BUCK CLUCK Origin: Chicken Little (2005) Motivation: Buck Cluck was the town baseball star, responsible for the sleepy town’s only little league championship. But that’s all he has. After the first town panic, he does everything he can to preserve what little reputation he has around Oakey Oaks. My question is, what does this past reputation serve him? It doesn’t seem like he’s getting anything out of it anymore. Maybe the memory of his glory days is the only thing keeping him going. Character Strengths: He’s pretty good at deflecting blame or avoiding responsibility towards his son. He has his eyes turned to the town, and so when he says…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: The Spirits (Frozen II)
THE SPIRITS OF THE ENCHANTED FOREST (a.k.a. the Elements) Origin: Frozen II (2019) Motivation: This movie is, in a word, messy. There are too many protagonists and each has their own motivations (Elsa has wanderlust, Anna wants things to stay the same, Kristoff wants to propose, Olaf wants to be relevant to the plot). So how can the antagonist not be equally messy? As far as I can figure, Ahtohallan chose that particular moment in time to call out to Elsa (just in time for the second movie to start). It wants Elsa to learn the truth so that the dam can be broken and the river can flow again.…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: Abuela (Encanto)
Oh my god, am I really doing new ones? It’s been so long since I wrote this series and times, they do a-change. I’ve seen some of the films I originally skipped, new ones have been made, and people have actually made a few requests. So let’s waste no words. ALMA “ABUELA” MADRIGAL Origin: Encanto (2021) Motivation: Abuela’s actions are rooted in staying worthy of the miracle that allowed to escape the marauders that forced her from her hometown. She received a second chance when her husband sacrificed himself for his people and his family. That chance is in the form of a candle that indicates the “health” of the…
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A Disney Blog Survey
I’m pretty much done with the Disney Villains analysis. Unless I somehow catch “Bolt” or “Treasure Planet” in a moment of drunken weakness, the list is complete. So how about a little Disney survey I found on some blog. Favorite villian? Well, this is a hard one to choose. After scrutinizing them all, I’ve got so many that tickle my cookies. I like Hades just because he’s so funny and “out-there”. Sure, lump me in with the fangirls if you must — I like what I like. Plus he fits in neatly anywhere — the “Hercules” TV series, Kingdom Hearts, House of Mouse — he’s good in any situation. Yzma‘s…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: Prince Hans (Frozen)
PRINCE HANS OF THE SOUTHERN ISLES Origin: Frozen (2013) Motivation: Most antagonists are driven by hurt feelings or misunderstandings. Hans is a true sociopath. Yes, Prince Charming is the bad guy. And it’s just what I wanted to see. Hans falls under the sin of avarice — he’s too far down the line of succession to ever inherit his own throne, so he’s looking to marry into one. He even explains this in song (before he takes off his hollow mask of concern). What I’m wondering is — most marriages were arranged (in this time period) for the purposes of gaining land, title, or alliances. Happens all the time in…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: Shere Khan (The Jungle Book)
SHERE KHAN Origin: The Jungle Book (1967) I had to double-check that I hadn’t done this one already. Disney’s done so many poncey cats that they all blur together. Motivation: Shere Khan is the most fearsome beast there is. The Terminator of the Indian jungle. But he has one weakness – fear of fire. Why? We don’t know. I expect something traumatic in his cubhood. But he’s pretty safe because the only way to something starts on fire in the forest is lightning. No one can create fire except for man and there is no man in the jungle oh no wait there’s TOTALLY man in the jungle. Character Strengths: Classy,…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: Aunt Sarah (Lady and the Tramp)
AUNT SARAH Origin: Lady and the Tramp (1955) This is a hard one. This is a romance story — there’s no real villain. Lady encounters a few different obstacles, but no stand out antagonist. Jim Dear and Darling neglect her for a while, but then that stops. The Siamese cats are only present for one scene. Tramp acts as her villain when his selfish side comes out. A rat shows up for the climactic battle, but plays no role in the plot. And a dogcatcher presents himself as the last obstacle. The conflict comes from the two different worlds. Like Saturday Night Fever or Silver Linings Playbook. Motivation: She seems…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove)
YZMA Origin: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) I really don’t want to do this one. The whole movie is a radical departure from the golden fairy tale or epic quest of derring-do. This feels more like a long Saturday Morning cartoon. Even the art style feels cheaper. I’ll give Disney props for taking risks, but this one just doesn’t click. Given all the production issues present, I’m not surprised. Motivation: Well, at least I can give credit for providing the main character motivation within the piece. Usually, the villain’s instantiating incident happens before the movie. But the story is short enough as it is — maybe it was just filler.…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: Percival McLeach (The Rescuers Down Under)
PERCIVAL C. McLEACH Origin: The Rescuers Down Under (1989) The movie is better than I remembered, but I think it’s more processing than kids can handle. Maybe that’s why it’s Disney’s smallest net gain (although it had a small budget). It seems like whenever Disney makes the setting part of a character, it fails. Lilo and Stitch did the same thing with Hawaii. It comes off as propaganda. Maybe it’s because the world is smaller and these places aren’t exotic anymore. Maybe because we don’t care about worlds we can visit. We want either worlds we know with fantastic characters (like New York style superheroes) or totally new worlds with…
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Analyzing the Disney Villains: Ichabod Crane (The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad)
ICHABOD CRANE Origin: The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad (1949) Yep. Bet you’re as surprised as I was when I realized it. Here we have an unusual case of a protagonist who’s not the hero and an antagonist who’s not the villain. Although by the end, neither is much changed (more on that later). Even though this is a half-hour short, and not one of Disney’s best, I thought this character warranted further exploration. If for nothing else than to open some minds. I might be right, I might be wrong. But at least I get you thinking. Motivation: At first, Crane seems obsessed with food. His first malevolent…
