MY 11TH FAVORITE DISNEY VILLAIN

THE EVIL MAGNET



FROM "THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER"

If you read my review on "The Brave Little Toaster", then you probably already know that I consider it to be one of the darkest kids’ films of all time. I enjoy the characters, humor, songs, and animation, but when it gets dark and depressing, it really goes all-out! And one of the many things that will both frighten and depress a child when viewing this film is the Evil Magnet at the Junkyard. Now I'm not going to talk too much about this villain, because I already talked about what made it so terrifying when I did my "Top 10 Disturbing Moments from the Brave Little Toaster", and you can see that for yourself. But I will at least explain why I put it so high on the list.


 

The main reason why I put the Magnet in the number 11 spot on my list, instead of putting it lower is because unlike how the other Disney villains who are evil, but over the top, charming, and have a bit of a sense of humanity in them (even at their cruelest), this villain has none of that at all! It has only one goal, and that's to transport wrecked cars, and thrown away appliances to the crusher where they’ll be killed and turned into a tiny cube. It show's no joy over doing this, but it shows no remorse either, all it's doing is what it's programed to do, fair and simple. And if it sees appliances that refuse to meet their maker, it will come after them, without rest until the job is done. Even by going as far as taking a man to be crushed with them after claiming them! What I find to be very frightening about this villain, is not just its scary looking design, and that it never says a word, but for how fast and powerful that this machine is. It can pick up piles and piles of junk when it gets frustrated, can sneak up on you when you least expect it (despite being so gigantic and making humming noises from its magnetic vibrations), and above all is so fast that it can pile-up two individual cars on top of each other on a moving conveyor belt in almost no time!

 

Speaking of the cars, I've already mentioned in the past how much I enjoy the song "Worthless" for being catchy and downright depressing at the same exact time. But if you want to know the cars who I felt bad for the most during this sequence, it would have to be the convertible who "doesn't have the heart to live in the fast lane", the Wood-sided Wagon who loses an eye and looks scared to be crushed as she is laying upside down, and the depressing Pick-up Truck with a deep voice who commits suicide! And after all these years, I still sigh at their death as I'm singing along to this song.

 

The machine that the Magnet sends the cars too to be crushed looks just as menacing as the Magnet is, especially when hearing the sound of its piston's banging loudly on the conveyor belt. But I must ask, who built this thing and decided to give it a face? It's obviously not alive since we never see it talk, move its eyes, or anything. Actually the more I think about it, does any human being watch over this junkyard, we never see anyone insight (aside from the Master, and his girlfriend Chris)? Did they decide to give A.I. to their Magnet? Oh who cares it's a frightful and intense climax, and I really can't expect realism in an animated films with objects that come to life for no rhyme or reason.

Even though you'll be seeing traditional villains on my list who are ranked higher than the Magnet, I still feel like this villain deserves the number 11 spot on the list for being so cold, ruthless, and powerful, which are all the qualities that make it so horrifying. Though not the scariest out of all the things shown in the movie, it is still the most challenging out of all the obstacles and nightmare inducing fuel that the character’s face, who is also responsible for giving us some of the saddest and heart pounding moments that this film has to offer.

"You're Wooorthlesssssss"
-The Junkyard Cars

FUN FACT!

Ok as I was watching "The Brave Little Toaster", I've noticed a cleverly hidden Easter egg that I don't hear anybody talk about, which I thought would be fun to share. When they're in the city looking for their Master's address in the phone book (which I'm amazed at how empty the city is. It's a little too convenient that the city where the appliances go to find their master is empty enough for them to wander around in broad-day light.), if you freeze frame the scene and actually read the addresses you'll see the names of Disney characters (like Peter Pan, Snow White, Bambi), as well as descriptions of Disney characters like "Flying Elephant" (Dumbo), and "Wooden Puppet"(Pinocchio). You'll even see descriptions of the main characters in the movie, such as "Brave Toaster", "Gruff Vacum", "Loud Radio" and so on and so forth. So if you watch the film again, be sure to pause that scene and watch it in slow-mo for you to see these Easter Eggs for yourself.

Stay tuned for when I get to the Disney villains who made it to the top 10 spot on my list! 

