Disney’s 10 Best Villain Songs, Ranked

Walt Disney Animation Studios has created some of the most iconic family films in history, filled with lovable characters and memorable stories that have been adored by fans for generations. It’s even easy to see how some of the recent films, like Frozen or The Princess and the Frog, will long endure as animation classics. While most kids long to be a princess like Snow White, or choose to dress up as Hercules for Halloween, the villains of these movies deserve a lot more appreciation for their sustained success. Every good Disney movie has a great villain, and most of those villains steal the show with a musical number that far surpasses their heroic rivals.

Like it or not, some of the best songs in Disney history come from villains. Ursula, Scar, and so many others set the events of their respective films in motion with a song so devious that audiences are left in awe. But what makes a great Disney villain song? I’m so glad you asked, because we’re about to explain just that and count down the 10 best Disney villain jams of all time.

So first and foremost, any good Disney villain song has to be sung in the film, not played in the background, by the movie’s main antagonist. So something like “Shiny” from Moana, while a great song, doesn’t really fit here because Tamatoa isn’t the film’s villain. Secondly, the best Disney villain songs actually set up the character singing as a villain, showing off their motives and/or powers.

The third and final criteria is that the song has to be good, in or out of the movie itself. Yes, context to the story of the film is important for these songs, and they get bonus points for how well they play out on screen. The art and imagery is part of what makes them so great. But you have to be able to listen to them on their own, without watching the film, and still enjoy the actual music.

There are quite a few villain songs out there, but those listed below are the best of the best of the best. We’re counting down from 10th to 1st, beginning with a song that you probably thought would be ranked much higher.

10. “Gaston”- Beauty and the Beast

“Gaston” isn’t as great of a Disney villain song as many people think. It makes this list mostly by its power as an earworm and sheer iconography. The character of Gaston is a good villain, and this song is really catchy, but it doesn’t really make for a superb villain song the way that the others on this list do. 

At the end of the day, “Gaston” doesn’t really say anything of value, other than that the character is obsessed with himself. It’s just a couple minutes of Gaston talking about how great he is and why women should love him. It only takes a couple lines of dialogue early in Beauty and the Beast to establish that, so the song is ultimately unnecessary. If this song would’ve set up just how far Gaston would go to get Belle, or the hatred he has for those with lower social standing, it would be ranked a lot higher. Sadly, it’s not much more than the insecurities of a man baby set to music. Nothing too villainous about it.

9. “The World’s Greatest Criminal Mastermind” – The Great Mouse Detective

The Great Mouse Detective is one of the great underrated treasures in all of Disney’s library. The animal-led take on Sherlock Holmes has some genuinely scary imagery, thanks in large part to its well-designed villain, Professor Ratigan.

This giant rat is a crime boss who has no problem torturing innocent people and kidnapping children. He and his crew of rodent criminals will go to great lengths take whatever they want, a point that Ratigan establishes well in “The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind.” He explains his past crimes and how he’s evolved into an even more dastardly villain.

The song also deserves a lot of credit for showing how brainwashed Ratigan has all of his followers, and how he would turn on any one of them in a heartbeat. When one of the mice in his posse accidentally calls him a rat, he stops the song and summons a giant cat to come eat the poor creature in front of his friends. He then continues singing as if nothing happened, in what stands as one of the more chilling moments in any Disney movie.

8. “Oogie Boogie’s Song” – The Nightmare Before Christmas

When it comes to creepy imagery, no Disney movie can come close to The Nightmare Before Christmas, and no song can top Oogie Boogie’s anthem. The eerie tune played over the dark and dreary backdrop of Oogie Boogie’s lair makes for an experience that scared a lot of us as kids.

What makes this song even more haunting is knowing that he’s singing to dear old Santa Clause, a hero loved by so many around the world. Weirdly enough, however, this is a really fun song to listen to, regardless of how demented it actually is.

7. “Mother Knows Best” – Tangled

The song that Rapunzel’s mother sings to her in Tangled doesn’t sound nearly as dark or dreary as some of the others on this list, but the intention behind the lyrics are what really set it apart as one of the great Disney villain numbers. 

Remember, Rapunzel is locked away in her tower for her entire life solely because the magic in her hair keeps Mother Gothel young. Gothel’s vanity keeps Rapunzel from quite literally everything the world has to offer, and she sings “Mother Knows Best” to remind her daughter (whom she kidnapped) of every danger that awaits her if she steps outside. We already know at that point in the film that Gothel is up to no good, but this shows just how little she actually cares for Rapunzel, who couldn’t be more innocent.

6. “Are You In or Out?” – Aladdin and the King of Thieves

Disney really robbed Jafar of being the best villain in its history by not giving him a big musical number to roll out his evil plans. That said, the Aladdin franchise does get an incredible villain song in its third movie, Aladdin and the King of Thieves. 

