clean warning , you will be singing these songs for at least the rest of the twenty-four hours — if not much , much longer !
Disney villains are the baddest of the baddies that my inner child can’t help but sing along with, and my grown self wants to send to therapy. But, love ‘em or hate ‘em, there’s no denying that many of their signature tunes are complete earworms in the best (worst?) way.
In an effort to get myself extra-pumped to see Melissa McCarthy belt out “Poor Unfortunate Souls” on the big screen in the new live-action remake ofThe Little Mermaid,I’m ranking the absolute BEST Disney villain tunes of all time to settle the debate once and for all about which of these rabble-rouser’s refrains comes out ahead of the rest. OH, and if you haven’t yet gotten a taste ofMcCarthy as Ursula, the clip below is just as delightfully delicious as you would expect.
Get your tickets , you poor inauspicious souls , Disney’s#TheLittleMermaidis come to theaters May 26 ! 🐙 🔮 🎶 pic.twitter.com/98OmkVMbth
From the classic crooning aboutCruellaall the way to Gaston’s misogynistic melody, I’m here to do the due diligence that only a Disney-loving millennial like myself can. Care to join me? Let’s dive in!
Ready? I sure hope so! Here we go:
15.“Mad Madam Mim,“The Sword in the Stone(1963)
Some context : This song position up a battle of the wit between the eccentric sorceress Madam Mim and Merlin . The lyrics see the sorceress essay to convince Arthur that she ’s better at magic than Merlin . During their duel , they transform into various fauna to outwit each other . ( Spoiler qui vive : Merlin pull ahead . )
Why It ’s Here : It ’s catchy , and a villain sings it . ( But that ’s every song on this listing , right ? ! ) In all sincerity , though , it may not be as placeable as other Disney melodic line , but should still be recognized . The lyric poem have a gross ton of not bad imagery that ’s mull on filmdom . " I can be huge ; fill the whole theater . / I can be teeny , pocket-sized as a mouse , " she sings . " Black sorcery is my dish of tea . / It descend easy to me , / ‘cause I ’m the magnificent , marvelous , insane Madam Mim ! "
14.“Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee,“Pinocchio(1940)
Some linguistic context : Honest John wants to convince Pinocchio to come up to Stromboli ’s train with him and Gideon , so he sings him a song about life as an actor . It ’s so cheerful that even Jiminy Cricket suppose a parade is on the fashion — until of course , he take in Pinocchio and tries his hardest to block him from give with HJ .
Why It ’s Here : Here ’s the thing , there ’s not much substance to this Sung dynasty . Sure , it ’s get a good hook , but all Honest John is doing is pointing out the fringe benefit of his line of work . Does it make it vocalize fun ? Of course — I think of , whodoesn’twant to wear their tomentum in a Marquise de Pompadour ? ! — but I feel like the most convincing matter he does is march to the beat of the song . He makes me want to march , but not act , inevitably . Hence , the ranking .
13.“Mine, Mine, Mine,“Pocahontas(1995)
Some context : Power - thirsty Ratcliffe sings about his desire to take over the land , discover gold , and expend it all on himself , as his minion dig and grasp and do all of the oeuvre , put down the Edwin Herbert Land as they do . The premise of the song is really awe-inspiring , but he ’s a major baddie , so I get it .
Why It ’s Here : It ’s really hard for me to get through the beginning of this call , but once the part that goes " dig and dig out and dig up , and diggity , dig " get , I get sucked in . Then , there ’s the " hey nonny nonny " part that I still do n’t understand , but vividly remember singing along with my small sis when we were Kyd . So , it ’s got a position here just as it does in my permanent retentiveness .
12.“I Wan’na Be Like You,“The Jungle Book(1967)
Some context : He seems so nerveless , but he ’s so bad . King Louis has so much swagger as he pop off about singing this gaudy diddy telling Mowgli all about how he wants to be a human while trying to convince the kid to teach him the " secret " of flak .
Why It ’s Here : There ’s this super neat equipment failure in the centre of the song ’s instrumental break that ’s like a be - bebop / beatbox matter , and it ’s downright awesome . Another intellect this one made the inclination where it did is that I watched Baloo ’s little dance moves he does instead of paying aid to the * very serious delivery attempt * he ’s in the eye of . It ’s genius .
