Top 10 Disney Villain Songs

When I set out to write this story, I highly suspected that something like it had been done before on this site. Lo and behold, I discovered that fellow Vocal creator Ada Zuba published a list of her top Disney villain songs four years ago.

Several of our picks are the same, but there are a few that are different, so here's my own list of the top ten Disney villain tunes:

1. Hellfire — The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Monseigneur Claude Frollo is the embodiment of toxic masculinity. In this song, he repeatedly threatens to burn Esmerelda at the stake if she rejects his advances:

Destroy Esmeralda

And let her taste the fires of Hell!

Or else let her be mine and mine alone

And (racial slur edited):

Now g*psy, it's your turn

Choose me or

Your pyre

Be mine or you will burn

Yikes.

Still, it's the extremism of Frollo's rhetoric and the passion with which his threats are delivered that makes this song one of Disney's best. When I listen to "Hellfire," I can't help but join him in viciously declaring "I'll find her! I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!"

2. Friends on the Other Side — The Princess and the Frog

This has to be one of the catchiest songs on this list. Doctor Facilier's side notes and interjections are humorous and perfectly timed, making "Friends on the Other Side" a worthy addition to the list of classic Disney hits.

3. Be Prepared — The Lion King

Jeremy Irons delivered one of Disney's most memorable performances as antagonist Scar in the studio's 1994 classic The Lion King. In this scene, he plots the murder of his brother and nephew and enlists the help of hyenas to carry out the deed.

This is literally one of the most savage songs ever written. I mean, he's insulting them to their faces:

I never thought hyenas essential

They're crude and unspeakably plain

But maybe they've a glimmer of potential

If allied to my vision and brain

I know that your powers of retention

Are as wet as a warthog's backside

But—thick as you are—pay attention!

My words are a matter of pride

It's clear from your vacant expressions

The lights are not all on upstairs

But we're talking kings and successions

Even you can't be caught unawares!

The delivery here is just phenomenal and makes for an incredibly entertaining listening experience.

4. Poor Unfortunate Souls — The Little Mermaid

5. Gaston — Beauty and the Beast

6. Mother Knows Best — Tangled

7. The Plagues — The Prince of Egypt

Okay, so this one's from DreamWorks. But it's Ralph Fiennes, and it SLAPS.

You who I called brother

How could you have come to hate me so?

Is this what you wanted?

Then let my heart be hardened

And never mind how high the cost may grow

This will still be so:

I will never let your people go

8. Prince Ali (Reprise) — Aladdin

If only for Jafar's laugh at the end.

9. Love Is an Open Door — Frozen

Could we blame Anna for thinking that Hans was her soulmate? They finished each other's sandwiches!

Hans isn't known as a villain when he proclaims his love to the naïve princess, which makes it even more disturbing when he's exposed as the bad guy at the end of the film. This is serial killer behavior. The whole "perfect on the surface but really a massive piece of shit" deal is all too familiar to women, and the charisma with which this man woos his unwitting victim (before later trying to kill her) channels Ted Bundy.

10. Fabulous — High School Musical 2

Sharpay counts as a Disney villain, right?

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