MY 12TH FAVORITE DISNEY VILLAIN

MAN



FROM BAMBI

I'd say spoiler alert, but who doesn't know about the demise of Bambi's Mother. Everyone seems to know it, whether or not they've seen the film. The funny thing is everybody talks about how sad the scene is, but not many people put Man on their lists of favorite Disney villains. I guess that mainly has to do with the fact that we never see man on screen at all during the movie, when with all traditional Disney villains we do, where we easily find ourselves overlooking or tossing this villain aside, since there's no design or personality to him (or more appropriately them). Furthermore, while "Bambi" is considered to be a Disney classic, most people don't necessarily talk about the film when compared to many of Disney's other works, and only seem to talk about the most depressing scene in the movie since it hurts them so much. And being a Disney fan and having tons of friends who love Disney that are both old and young, not many have watched "Bambi" that much either when growing-up as a kids. Usually in a Disney film involving talking animals they usually watch "The Fox And The Hound" or "The Lion King" (that both seemed to have taken many elements from the movie), and I am just as guilty as they are. And while I don't watch "Bambi" often either, I do find more than plenty to admire from it, and the villain is definitely one of the top things that makes the film one of Disney's finest!

 

The first time we're ever introduced to the presence of Man is when Bambi's Mother takes him to the meadow for the first time, now that he is old enough, claiming it to be a wonderful place. When Bambi takes a look at it, it looks pretty, but there's an ominous vibe to it for how grey and blurry it is. But before an excited  Bambi could even run in to have some fun, his Mother stops him telling him that it isn't safe and that they are vulnerable since they’re out in the open with no place to hide. So she decides to see if the meadow is safe before letting her son set hoof on the land, and as we watch her checking to see if it's safe we hear suspenseful music wondering if there is something evil lurking about. And even though this isn't the scene where she gets axed off, the music and animation creates a mood that still keeps you on the edge of your seat that I still find affective even when knowing when she's going to die. It's like the scene in "JAWS" how Quint's fishing rod catches the shark, but we don't see the shark nor does the shark do anything, but still comes across as an intense scene from the acting and how its directed, that's saving the surprise for later when you least expect it, and yet when you do know when it happens it still keeps you in terror. And that's how good suspense should be carried-out. Some who haven't seen the film but know about the Mother dying mistake this to be the scene where she gets axed off since it seems like that's what the scene is setting-up. Not to mention that one or two parody's of the movie that make fun of her death, usually happen during this scene instead of the winter (like "The Animaniacs" episode with Skippy crying over the death of "Bumbie's Mom, or that crazy old cartoon from Newgrounds "Bambee") which I don't know if it's intentional to keep her death a surprise, or a mistake, but either way it still doesn't give away when it happens (hhhmmm maybe I should've put a spoiler disclaimer for my post after all).

 

When the meadow is safe enough for Bambi to play and prance around, it suddenly loses its dark touch, and looks as cheery and colorful as the previous scenes in the movie were, as Bambi meets his first doe, and sees his Father for the first time, that makes you forget what a dangerous place it was built up to be. But when birds start flocking and crowing wildly, all the happiness is immediately sucked out as we now get dramatic music, and the pleasant colors now looking intense as the land is suddenly surrounded by colored shadows where we see the deer’s and animals fleeing for their life. And as this entire atmosphere begins to change, Bambi and his Mom are separated, but Bambi is found and saved in the nick of time by his Father. Once they are out of sight, we hear a gun shot, and learn a few moments later that the monster that they were running away from in the forest was MAN! What I find so scary about the villain is that we never ever see him on-screen, but we always feel his presence through the visuals, sound effects, and the dialogue (again just like the shark in "JAWS"), which I find very unique for a Disney villain, and more terrifying than actually seeing him. We know it's a hunter and that there's more than one of them hunting the animals in the film's climax, but we're never too sure if it's a poacher, a regular man doing it for sport or to feed his family, or if it's even the same person who killed Bambi's Mother. For all we know, each occasion Man appears in the film, could be a different individual. And that's what I find so incredible about this villain (or more appropriately set of villains) for how much he comes across as a genuine threat that makes you feel nervous and worried about the animal's safety despite never ever seeing him, that in my opinion comes across as one of the cleverest things that Disney has ever done when creating a villain.

