Favorite Archetypal Evil Villains
Jafar - If there’s one villain who defines villainy, in all its classical, theatrical, archetypal glory, it’s Jafar from Disney’s Aladdin. He’s got it all: the black robe, hat and cape, the elongated face, the arched eyebrows and glaring eyes, the twisted beard, the shoulder spikes on his outfit, the pathetic sidekick, the secret lair, the dark magic powers, the snake-shaped staff, and the deliciously sinister voice courtesy of Jonathan Freeman. He unashamedly seeks power and dominion over all, engages in any ruthless means possible to achieve it, and has a dry, witty and sophisticated personality that eventually gives way to bombastic, cackling madness as he wreaks sorcerous havoc on his foes. How can you not love to hate him? Beyond the iconic Disney version, I must also give praise to the live-action version from Once Upon a Time, played by Naveen Andrews on the In Wonderland spin-off that he serves as the Big Bad of and by Oded Fehr on the main show. This version manages to embody all that is great about the character while excising the cartoony caricatured aspects in favor of a darker, more realistic and frightening take who commits some truly heinous (and violent!) atrocities.
No Heart - From The Care Bears Family we have this dark wizard, who has much less of a personality than Jafar but stylistically accomplishes a similar feat in representing evil. Living in a twisted castle that resides within perpetually storming clouds, No Heart is a demonic conjurer who seeks to rid the world of love, friendship, caring, and all tender feelings. Powered by a mystic amulet, No Heart is capable of transforming into anything he pleases, from vicious animals to a freaking tornado. While generally depicted as a serious and legitimately creepy threat, especially in the first season, No Heart does have his moments of comedy when playing off of his dim-witted minion Beastly and spoiled teenage niece Shreeky. Incidentally, a new version of the character appeared this year in the series finale of Care Bears: Unlock the Magic. While not nearly as fearsome as the original incarnation, this version of No Heart is still the most dangerous threat this series’ Care Bears have ever had to contend with, pulling off a Near Villain Victory before the Care Bears saving and making peace with their regular foes, the Bad Crowd, unleashed a wave of positive energy that vanquished the demon in No Heart, turning him into a good human sorcerer (an outcome lifted straight from Dark Heart of the second Care Bears movie, a somewhat similar villain. Which honestly begs the question both times as to what to call them now. Just “Heart”!?)
