Prince Hans of the Southern Isles is bitter about being the youngest in his family (he has no less than a dozen older brothers). He tries to win the heart of Princess Anna of Arendelle as a ruse to gain power over this kingdom and gain the respect he feels is due. In short, he has a heart so cold that it makes the heart of Anna's older sister, with wintry powers, seem absolutely hot by comparison.
- OCCUPATION(S): Monarch
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: The Duke of Weselton
- GOTTA SING-SING: "Love Is an Open Door" (in duet with Anna)
- QUOTE: "I've been searching my whole life to find my own place."
- FINAL VERDICT: After Anna sacrifices herself to save Elsa from Hans' murderous machinations, Elsa undoes her winter spell, bringing Anna back, after which Anna tells Hans off once and for all before having him arrested for his crimes and sent back to the Southern Isles in disgrace.
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Oh, wait, there are a few more villains yet to be discussed, aren't there? Well, they are a special breed of sinners...
#8: EMBODIMENTS OF ALL EVIL
These villains do not represent any one sin, but rather embody (in whole or in part) aspects of the ultimate evil: the devil himself.
- FILM: "Steamboat Willie" (1928)
- VOICE ACTORS: Billy Bletcher, Will Ryan, Jim Cummings
- HOME VIDEO RELEASES: Various cartoon sets
- Pete (AKA Peg-Leg Pete (AKA Black Pete)) has the distinction of not only being the "oldest" villain on this list (in fact, he actually predates Mickey Mouse by at least three years), but also the most diverse: beginning with Julius in the Alice Comedies, he was the constant archenemy of not only Mickey (beginning with "Steamboat Willie", where as the steamboat captain he basically makes the mouse do all the work), but also of other characters like Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto and even Chip 'n' Dale over the years. Although starting out with sloth (as in "Steamboat Willie"), he added on more sins to his repertoire over the years, especially wrath (constantly menacing Mickey and company), envy (wanting something someone else like Mickey has), and greed (trying to gain fortune by any means necessary, such as robbing banks); hence, this joint entry, which was made to explain villains who represent more than one sin, since Pete has too many sins to narrow down to just one.
- FINAL VERDICT: Pete eventually settles down for the "Goof Troop" series and its movie spinoffs, but is back in fine felonious form in the "MouseWorks" series and beyond. He settles down again for "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", but once again reverts to form in the newest "Mickey Mouse" series (circa 2013).
- FILM: "Pinocchio" (1940)
- VOICE ACTORS: Walter Catlett (J. Worthington Foulfellow), Mel Blanc (Gideon), Charles Judels (Stromboli and the Coachman), Frankie Darro (Lampwick)
- ANIMATORS: Norm Ferguson and John Lounsbery (Foulfellow and Gideon), Bill Tytla (Stromboli), Charles Nichols (the Coachman), Fred Moore (Lampwick) and Wolfgang Reitherman (Monstro)
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Walt Disney Signature Collection release coming January 2017
- For a cute little wooden puppet, Pinocchio sure has a lot of enemies (like Pete, too numerous, in fact, to narrow down to just one, thus, again, this joint entry). Like Pete, these heavies all run the gamut of sins, from greed (the foxy J. Worthington Foulfellow, alias "Honest John", and his feline stooge Gideon) and lust (for fame, that is, with the vicious puppet master Stromboli) to wrath (the fierce Coachman), sloth (the lazy Lampwick) and gluttony (the briny behemoth Monstro).
- OCCUPATION(S): Con artists for hire (Foulfellow and Gideon), puppet master (Stromboli), coach driver (the Coachman), bum (Lampwick), predator (Monstro)
- GOTTA SING-SING: Foulfellow's "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee"
- QUOTES: Foulfellow: (to Pinocchio) "Then you haven't heard of the easy road to success." Gideon: "Hiccup!" Stromboli: (to Pinocchio) "And when you are growing too old, you will make good FIREWOOD!" Coachman: "Give a bad boy enough rope and he'll soon make a jackass of himself." Lampwick: (seeing Jiminy Cricket) "Hey, who's the beetle?" Monstro: "Rooooooooooooar!"
- FINAL VERDICT: All villains evidently go on to commit more crimes and atrocities, save for Lampwick, who receives his comeuppance by being turned into a donkey.