 

One of the reasons why I think many kids and even adults have stayed away from the film, or don't seem to watch it as much as other Disney films, is for it being too cutesy and sugar-coated, and that the only real dark and depressing scene in the movie is the infamous death scene (and the first encounter Man). And yeah, the majority of the film is played on an innocent level, but not too many seem to talk about the film's epic and dramatic climax that's caused by Man. After Bambi's fight with another deer, and settles down with his love, he smells smoke and discovers that Man has returned to the woods and that there's more than one of them. This whole entire climax is a complete thrill ride! At first it starts out quiet and intense, where the animals are all shown to be hiding as they hear man coming closer and closer, but when one of them gets killed as she tries to flee (will talk about that scene later), all the tension comes to a halt and the animals start running for their lives trying to avoid the bullets that are being fired at them at almost every turn, where we can assume that some didn't escape. It only gets worse when their hunting dogs chase after Bambi's wife like a pack of savage wolves with deranged designs as if they are hell-hounds. Bambi protects her, but he gets hit by one of the bullets as he leaps for safety. And just when we think things can't get any worse, the fire from the campfire begins to spread all over the forest, where a wounded Bambi and his Father are surrounded by the flames as they try to escape while watching their beautiful land burn to the ground. So if you think that the film has little dark stuff going for it, watch this film again (or at least this whole climax) because there are more terrible things happening in the film then you give it credit for, and the reason why the film loses all of its cuteness (with the exception of the bully deer) is because of Man!

But obviously the most horrible act that Man has done in the whole entire movie that I've mentioned plenty of times, but didn't go into detail of why it's so tragic is of course killing off one of the lead characters of the movie, Bambi's Mother! Just as Bambi is getting sick of the winter and starving since the grass is covered in snow, he and his Mother spot some grass growing in the meadow discovering that Spring is near. The two begin to happily eat when all of a sudden the music begins to sound eerie where we only hear three notes being played over and over to build up tension signaling us that Man is near, that goes faster and faster as each time the three notes are played (just like the theme for "JAWS"). Bambi's Mother feels the presence of Man and the two start running for their lives as they are being fired at. The Mother tells Bambi to keep on running and not to look back, and when Bambi is out of the meadow, we hear the last gun shot, and cut to Bambi running through the woods and getting back to his home safe and sound. Being overjoyed that he and his Mother had made it; he turns around and notices that his Mother appears to be missing. Bambi then wanders through the dark and foggy woods just as a raging snowstorm begins to fall, looking and crying out for his Mother, where his voices echoes through the forest that's supported by a choir setting the depressing mood for the scene. Everything then goes quiet when Bambi stops and gasps at a shadowy figure staring at him, who turns out to be his Father calmly telling him that his mother can't be with him anymore, which causes Bambi to shed a tear, and take one more look at where his Mother had been, before he leaves with his Father.

What's interesting about the death that Man has caused that had many audiences and kids crying in a pool of tears, who still get depressed just by the mere mention of the scene is that this isn't the only animal that Man kills in the movie! During the climax as Man is drawing near, a nervous Pheasant (ironically voiced by the same woman who voiced the Mother) fears that she will die if she stays put, and flies away when Man is getting closer to her, but gets shot off-screen where we see her dead body hit the ground that causes the other animals to flee from their hiding spots. It's a very grim scene considering that we see her body, when with Bambi's Mother we don't. But why do many people who have actually seen the movie, talk and remember more about the death of the Mother, then they do about the Pheasant? Well a few reasons. The first reason is we don't see the Mother get axed off on-screen, or see Bambi look at her dead body. Now granted, seeing her die would probably be just as disturbing as seeing Mufasa getting killed in "The Lion King", in fact Disney already did animate a scene showing her death, but decided to cut it for being too grim, but since Man who is the film's main antagonist is never shown on-screen, it would make sense to have her die off-screen, where the depression of the scene is successfully provided through Bambi's reactions and it's gloomy atmosphere, as we can only imagine what Bambi's Mother must have looked like when she got shot by our off-screen killer, which is more disturbing than actually seeing it for ourselves.

