There are bad guys, and then there are villains. And DreamWorks does an excellent job at them.
I feel like whenever I ask people about what their favorite animated villains are, they’ll think of Disney villains (which is fine and fair, their songs are awesome) or maybe ones from anime, but to me, my favorite animated villains have and always will be those that are from DreamWorks Animation.
From their first animated movies to some of their most recent, they have truly knocked it out of the park when it comes to villains. And today, I’m going to rank the best DreamWorks Animation villains from least to the most sinister.
8. Lord Farquaad (Shrek)
Alright, hear me out.
Yes, I know throughout the whole movie we’re sort of supposed to take Lord Farquaad as a joke. Shrek itself is such an iconic franchise, from the animation and its characters, to everything else it has going for it, especially its comedy. But we need to talk about Lord Farquaad for a bit because genuinely, he is one of the best villains that DreamWorks has created.
While he’s taken more as a joke than a serious king, Lord Farquaad has done some incredibly bad things. He’s willing to sacrifice anyone and anything in order to get Fiona to be his bride. And let’s not forget the fact that he’s pretty much a huge creep. He most certainly will torture anyone he pleases to get what he wants – which is why he earns a spot on the list.
7. Ramses II (The Prince Of Egypt)
The Prince of Egypt is honestly one of my favorite movies of all time. Not only does it have a stellar story, beautiful animation, and an award winning soundtrack, Ramses II is just an amazing villain.
While the film is based on scripture, it makes Ramses such a sympathetic villain. He has the classic case of wanting to live up to his father’s ideals and having so much pressure to be a good ruler – almost reminding me of Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender in a way. The difference between Zuko and Ramses, though, is that the latter gives into those pressures and doesn’t change.
He continues to keep the Hebrews enslaved. He continues to do bad things. And despite being warned by his adopted brother, Moses, he continues to act out, which is what makes him sinister in a way. However, you can’t help but feel for the guy.
6. Tai Lung (Kung Fu Panda)
You know, before re-watching Kung Fu Panda, I didn’t realize just how intense these villains are. When I was younger, and when the movie first came out, I was terrified of Tai Lung because he was just scary. As an adult, however, I almost understand him.
He was the adopted son of Shifu, someone who thought he was training his whole life to take up a role that he was preparing himself for, all for it to be taken away and for him not to get what he believed he deserved. I honestly do feel for him, which is why he’s so low on this list. He has a sad backstory because he wasn’t always like this.
It’s what he does after that makes me list him here – that even though he does have a sad backstory, he still continues to do evil things and kill whoever he feels he needs to in order to take back what he thinks he deserves. That, in of itself, is terrifying – a villain with a tragic backstory is never to be trifled with.
5. Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2)
Oh, what could I say about Shrek 2 that hasn’t already been said? Truly a perfect sequel in all forms, but one of the best reasons for that is Fairy Godmother. Let’s not even talk about how iconic she is, because I could talk about that all day. Let’s just talk about the fact that she is the perfect villain.
She’s not truly sinister in the way that you would expect. She doesn’t kill many people like others on this list. Who she is as a person is what makes her such an excellent villain. It’s the way she’s able to manipulate others to get what she wants, to use her sweet attitude to convince people of what they believe they need when in reality, it’s all a part of her master plan. Just utterly brilliant – and so sassy. I wish she wasn’t killed off in the end.
4. Eris (Sinbad)
A little bit of an unknown person here, but Eris is bad and she knows it.
Sinbad, a.k.a. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, was one of DreamWorks Animation’s few 2-D animated films, and honestly, Eris is one of the best villains they’ve done. She is literally a Greek Goddess who is the conveyor of all things chaos and discord, so you know she’s going to be crazy. But, it’s her attitude that makes her all the better.
She’s not crazy, she just knows what she wants, and is willing to do anything to get it, manipulating her way through people in order to do so. I genuinely wish she got a lot more praise than she has gotten, because she’s awesome.
3. Lord Shen (Kung Fu Panda 2)
Another Kung Fu Panda franchise villain here, and wow, they outdid Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda 2 with Lord Shen. Let me tell you – this Peacock scared the living crap out of me as a kid. Like, actually.
Lord Shen was just so calm. You rarely see a villain so calm and yet so calculated. You looked at him and always expected him to snap but he was always so collected and it made me feel so eerie. When he did snap, you remember it whole-heartedly. His entire plan, to take over China, just showed how ruthless he was in wanting to achieve his goals, and he stands out as one of the best bad guys. I don’t know if the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 4 is going to make a better villain than the first two.
2. Pitch Black (Rise Of The Guardians)
I bet you weren’t expecting to see someone from Rise of the Guardians on here, but we have to talk about Pitch Black – because no one freaking talks about him otherwise.
This is such an underrated DreamWorks movie, and Pitch Black is an underrated villain and I’m giving him the praise he deserves. Not only is he voiced by Jude Law, the character is the literal personification of all things darkness – he’s known as the Boogeyman, the thing we’re all scared of when we’re kids. All he wants is to encase the world in darkness and feed off of the nightmares of children. How can you get more evil than that?
What makes him even scarier is that he knows the mind better than anyone – so he always knows what you are thinking. He can be the ultimate villain and turn you against yourself just because he knows all your insecurities. How can you not be terrified of him?
To be honest, Rise of the Guardians is a modern holiday classic, and if you haven’t seen it, watch it.
1. The Wolf/Death (Puss In Boots: The Last Wish)
I mean, he had to be number one.
Ever since Puss in Boots: The Last Wish released in theaters, everyone has been talking about The Wolf – otherwise known as Death. The entire Puss in Boots: The Last Wish cast is great, but The Wolf is the best, and therefore the best villain on this list.
He is literal Death. The whole movie, all he does is hunt Puss down in order to take his life when Puss is getting closer to losing his last life. The film is about Puss wanting to fight back against his literal demise and deal with the idea of aging and the unknown, and it’s all because Death is constantly looming behind him.
Puss literally has a panic attack during the movie because of his fear of Death, something I’m sure we can all relate to. Death doesn’t need to try to be sinister – he is the embodiment of it. And that’s what makes him number one.
While there are plenty of villains from DreamWorks Animation to be excited about, these are just my top eight that I feel need more praise, and if you haven’t seen any of these movies yet, be sure to check them out – even if not just for the villains themselves.