11.“A Pirate’s Life/The Elegant Captain Hook,“Peter Pan(1953)
Some Context : The crewmates aboard Captain Hook ’s ship sing the majority of the main song , " A Pirate ’s sprightliness , " before the main scoundrel postulate over with his melodic talents . Are they themselves baddie ? Well , they work for the world ’s most illustrious crook and say as much when they ’re sing , so it count . During the song , Captain Hook revels in the pirate life style , bluster about his nefarious exploit and his desire for treasure while his crew joins in , celebrating their swaggering way .
Why It ’s Here : heed to this Song dynasty and literallytryto not let it get stuck in your head for the eternal sleep of the twenty-four hours . severely , you ca n’t do it . ( OK , * I * ca n’t do it , but that ’s why it ’s here , OK ? )
10.“Hellfire,“The Hunchback of Notre Dame(1996)
Some setting : As Judge Claude Frollo deal with his conflicting desires for pureness and his consuming lust for Esmeralda — whoa , just realized how recondite this one really goes — this birdcall showcases his intimate struggle .
Why It ’s Here : For a Disney baddie Sung , this one is especially dark and twisty , so it stand apart from many of the others on this inclination . I can get super into the melodic beat of the background chorus as the creepy organ plaint along . Plus , when my minor ca n’t discover something they ’ve misplaced , I get to do my best impression of this line for them : " It ’s not my fault , I ’m not to fault ! " Try it sometime , it ’s really cathartic .
9.“Oogie Boogie’s Song,“The Nightmare Before Christmas(1993)
Some context : Jack , Sally , and Zero are being held engrossed by the sinister Oogie Boogie . Like any full ( bad ? ) villain would , he chooses to intimidate them through song and dance .
Why It ’s Here : Next to " This Is Halloween , " this is the most recognizable song from the movie , and just like those Oogie Boogie inflatables people put in their yards , this song iseverywhereduring the Halloween season . It ’s also got a super noisome tune that ’s quite pleasing to the ear .
8.“You’re Only Second Rate,“Aladdin: The Return of Jafar(1994)
Some circumstance : In one of the most underrated Disney movies of all clock time , Jafar attempts to chip off out at the Genie ’s confidence by babble out about what an terrible genie he is .
Why It ’s Here : This song deserves heaps more credit than it gets . The entire song is just idiomatic expression after phrasal idiom of similes and metaphors about Genie ’s shortcoming in comparison to Jafar ’s greatness — dunking on him hardcore over and over again . Seriously , the lyrics blow me away every single metre .
7.“Shiny,“Moana(2016)
Some context : Maui needs his hook to assist Moana , but there ’s just one problem : Tamatoa the klepto Phthirius pubis has it . The birdcall ’s lyrics showcase his hideous personality as he revel in his own nimbus and vanity amidst his bounty of effervesce treasures .
Why It ’s Here : This . Is . A. BOP . My kids and I had a healthy argument about whether or not this dude isactually*the * villain ofMoana . After all , it ’s not like he stole the literal Heart of Te Fiti . From my 9 - year - old : " Is n’t he just a misguided thief who stole Maui ’s lure ? " Wow . OK — I ’m impressed by this sixth sense , but TBH , thieving is really the origin story of many Disney villains , so I ’m counting this . Plus , the song itself isridiculously underratedas far as Disney songs go .
6.“Call Me Cruella,“Cruella(2021)
Some context : In the original101 Dalmatiansanimated film in 1961 , Roger Radcliffe ’s character play a picayune diddy on his piano that would become the theme song from the moving-picture show ’s baddie — Cruella de Vil . The tune carry all the way of life to the character ’s lively - action at law source level , Cruella , in 2021 .
Why It ’s Here : Did I remark there are no dominion here ? Well , I ’m saying it now because I ’m making the rule up as I go : No rule . So , in the spirit of break nonexistent rules , this version of the classic Cruella de Vil theme song , performed by Florence + the Machine forCruella , is the best variation of the birdsong , hand - down . If for some wild reason you ’ve yet to try it , just understand that after you do , it will forever live in regular playlist rotary motion .