But the main reason why many of us are so heartbroken about her death is because she is a leading character. The death of the Pheasant is disturbing, but we don't even know her to really feel bad for her. With Bambi's Mom, we do, and it's not just because she's his Mother. Disney has killed off many of the protagonist's parents in their film's that followed afterwards (Family friendly my ass), and while the majority of their deaths are sad and disturbing, I rarely hear anybody cry over these deaths the same way that people do about Bambi's Mother, or Mufasa for that matter. The reason why is because we actually got to know them, and see their son's bond with them so we can feel connected to their relationship, that way when their death does happen it would come off as a complete shock, and a depressing farewell to a character that we felt almost as close to as Bambi, and Simba were to them.

Man may not be an on-screen villain, but the ambiguity of who they actually are and what they look like, and how they affect the lives of the animals that we've grown attached too are more than enough to make them come off as one of Disney's most alarming, and hostile villains that they've ever created. As well as being the first actual villain to kill-off a lead that is related to our lead character. And despite killing off some of the animals, and burning down the forest, Man doesn't get punished for their crimes at all, thus making them one of the few Disney villains that gets away with their crimes in the end.

"Man was in the forest"

-Bambi's Mother

MY 13TH FAVORITE DISNEY VILLAIN

MR. DARK



FROM "SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES"

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

I never grew-up watching "Something Wicked This Way Comes", I actually discovered it through Doug Walker when he reviewed it for Disneycember in 2014, as I then decided to watch it the following year after taking an interest in the premise, atmosphere, and villain. I overall enjoyed the film, and found it to be one of Disney's most underrated live action films for how legitimately frightening it was. And the villain who causes all the scares and dark imagery that happens in the film is just as frightful.




I've always taken been interested in stories about carnivals, especially when being carried out through the horror genre, and a haunted carnival is exactly what he uses to carry out all of his dark deeds. We at first get some nice build-up leading up to the arrival of Mr. Dark and his carnival such as the weather changing for the worst, mysterious music playing from nowhere, one of the characters seeing something paranormal through a window of a shop, and flyers promoting the carnival being blown in the wind. Through this build-up we see the back of Mr. Dark tossing the flyers around in a far distance, and see his ghostly carnival train arriving to the town. And when the leading characters Will and Jim arrive to the spot of where the carnival is being held, everything is put up and ready in no time at all. The sequence building-up to the arrival of the carnival gives you the chills that there is "something wicked coming" from the acting from our leads, the dark nightmare like visuals, and the unpleasant music playing in the background.

 

But when we see the carnival at broad daylight, at first glance it doesn't look as sinister or magical as it did when we and the characters first saw it at night time. But as we explore the carnival we begin to notice that it's making the people's in the town's wishes come true. An old and frail woman and an ex-football player who lost an arm and leg on one side of his body, see what they wish to be again by taking a walk through a bright and empty mirror maze. A barber who wishes to be with sexy women from around the world is given the chance to full-fill that dream by being felt up by exotic Arabian dancers that take off his clothes (in a Disney film mind you). And an owner of a smoke shop, who wants to win a thousand dollars, finally gets his wish by winning the "Wheel Of Fortune", as he's then given a fancy cigar and a free Ferris wheel ride with a lovely elegant woman. However, as magical as this carnival appears to be at making your wishes come true where you almost forget that it's evil, every wish comes with a price that's too high to pay. When an old lady wishes to be young and beautiful again, she gets her wish, but she's now blind so she won't even get to admire her own beauty and look at the people who are enchanted by it. The football player gets his arm and leg back, but he's back to being a kid again. And the barber who had his shot with sexy foreign women, now has become the bearded lady as he wears similar clothing that the women who touched him wore. The worst part is the people can't even live their normal lives outside of the carnival after being affected by it since Mr. Dark has taken their souls. They are now mindlessly enslaved by Mr. Dark to be part of it by acting as one of the freaks, clowns, and carneys’ that work there, where they'll do anything he tells them too. The freakiest scene that involves both Mr. Dark and the people he has working in his magical carnival is hands-down the scene when they search the town for the two boys who know too much about the carnival, by posing as a festive parade with clowns, acrobats, a marching band, freaks and elephants, as they push wagons with kid-sized coffins underneath the bright yellow tarp. This whole scene always keeps me unease from how unfriendly and lifeless these colorful characters look, and how determined Mr. Dark is to find them as he walks slowly with that sinister glare on his face.



