Top 10 Disney Movies with a Surprise Villain Twist

The hero's charming. The sidekick is quirky. The villain? Seems obvious... until the third act slaps you with a plot twist so sharp it could cut glass. Congratulations, you've just been surprise-villained.

It's become kind of a habit for Disney, hasn't it? Build up a character as friendly, helpful, maybe even downright lovable, and then, out of nowhere, they turn out to be the mastermind behind everything going wrong. Sometimes it works like magic. Other times, it feels like they threw a dart at a storyboard and yelled, "You! You're evil now!"

Still, when it's done right, it's really satisfying. The twist adds a whole new layer of storytelling. It forces you to rethink earlier scenes, catch the clues you missed, and maybe even appreciate how slick the writers were. A few of these twists hit you like a freight train full of feelings. Others leave you shouting "called it!" halfway through.

This list is for those sneaky villains who fooled you, impressed you, or just made the movie way more fun. So scroll through, cast your votes, and help figure out which of these surprise twist Disney baddies deserves the crown.

The Top Ten

  1. Toy Story 2

    This is easily the best Disney movie that has a twist villain in it! Some people may say this shouldn't be here because it has three villains, but two of them are minor. The main antagonist is a surprise villain: Stinky Pete the Prospector! He is a really clever villain too! Probably the second-best villain in the trilogy. The other two villains are Al and Zurg. Zurg is my favorite villain by far due to how he references Darth Vader and his design! Why is this labeled as the worst Toy Story movie again?

  2. Big Hero 6

    This is one of my favorite animated movies of all time. It's just so great! This movie is technically a Marvel movie as well, so that could also be the reason I love it so much! This movie has everything: story, emotion, characters, and even the twist villain is great! Robert Callaghan, a professor whose daughter was stuck in a portal dimension after an accident, takes revenge on Krei, who was the leader of the portal experiment. This movie is so awesome! My favorite character is Baymax due to how funny he is. This is easily the best non-Pixar Disney movie!

  3. Monsters, Inc.

    This is truly an excellent movie! Very nostalgic! I don't see how anyone could find this movie bad. The story is really creative and an example of a "thinking outside the box" movie. This movie also has a surprise villain that many people forget: Henry Waternoose III. His motivations are really great as all he really wants to do is keep his company alive. This movie is just amazing!

    The twist was kind of predictable, but it was decent.

  4. Wreck-It Ralph

    This is one of the most unique Disney movies! It's a masterpiece! The way the movie is executed is incredible, and the whole idea of it is just amazing! The story is extremely good as well! The villain is excellent too! Turbo, a racing character whose game got shut down, designed a new racing game known as Sugar Rush. Really awesome! For some reason, Bowser was my favorite character, even though he only had a small cameo.

    This was the only twist villain that Disney got right.

    King Candy being Turbo, I didn't expect that.

  5. Atlantis: The Lost Empire

    Very underrated movie! Yes, the villain sucked big time, but the story was pretty good! The animation was really impressive, and the atmosphere was good as well. A great movie!

  6. Up

    Truly an excellent movie! Although I consider it to be one of Pixar's weaker movies, I must admit that it is super emotional. The villain's reveal is also quite emotional. It's sad to see your childhood idol actually being a supervillain. Truly sad!

  7. Frozen

    Both an overrated and overhated movie. People, for some reason, hate the villain very much. But the reason Hans turned evil is to teach kids that you shouldn't trust people you just met. Really good movie!

  8. Coco

  9. Zootopia

    That is literally the only Disney villain twist on this list I didn't see coming. Great movie too!

    Am I the only one who thought Bellwether was decent?

    Worst twist villain, great movie.

  10. The Incredibles

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins

  12. ?

    Lightyear

    Zurg is the villain, but the twist is that it's an evil Buzz from an alternate timeline.

    13. The Contenders

  13. Toy Story 3

  14. Cars 2

    The movie that started this whole trend! Not Wreck-It Ralph! Anyways, this movie is truly overhated. I will admit that it feels a bit random, and Cars 3 felt more like a sequel to the original, but this is still a great movie! The villain's plan is a bit messed up, but it's still a great movie!

  15. WALL-E

    I'm adding this movie to the list because of the fact that AUTO isn't explicitly portrayed as a villain when you first see him.

  16. Meet the Robinsons

    Probably the most underrated Disney twist villain movie alongside Sky High and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

  17. Sky High

    Though the twist villain in this was kind of predictable, it sure didn't ruin my overall enjoyment of this movie.

    This movie is so underrated that it's actually kind of tragic.

  18. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

  19. Incredibles 2

  20. Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe

  21. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

    I expected that the Mouse King was the villain of this movie, but after I saw it, I realized the Sugar Plum Fairy was. I still don't like this movie. The ballet was so much better.

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