- FILM: "Fantasia" (1940)
- ANIMATOR: Bill Tytla
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Pure evil personified, Chernabog reigns over Bald Mountain when night has fallen, coaxing the spirits of the dead out of their graves to bask in his unholy visage. Eyes aglow and bat-like wings blotting out the sky, this demon lords over his spectral and skeletal followers in their raucous celebration of the macabre.
- OCCUPATION(S): Monarch
- FINAL VERDICT: Church bells chime as dawn breaks, sending Chernabog withering back into his eternal resting place.
- FILM: "Bambi" (1942)
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Has there ever been a more insidious specter of evil in the world of a film than that of "man in the forest", as seen in "Bambi"? Although never seen, their presence is constantly felt, their violence forever imminent. Never has a single cinematic death as that of Bambi's mother, at the hand of man, ever been so traumatic or so immediate.
- OCCUPATION(S): Hunter
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: A pack of vicious hunting dogs
- FINAL VERDICT: A destructive blaze, caused by a carelessly unattended campfire, destroys the forest, indicating that the destructive nature of mankind will never cease.
- FILM: "Sleeping Beauty" (1959)
- VOICE ACTOR: Eleanor Audley
- ANIMATOR: Marc Davis
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- Just think: none of this would have happened if she had only been invited to that party. But the devilishly delightful Maleficent is only too proud to let this royal snub off the hook without due recourse, which she provides in the form of a cursed spinning wheel. And if all else fails, she can always turn into a fire-breathing dragon.
- OCCUPATION(S): Sorceress
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Her pet raven Diablo, a mess of hideous goons
- QUOTE: "Now you shall deal with me, O Prince - and all the powers of HELL!!"
- FINAL VERDICT: Prince Phillip, who can't do much of anything without those three pesky fairies, flings his enchanted sword into the breast of Maleficent-as-a-dragon. Now all that remains of the grand sorceress is a black stain on the ground.
- FILM: "The Black Cauldron" (1985)
- VOICE ACTOR: John Hurt
- SUPERVISING ANIMATOR: Phil Nibbelink
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- With a skull-like mask for a face, topped by two mangled horns, plus cloven feet and a spiked tail, it is not difficult to liken the Horned King to the image of the devil of centuries-old lore. (Throw in that hacking cough and he's even more akin to a certain Lord of the Sith we're all familiar with.) He has but one goal: use the Black Cauldron to raise his own army of the dead and overrun all of Prydain.
- OCCUPATION(S): Monarch
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Creeper, a bunch of brutish warriors, the aforementioned army of the dead
- QUOTE: "Now I call on my army of the dead: the Cauldron Born. Arise, my messengers of death! Our time has arrived!"
- FINAL VERDICT: When Gurgi makes the ultimate sacrifice to stop the zombie horde, the ol' Hornster is sucked into the cauldron itself and destroyed, PG-rating style.
- FILM: "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993)
- VOICE ACTOR: Ken Page
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- The classic childhood fear of the Bogeyman is envisioned here in the form of Oogie Boogie, a form that is a stitched-together bag of creepies and crawlies guaranteed to give you the willies. The big Oog likes to gamble with his prisoners' lives, and now, thanks to his trio of trick-or-treatin' disciples, his latest victim is none other than "Sandy Claws" himself.
- OCCUPATION(S): Con artist
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Lock, Shock and Barrel
- GOTTA SING-SING: "Oogie Boogie's Song"
- QUOTE: "Are you a gambling man, Sandy?"
- FINAL VERDICT: Oogie's evil is literally unraveled by Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown.
- FILM: "Hercules" (1997)
- VOICE ACTOR: James Woods
- SUPERVISING ANIMATOR: Nik Ranieri
- HOME VIDEO RELEASE: Available
- This big blue hothead has it in for his brother Zeus and plots to take over Mount Olympus with a little help from his friends. A clash of the Titans ensues, but, as the Fates predicted, if that wonder boy Hercules crashed the party, it would be all over. And when that happens, Hades strikes back at the hero's Achilles' heel, Megara, the hero's ladylove and Hades' former femme fatale.
- OCCUPATION(S): Lord of the Dead
- PARTNER(S) IN CRIME: Megara (for a while), Pain and Panic, the Titans
- QUOTE: "Name's Hades, Lord of the Dead. Hi, how ya doin'?"
- FINAL VERDICT: After rescuing Meg from the sea of lost souls, Hercules knocks in the Lord of the Dead, and the souls are more then happy to welcome their despised despot.
And thus concludes the multi-part look at the connection between Disney villains and the Seven Deadly Sins! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did creating this list. Happy Halloween!
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