Even though Mr. Dark has many freaks working for him, we mostly spend time with just two of them. And I'll admit that it would have been cool to see one or two more of the demons and slaves that serve him, but in the long run the stories focus is where it should be, so that doesn't bother me in the least. The first one is the Dust Witch played by Pam Grier who is just as scary and powerful as her master, only difference is she is seductive with her beauty, and is always changing her appearance to reflect the mood of a situation instead of wearing the same outfit all through-out the movie (with the exception of her red diamond ring). Her voice isn't always the same either. When she reads a person's fortune she sounds just like how a normal fortune teller would sound, but when you see her casting a spell, her voice becomes unworldly and hypnotic. But no matter what she wears, or how she sounds, her presence on-screen is always spine-chilling. Her scariest moments is when she goes from being a beautiful bride, to a ghost-like demon; and when she uses her magic to slow-down Charles’ (Will's Father) heart. The most horrible thing she does in the movie, that I'm sure has given many kids nightmares is when she sends green fog to track down the children, and begins to fill their house with tarantulas where they never seem to stop appearing out of nowhere and just keep on coming after them. Originally there was going to be a giant hand that attacked the kids, but it was cut for being too hokey looking, where they decided to do a scene with spiders instead. And while it is a tad bit distracting for how noticeably older the kids look in this scene since it was filmed a year later after the original shooting schedule, it's still a very intense scene that has you relieved for when its over.




Serving as Mr. Dark’s right hand man who co-runs the carnival is Mr. Cooger. He doesn't contain any magic, but he still comes-across as mischievous as his master and the Dust Witch. He helps lure people to Mr. Dark's temptations by giving them free tickets to certain attractions at the carnival; takes people hostage who trespasses with his brute strength; and does a few errands for him when he's magically turned into a kid to seem less suspicious. The strange thing about him is, when he's pretending to be nice, or is posing as an innocent kid, he never comes across as normal. There's just always something strange about him from the way he behaves. I know it's mainly because he's working for the villain, but there's still never a moment where his personality ever comes across as pleasant. Sometimes I wonder if he's actually one of the people that Mr. Dark has enslaved before the events of the movie, given the fact that he has no magic and is always doing things for him without question. The film never clearly addresses if he is or not, but it more than likely seems to be the case.



Now let's finally talk about the man who runs this wicked carnival himself, Mr. Dark. Jonathan Pryce plays the role of this devilish man, and the thing that I admire most about his performance is how subtle it is. He's not the type of villain who usually goes completely over the top with his evil, or gets angry and vicious when he's trying to get information out of people. He's actually a very laid back and elegant gentlemen who carries plenty of charm and grace that seems inviting. But as charming as he seems, every moment we spend with him never seizes to be intimidating as the tension surrounding this character just grows and grows. You never quite know what he's going to do when he's asking people for information, or when he's going to lose his cool as you gaze at his creepy eyes and sinister smile, while wearing a fancy outfit that is completely drenched with the colors black and white to make him seem like as if the devil took on the form of a ringmaster, which is what makes his presence so nerve-racking.



What helps make him across as so intimidating and manipulating are the dark powers that he possesses.  Sure he uses most of his powers for the attractions at the carnival that he runs, but he does use them himself when he feels the need too when he's walking around the town, or alone with the characters. He'll sometimes use his magic to enchant such as showing the kids moving kaleidoscope like tattoos on his arm, and giving free tickets for one his rides that magically appear in his hand. But he'll mostly use his powers to scare and threaten others. Sometimes when he's present, like how he asks Charles where the two kids are, by showing tattoos of their faces on his hand, to later having the tattoos turn to blood as he's clenching his hands when he knows that the Father is lying, but yet still remains calm. And other times when he's not even present but not far away from them either, like when he traps Charles in his foggy mirror maze where he sees a bad part of his past that he doesn't wish to see, through the mirrors, as Mr. Dark's voice echoes; or that random and gruesome scene when Will see's himself getting his head decapitated by a guillotine and stares at his lifeless head with blood dripping out of his neck (a Disney film ladies and gentlemen). There would also be one or two occasions where he would use his magic to make an appearance, particularly when he enters the library where the wind blows the doors open, and he suddenly appears reading a book behind Charles’ back finishing a quote that he exclaimed after waiting a few seconds for his appearance.