Too many people forget about King of Thieves, mainly because the first Aladdin sequel, Return of Jafar, is pretty terrible. In the movie, Cassim is overthrown as the leader of the 40 Thieves by one of his lieutenants, Sa’luk. In addition to having one of the most intimidating designs of any Disney villain, Sa’luk gets a fantastic song in the form of “Are You In or Out?” When he attempts to take charge of the organization, Sa’luk uses this song to plead to his cohorts, explaining that he’s a horrible person, which makes him a better leader for them than Cassim. By the end of the song, he causes an all-out mutiny with the support of the most prominent members of the organization and threatens death to anyone who opposes him. 

You may not remember much about Sa’luk, but it’ll only take a few seconds of this song to know that you recognize his voice from somewhere. The villain is voiced by Jerry Orbach, best known for his work as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast.

5. “Hellfire” – The Hunchback of Notre Dame

“Hellfire” is a scary and disturbing song. There are no two ways about it. No other Disney villain song contains the sheer amount of evil or horror as this one.

Claude Frollo is the worst of the worst, and “Hellfire” shows why. He is a man of religion, fueled by hatred, who becomes obsessed with Esmeralda. The song begins with Frollo coming to grips with the fact that he has an uncontrollable lust for this gypsy, but then he flips the logic and blames her for his sinful feelings. He essentially comes to the conclusion that, if he can force Esmeralda to love him, he can save her soul. If he can’t, she will only continue to corrupt his mind so he has no choice but to set her on fire. 

In terms of setting up an evil villain, there’s nothing like “Hellfire,” but it loses a few points here just because it’s a song you never really want to listen to. 

4. “Love Is an Open Door” – Frozen

If you don’t think “Love Is an Open Door” is a villain’s song, you haven’t paid enough attention to Frozen. At first glance, this is just a cute love song with lyrics that make fun couples t-shirts. But when you consider the context of the entire movie, “Love Is an Open Door” is one of the most wretched gaslighting anthems of all time.

At the beginning of the film, Hans and Anna seemingly fall in love at first sight, and this song shows just how perfect they are for each other. It’s adorable. But in the third act, we learn that Hans is actually a horrible person, and he only approached Anna in order to take advantage of her innocence. His ultimate goal was to use her, murder the people she loves, and take over as ruler Arendelle to fulfill his own inferiority complex. He fakes an entire love story with a girl, knowing she will be beyond hurt in the process, just to get what he wants. 

“Love Is an Open Door” is written so well, deceiving audiences while setting up a nasty villain that no one suspects, and you should think twice about captioning a photo of your significant other with “We finish each others sandwiches.” 

3. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” – The Little Mermaid

Ursula is scary, and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is the moment in The Little Mermaid when you realize just how dangerous she really is. 

This song contains a monumentally great performance from Ursula, which is part of what makes it rank so high for most fans. She lays out her plan very clearly with the lyrics and simultaneously proves that she is willing get her hands dirty, regardless of what it costs Ariel. There are also moments of the song that show a glimpse of Ursula’s past, revealing that she’s been bad for a long, long time.

2. “Friends on the Other Side” – The Princess and the Frog

Dr. Facilier is vastly underrated as a Disney villain. He’s scary, ruthless, conniving, and he can harness the power of the unseen shadow world to do his bidding. What makes “Friends on the Other Side” so fantastic is, before the song begins, you know absolutely nothing about Facilier.

At the end of the day, “Friends on the Other Side” accomplishes a lot of the same things as “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” Both villains convince a protagonist to sign their life away, tricking them into a desperate deal that cost more than they bargained for. Facilier’s bit ranks higher than Ursula’s because it lays out his entire character in the song, while Ursula was established beforehand. 

“Other Side” also has a completely unexpected shift in tone a little more than halfway through, kicking into high gear in its finale. Keith David’s bellowing of “Are you RREEEEAAADDDYYY” comes out of left field and knocks you off your feet just when you think the song is over.

1. “Be Prepared” – The Lion King

Not only is “Be Prepared” the greatest of all Disney villain songs, it’s just one of the best all-around songs in Disney history. From start to finish, Scar’s ballad absolutely rips, whether you’re watching The Lion King or just listening to the soundtrack.

When “Be Prepared” begins, you know that Scar is a bad guy. What you don’t know is that he plans to kill his brother and young nephew in order to take control of Pride Rock. Jeremy Irons’ vocals are killer, the lyrics to the song are out-of-this-world clever, and the imagery that plays out on screen brings it all together. Scar looks over his hyena horde like a real-world dictator, watching as they march in rhythm to his words and obey his every command. He’s ruthless and psychotic, both of which are made abundantly clear with this song. It’s as classy and intelligent as it is purely evil.

When it’s all said and done, “Be Prepared” is far and away the most well-engineered song on this entire list. There are layers upon layers of music going on underneath the surface. Just listen to the instruments in the background and try to name them all. You could take away the words entirely and it would still be one of Disney’s greatest.