Stories Untold: Disney Villains

Everyone has an origin story. The experience we go through, the people we meet, and the circumstances we grow up in can all influence the person we become. So why should movie villains be any different? Disney has done a wonderful job of showing audiences another side of traditionally evil characters through movies such as Cruella and Maleficent. These films gave viewers the opportunity to understand where these characters came from and what experiences helped shape them into the villains we already knew. Instead of simply seeing them as evil, audiences were encouraged to see them as people with complicated stories.

This seems to be something audiences are increasingly interested in: understanding the person behind the actions. A recent example in the cinema world today is the Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Although the author never intended to explain the story behind its characters, she sheds a new perspective for readers to see about their beloved characters. The Sunrise of the Reaping is the origin story of a beloved, drunken character named Haymitch Abernathy and his time in the 50th Hunger Games arena. Through horrendous acts of deception, on both sides, along with its ‘collateral damages’ viewers began to understand the highs and lows that took this once love-struck boy with hopes for the future, into the drunken, bitter man that helps Katniss in the future. All that to say: Understanding someone’s background does not necessarily excuse their choice, but it can help understand how they got there.

Disney has plenty of villains whose stories could be explored in the same way: Jafar, the Evil Queen, Shan Yu, Lady Tremaine, Gastone, Dr. Facilier, Mother Gothel, and Ursula are just a few possibilities. What happened before we met them? What experience shaped their goals, fear, or desires before? Were they always the people we see on screen, or did something along the way change them for the worst?

There is a saying, “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” In many Disney movies, we are shown how the princesses and heroes play the cards they are dealt for the betterment of everyone else. We watch them overcome difficult circumstances and become better versions of themselves. But why should the heroes get to have all the character development? The villains have cards too.

I believe Disney should continue building stories around the other side of its famous fairy tales. One can never have a compelling story should it not have its adversary. A villain’s backstory would not have to excuse their behavior or make them innocent. Instead, it could show audiences that people are more complicated than the labels placed on them. Just as Cruella and Maleficent encouraged viewers to look beyond the surface, future films could give other villains the same opportunity.

After all, every character has a story. It’s time for us to hear the stories of the characters we were taught to hate and try to understand them for once.