But like any professional villain, he doesn't need to use his magic to persuade and frighten people; his words and mannerisms work just as well, mainly because he knows all about the people who live in the town, and can use their dreams and fears against them. His best scene of that talent, even though he doesn't necessarily succeed, is the scene in the library. He promises to make the Charles 30 years old again if he tells him where the boys are, as he carries a book of his life, and when the Father refuses his offer he rips a page out of the book, and promises to make him 31 if he tells him. And when he dismisses his offer again, he keeps tearing pages out of the book as each page he tears out is a year of his life that he could've given him, and will only increase the number of years he can turn back his age if he doesn't tell him sooner. And as he's doing all this, he taunts him about how age is slowly taking over his life and freedom, where his taunts go from quiet and subtle, to loud and crazy (one of the few moments in the film where Pryce gives an over the top performance). When he does stop at the age that Charles currently is, he tells him what a weak old man he is, and squeezes his hand so hard that it cracks and bleeds causing him to pass-out, which hurts him both physically and psychologically. And that's not the only scene when he uses violence and acts madder than he usually is to try to make someone talk. There's also the scene when he ties up a crazy peddler who claims to know about lightning to an electric chair, and will have him electrocuted if he doesn't tell him when the storm is. He of course uses his polite manners, and use of temptation through the Dust Witch disguised as a bride to make him talk, but when he seems to be getting nowhere, he'll start using physical force against him, which eventually turns him into one of his slaves.



For me, the most suspenseful scene with Mr. Dark is when he searches for the kids hiding at the library himself, before and after knocking out Charles. He walks around this dark and shadowy looking library that lost all of its color and cheer, as he calls out their names and tries to lure the children to him through their desires and fears. He promises Jim to give him a free-ride on his carousel that will make him age into an adult so that he can finally live the life as he dreams of living, and will treat him like a Father that he wished to have by running the carnival with him; and lies to Will that his Mother is going to ride the carousel. As the kids feel tempted by his claims, they still remain in their hiding spots. But when Mr. Dark figures out that they're hiding on top of one of the book shelves, he questions which letter they could be filed under by describing each letter of the alphabet to be part of their personality, gender, last name, and actions. He then begins to climb the shelf as he senses their presence, but instead of climbing up in front of them as we are lead to believe, he's actually right behind the kids, and takes them away.

Though Mr. Dark is an unstoppable force, there are two things that weaken him. Mr. Dark feeds on the misery of others that helps make him powerful and gives him a lot of joy, but when people are using positive emotions against him instead of giving into him and his temptations; it weakens his power since it's an emotion that he hates. But what really destroys both him and his carnival is lightning. The witch gets stabbed by a lightning rod after the man who created it is set freed from the lightning that hits the carnival; the storm sucks up the whole entire carnival and takes it away as the slaves and workers are shown to be running for their lives (And I'm not entirely sure if they live, or if the innocent people from the town who are enslaved are now free); and the lightning hits the carousel with Mr. Dark on it which causes him to age rapidly into a skeleton that's a demise just as grotesque as the Horned King's that's carried through ghoulish make-up and puppertry.

Much like how I feel about the Nome King and Princess Mombi from “Return to OZ”, I feel like Mr. Dark (as well as the film itself) is criminally underrated as a Disney villain for how scary and powerful he is. How he takes people’s souls is imaginative and freaky. The people who are enslaved by him, or work for him willingly are just as frightful as he is. The powers he carries and how he demonstrates them look like something out of your nightmares. And Jonathan Pryce’s performance is so strange and classy that if Willy Wonka looked dark and mischievous and was actually written to be a bad guy, my guess is we’d pretty much get something like this! It’s true that not much is known about Mr. Dark’s past, and who or what exactly he is, but the ambiguity of it in my opinion is what makes him such a fascinating villain which indeed raises the fright factor surrounding him even higher!

"My name is Mr. Dark. I advise you to respect that."
-Mr. Dark