Here’s my top five Disney villain songs. I’m only including songs from Walt Disney Animation Studios, so nothing from Pixar, etc.
5. Mother Knows Best — Tangled (2010)
“Men with pointy teeth.” It’s a fun song, and quite dark in places.
4. Be Prepared — The Lion King (1994)
Jeremy Irons singing with Whoopi Goldberg on background vocals? What’s not to love?
3. Friends on the Other Side — The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Very catchy jazzy tune. The lyrics nicely foreshadow the plot of the film, something this song has in common with the next one.
2. Love is an Open Door — Frozen (2013)
A villain song pretending to be a love song. Hans lays out his true intentions in the lyrics but you don’t even notice the first time around.
Honourable Mentions
Poor Unfortunate Souls from The Little Mermaid, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, and Hellfire from The Hunchback of Notre Dame all come close, but didn’t quite make my top five.
Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations is also great, but I have to disallow it because while the song is about the villain, she doesn’t sing it herself.
1. Shiny — Moana (2016)
This song is so fun, but the lyrics are so menacing. I especially like the second chorus going through to the bridge.
