Disney movies are, by and large, family friendly stories where good ultimately triumphs over evil. The princesses are saved (or save themselves), the villains are punished, and everyone ends up happily ever after. But that isn’t to say these movies entirely without teeth. Just because they don’t show the blood doesn’t mean they’re bloodless.
Disney villains are always detestable in some way, but there are some that actually go so far as to murder. They won’t let a pretty face and an uplifting musical number distract them from their ultimate goal, and if taking someone out of the picture gets them closer, so be it. Here are some villains with blood on their hands.
Man (Bambi)
In a movie that scarred many of us forever, the unnamed Man shoots and kills Bambi’s mother partway through the film. He is never clearly seen and never speaks, but his presence and actions add a deeply chilling elements to a movie that, up until that point, had been about a charming baby deer and his friends. Not content to kill a helpless doe, he also sics his pack of hunting dogs on Faline, but luckily Bambi is able to fend them off.
Scar (The Lion King)
If the death of Bambi’s mother didn’t traumatize you, Mufasa’s almost certainly did. Who can forget him clinging to the cliff above the stampede, momentarily relieved to see his brother — sure he would be saved — only to have Scar throw him to the wildebeests’ mercy?
And who can say how many died in the Pride Lands due to Scar’s terrible leadership? However, he does seem to draw the line at murdering children, which is more than we can say for some other villains on this list.
Scroop (Treasure Planet)
Treasure Planet is an underrated Disney feature based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. This crab-like alien pirate was a member of Long John Silver’s crew, hired to help locate Treasure Planet. Scroop catches the main character, Jim Hawkins, eavesdropping and threatens him, causing the captain’s first mate Mr. Arrow to step in. As a way to get back at both, Scroop cuts Mr. Arrow’s lifeline while they’re close to a black hole and blames his loss on Jim not tying the lines correctly.
Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco)
Ernesto de la Cruz starts off as protagonist Miguel’s idol. He wants to play music just like Ernesto, and rebelliously practices his guitar in secret, trying to fulfill that dream. However, over the course of the movie it’s revealed that de la Cruz is a fraud.
He was formerly best friends and partners with Miguel’s great-great-grandfather Héctor Rivera. But when the two of them reached a creative impasse (Ernesto wanting to seek fame, Héctor wanting to return to his family) Ernesto poisons him and steals his songs.
Sabor (Tarzan)
Despite being only the secondary antagonist of Tarzan, Sabor the leopard is responsible for more deaths during its runtime than the hunter Clayton. None of the deaths are shown on-screen, but she kills both of Tarzan’s parents in addition to Kerchak’s and Kala’s young child. This loss is what motivates Kala to keep and care for Tarzan; she was able to save him from Sabor where she couldn’t save her own baby. She comes close to killing Kerchak and Tarzan himself, but Tarzan’s quick thinking allows him to overpower her.
Commander Rourke (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
Commander Rourke, leader of the expedition Milo Thatch joins to find the lost city of Atlantis, initially appears like a reliable commander who keeps a cool head through crises. However, once they finally reach Atlantis, it becomes clear that Rourke and his crew are mercenaries out to make a fortune by stealing the Heart of Atlantis. He mortally wounds the elderly king of Atlantis and leaves him to die. Rourke also leads his forces in a battle against the Atlanteans, led by Milo, which certainly caused even more deaths before he was defeated.
Mor’du (Brave)
During the time period Brave is set in, Mor’du is a monstrous bear bent on death and destruction. There’s no telling how many hapless travelers he killed simply as a vicious predator. But in addition to that, he was a powerful human prince before a lust for power led him to betray his family and subjects.
Mor’du selfishly wanted his father’s entire kingdom to himself and bargained with a witch for the power to defeat his brothers. He waged war against his brothers’ forces, killed his own family and slaughtered his own men when they perceived him as only a dangerous bear.
Syndrome (The Incredibles)
Syndrome, formerly Buddy Pine, is one of Disney’s darkest villains, and his dark plot earned this movie Pixar’s first PG rating. This bad guy seeks revenge against all of hero society because of Mr. Incredible slighting him as a child. Syndrome becomes a genius inventor, developing incredible technology to give him the power that most superheros are born with, and refines his devices in battle against superheros. He has personally killed at least fifteen heroes that we know of, potentially more, all because Mr. Incredible once told him to go home.
Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
In addition to being just a downright creepy dude, Judge Claude Frollo is definitely ready and willing to kill not only helpless women seeking sanctuary, but also innocent infants merely for the crime of physical deformity. Frollo is willing to burn a family alive to set an example to other citizens. It’s clear he has genocidal intentions for the entire gypsy population of Paris. In fact, it’s heavily implied to be responsible for a number of of deaths already, though they aren’t explicitly shown in the film.
Shan Yu (Mulan)
Shan Yu, as the leader of the invading Mongol force in Mulan, indisputably has the highest kill count of all Disney villains. Under his command, soldiers invaded, pillaged, and killed Chinese civilians and soldiers. One of the most shocking scenes in the movie happens immediately after the upbeat song “A Girl Worth Fighting For” when Mulan’s squad crests a hill and sees a destroyed village. There seem to be no survivors of the raid, and this was likely only one small town in the way of Shan Yu’s invasion.