5.“Friends on the Other Side,“The Princess and the Frog(2009)
Some context : Just as sneaky and snide and slimy as any Disney scoundrel could ever dream of being , the Shadow Man , aka Dr. Facilier bring out his power - athirst ways to Prince Naveen .
Why It ’s Here : As a Texas girl with roots that run bayou deep all the means through to the heart of New Orleans , I can never get enough ofThe Princess and the Frog ’s soundtrack . This song in particular is full of hoodooism magic , bluesy bout of phrase , and has strong nefarious vibraharp .
4.“Be Prepared,“The Lion King(1994)
Some circumstance : Scar sings to hislegion of loyal hyaena , draw his malign plot to overthrow his comrade Mufasa and take control condition of the Pride Lands .
Why It ’s Here : This is yet another Disney villain Song dynasty that I can belt out to my Thomas Kid , specifically when they fail to canvass for a test . Then , I laugh like a hyena , and they roll their heart , and we all move on about our day , but deep down , I know they love this call just as much as I do . Scar is scary , Scar kills his own brother , but Scar also has some swagger here that is quite undeniable .
3.“Poor Unfortunate Souls,“The Little Mermaid(1989)
Some linguistic context : Ursula judge ( and come after ) to convince Ariel to hand over her voice in central for a duet of pegleg . There ’s a wizardly scroll involve , a big feathery pen , and the sea witch is at her absolute smarmiest during this epic song and fit .
Why It ’s Here : This song endure at the core of my very being . I know every Holy Writ by tenderness , and though I would never be able to actually babble out it even fairly properly , I will never hesitate to try . This songmoves . Once again , I will reiterate that I absolutely can not hold off to take heed Melissa McCarthy ptyalise out every exclusive fiery line in this dark lay with gusto . The original version will always rank high in my heart , but I also have a pussyfoot suspicion that the live - legal action interlingual rendition will be one for the books .
2.“Gaston,“Beauty and the Beast(1991)
Some linguistic context : Ever the close crony , LeFou urge Gaston to engage in a rancorous song and dance about how astonishing he is . They babble out and dance on tables in a tavern to boost Gaston ’s self-importance and convince everyone there that he ’s the ideal wooer for Belle . ( Spoiler alarm : He ’s so not . )
Why It ’s Here : With exaggerated gesture and hoity-toity video display of maleness , it would be easy to dismiss this call as too over - the - top , but it is a classic for a intellect . And that cause is that it ’s one of the most babble out - along - able-bodied Disney villain songs . Surely , you know the words , right ? ( If not , there ’s no time like the present to check them ! ) When he goes into the railway line , " I ’m peculiarly salutary at expectorating , " I perish each time . Why does the bozo with the macho attitude who ’s just really such a terrible dandy have to have such a Brobdingnagian vocabulary ? It ’s impressive , and I detest how much I bed it .
1.“Mother Knows Best,“Tangled(2010)
Some context : Mother Gothel is serenading Rapunzel at the top of her tower , where she ’s trying to win over her that she perfectly should not leave because of all of the awful , painful , frightful things that will happen if she does .
Well, folks, that’s the end of our journey. As we approach our final stop, would you please take a moment to let me know which of these Disney villain songs is presently stuck in your head? Surprisingly, I keep hearing, “Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate’s life for me!” and I’d really like to know if that’s just me.
Disney / Viayoutube.comSome context:This song sets up a battle of the wits between the eccentric sorceress Madam Mim and Merlin. The lyrics see the sorceress try to convince Arthur that she’s better at magic than Merlin. During their duel, they transform into various creatures to outwit each other. (Spoiler alert: Merlin wins.)Why It’s Here:It’s catchy, and a villain sings it. (But that’s every song on this list, right?!) In all sincerity, though, it may not be as recognizable as other Disney tunes, but should still be recognized. The lyrics have a ton of great imagery that’s reflected on screen. “I can be huge; fill the whole house. / I can be teeny, small as a mouse,” she sings. “Black sorcery is my dish of tea. / It comes easy to me, / ‘cause I’m the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim!"
