If 10 Literary Antagonists Were Disney Villains

I love Disney princesses as much as the next girl. However, my real preference are for the villains. They're complicated and complex and sometimes even based on literary characters or books themselves. (The Lion King, ahem.) Growing up, The Little Mermaid was on at my house more times than I can count, and I was desperate to live under the sea. Ursula both terrified and fascinated me. She gave Ariel exactly what she wanted! But she was so scary. And you mean to tell me she could take Ariel's body? I thrived on the drama, and nothing has changed since.

Without the villains, it's safe to say Disney movies would boring at best. A lot of singing with nothing happening. The same goes for most novels, too. The villains make the story! But what if they combined?

I got to thinking about some of the best literary villains, and what Disney villain they would be if worlds collided. Here are 10 of the best bookish bad guys, and the 10 Disney villains they would be.

Professor Moriarty from The Adventure of Shelock Holmes as Professor Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective

Ratigan's main characteristics include being cold and calculating, and all around pretty much an evil guy. Moriarty is one of the smartest and conniving literary villains of all time. Especially if you've seen the Sherlock portrayal of this guy, you know he's not just conniving, he can be downright terrifying. He would definitely be Profesor Ratigan.

Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca : Mother Gothel from Tangled

Mother Gothel may look like a charming young mom, but she's really a scary old woman living off of Rapunzel's powers. She'll do anything to keep her "daughter" locked away and away from the truth of her identity. Mrs. Danvers torments Mrs. de Winter, trying to keep her away from the memory of the infamous Rebecca. Both dark, cunning, and selfish, these two would have more than a few things in common.

Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter series : Scar from The Lion King

I'm not just saying this because of the obvious SCAR imagery. But, I mean, if the lighting bolt fits. Scar was jealous, vindictive, and murderous, just like Voldy himself. If Voldemort ever needed another head to hide on, Scar's would do the trick, but the universe might also implode.

Mrs. Trunchbull from Matilda : Madame Medusa from The Rescuers

These two have the same temper, and the same bumbling kind of nature. Just look at her face! I wouldn't want to cross her, or you might just end up in — gulp — the chokey.

Count Olaf from A Series of Unfortunate Events : Edgar Balthazar from The Aristocats

Those cats trusted him! Those kids trusted Olaf! Both Edgar and Olaf were only ever looking out for their own pockets, but let their cats — er, kids — believe otherwise. Who put these bumbling men be in charge of anything, anyway!

Amy Dunne from Gone Girl : Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove

Who said the above lie, Yzma or Amazing Amy? Both skilled in talking their way into and out of countless situations, manipulating people, and in general being deviously conniving, I'm pretty happy these two are fictional. We'd all be in trouble if they weren't!

Mr. Danglars from The Count of Monte Cristo : Jafar from Aladdin

Danglars let Edmond Dantes go to jail for years for a crime he never committed! It doesn't get more evil and cold-hearted than that — or does it? Jafar has Aladdin thrown in the Agrabah palace dungeon, which isn't too far off, when you think about it. Imagine Danglars and Jafar together, in possession of a magical lamp? We'd all be in magical prisons!

Count Dracula from Dracula : Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

Dracula seduced women in order to bite their necks for blood, Gaston thinks he's God's gift to women, it's not so far fetched to think that in another life Gaston vanted — I mean wanted — to suck your blood, is it?

Iago from Othello : Ursula from The Little Mermaid

It would be way too easy to say that Iago would be the evil little parrot from Aladdin with the same name. Really, though, Iago has way more in common with Ursula than you'd think from looking at them. They both prey on the weakness of others, and they know how to sweet talk you into things, like giving up your voice, or you know, murder.

Satan from Paradise Lost : Hades from Hercules

Book or movie, the lord of the underworld is the lord of the underworld. One of the most underrated villains, if you ask me, is Disney's Hades. He's evil, sure, but he's funny, and sarcastic, too. Satan had a similar way with words, one that had him thrown out of heaven and onto a much darker throne — a throne someone like Hades knows well!

Image: Disney Wiki; Giphy (10)