Disney Villain Songs

"The Siamese Cat Song" by Peggy Lee



Have you noticed that Disney pretty much hates cats? In that regard, it's quite fitting that the first villain song in the company history comes form the mouths of Si and Am, two identical trouble-causing Siamese cats.

"Mad Madame Mim" by Martha Wentworth



I used to watch Sword in the Stone all the time when I was a kid. It wasn't among my favourite films, but it had lots of positive energy, which this scene showcases magnificently, even though it's not a much of a song.

"The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" by Vincent Price



This underappreciated Disney gem has Vincnet Price as its bad guy ... and he sings. It's Disney's first proper villain song and still their best, because you can't top Vincent Price. Rumour has it animators sketched Price's exaggerated gestures while he was recording his lines. Music is by great Henry Mancini, by the way.

"Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Pat Carroll



This one starts calm and slowly, but becomes rapid and intense. It's a good example why the villain songs are so much fun.

"Gaston" and "Gaston (reprise) & "The Mob Song" by Richard White and others



Celebration of the village's most celebrated man is turned into his desire to marry beautiful Belle in the song's reprise. And then there's "The Mob Song", which is more straight-forward in Gaston's motives.

"Prince Ali (Reprise)" by Jonathan Freeman



How do we now that Jafar is a bad dude? He steals Aladdin's song and turns it against him. It's not a long song but it wonderfully turns Aladdin's greatest moment from an earlier part to his defeat (almost).

The original song by Robin Williams:

"Be Prepared" by Jeremy Irons and Jim Cummings



Oh dear, here we go. Because everything has been said about the animation, and especially how it takes cues from The Triumph of Will, let's focus on the song itself. Jeremy Irons, who voices Scar, starts the song but his part is seamlessly taken over by the great Jim Cummings, who can actually sing. Mr. Cummings is one of those actors whose name one doesn't recognize but has actually been in many childhood favourite films.

"Mine, Mine, Mine" by David Ogden Stiers, Mel Gibson and others



Surprisingly those parts sung by Mel Gibson aren't part of a villain's song. There's also another two-sided absurd "villain song" later in the movie called "Savages":

"Hellfire" by Tony Jay



Poor Quasimodo. His hopeful "Heaven's Light" soon morphs into the darkest study of a villain's mind ever seen in a Disney film. My other favourite after "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind".

"Friends on the Other Side" by Keith David



After their hooray into scifi-influenced movies in the beginning of 00s, Disney finally returned to from at the end of the deacde. The Princess and the Frog also marks the return of a proper villain song, and it was worth the wait. Other songs in this movie were somewhat flat, so this colourful sequence easily stands out.

"Mother Knows Best" by Donna Murphy



Great movie; poor, flat, forgettable songs. This song doesn't actually reveal the villain's motives but is designed to fulfill them, as Gothel manipulates Rapunzel. There's also a reprise with an even more sinister feel to it. Unfortunately I couldn't find a good version of it, so sorry about the poor quality in the last video of the list.