Ranking my Top 5 DreamWorks Animations Villains
DreamWorks Animations has fetched some of it’s villains straight from the deep, dark well of hell; this is a countdown of those antagonists that inspired fear beyond repair —
DreamWorks movies have always had their fair-share of screen-time in my bucket-list of animations. While I enjoy their light-hearted and goofy character buildings in films like Madagascar and The Croods, some of their antagonists have moved me far more than their edutainment protagonists. I would argue that DreamWorks digitalizes animals/ non-human entities in the most creative ways. In fact, the themes which DreamWorks uses as clay to sculpt their masterpieces are also very off the beaten path. They seem to have their hands in a lot of genres and I ain’t complaining. From the imaginative character building in Crood’s pre-historic family dynamics referencing to today’s social structures to Prince of Egypt’s historical representation, DreamWorks spreads its net wide ambitiously in the ocean of animation — and it has hooked quite some marvels along with the audience’s rapture.
For films that are primarily catering to children, themes like death, pessimism, scars of the past, failure, vengeance and chaos, are arduous to dissolve in the script and on the screen; in the sense that bridging the gap between the callous reality of the world (even the animal worlds in which most movies are set) and the tender innocence of the naive heart without crushing that innate hope— is tricky. I would like to think the fabrication of these villains in children's movies as quite a challenge; especially those villains that ‘look’ evil to children but ‘feel’ evil to adults.
In this piece, I’m not looking at comedic villains. As much iconic as they are — say Dave from Penguins of Madagascar or Captain Chantel DuBois from Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, they are not ‘scary’ and ‘impactful’ the way some other villains are. It takes immeasurable thought to fuse comedy with evil and yield a workable villian — but this list is also looking at how visually stunning the evil looks. How does the animater’s caliber contribute to a dark setting? What are the little intricacies, aesthetics and idiosyncrasies of this villian that make them so potent. How are they unique, who’s voicing them? What is their hamartia, their ultimate conflict? I’ve also mentioned the names of the talented people who have papered and voiced these characters that we see as finished products on the screen and enjoy — they might be faceless to us but they most certainly have ‘showed’ ineffable peels of emotions more than anyone could have ever expressed in words — perhaps not even in ‘real-life’ movies. Let’s plunge in —
5. Hal (Tighten) —Jonah Hill — Megamind (2010) — Tom McGrath
‘With great power comes great responsibility’ and Hal is perfect bad exapmle to illustrate this. Hal’s ascension to darkness was something we never anticipated yet it was something that was judiciously planned by the creators. His juvenile and insecure behavior and his temper issues activate the worst in him when he becomes a ‘superhero’. Hal starts of as Roxanne’s cameraman, a ‘nobody’ fitting into the ‘loser’ or ‘sidekick’ trope. He has lived a life of failure, rejection and sadness which is wrongly channeled into mad rage. He kind of reminds of Homelander — but thank God it’s a children’s movie.
Hal is a relatable character who succumbs to the power he is granted — partly because he is also betrayed and experiences the burden of failures and unfulfilled desires — a common reason of depression in the youth. His futile attempt at gaining Roxanne’s affection, something which reeks of inadvertent toxic masculinity, is tragic in a way, yet a learning lesson as always. His physical transformation from ‘slobby’ to ‘sharp yet childish’ is starkly different from Metroman’s precise and controlled expression of power. Hal doesn’t think with his mind — rather he allows his heart to rule rampantly and the destruction of Metro City is the grand reflection of his broken heart. The insecurity in his voice, his costume and hair–is all up to the mark, which makes him a pretty impactful villain. Jonah Hill’s voice sounds genuinely ‘punky’ and ‘upset’ at appropriate times. Ultimately, Hal identifies as an average human; he tells us that it is difficult for ordinary people to bloom and grow happily in this world; nevertheless that is no excuse for selecting the path of evil — because then you are not even ordinary — even worse, you’re an ordinary villian.
4. Pitch Black — Jude Law — Rise of the Guardians (2012) — Peter Ramsey
Pitch Black works remarkably well against the backdrop of ‘good’ mainstream folklore characters like Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and the rest. It was only after I watched Rise of the Guardians when I was eighteen that I realized how soul-crushing Pitch Black’s symbolism is. He represents those who are ‘invisible’ and marginalized in society but not from a lens of ‘pity’. While he is immensely scary to younger viewers as a harbinger of doom, taking away all hope — he is a tragic figure adults might resonate with. Yes, his ways of stealing the spotlight are cruel and selfish, but his drive, I would argue — is as pure as any human being’s. His need to be seen and even loved is a poignant commentary on our social reality. Our rights, our identity, our social image, today, are all weapons we use to accelerate in the race of life and achieve our goals — being stripped off of who you are is indeed severe. Our idea of ‘us’ depends on these very things. After rewatching Rise of the Guardians, my opinions of Pitch Black have surely altered.
Pitch Black’s detailed character choreography from his ghoulish nightmare horses to his tremble-inducing voice given astoundingly by Jude Laws adds an eerie touch, ironically making his character more believable. The whole idea of using children in a children’s movie as statistical variables that define who exists and who doesn’t, tells children how powerful their imagination and willingness to believe in something can be. Pitch tries to take that away from children — so he is the villian — but ironically, as we grow up in the real world, our hope and innocence fades away anyway. We stop believing in miracles and Santa Claus and as adults, we are to some extent, victims of Pitch Black. Maybe I’m reading too pessimistically into this, but this villian is deeply calculated and put on screen.
3. Wolf (Death) — Wagner Maura — Puss in Boots 2: The last wish (2022) — Joel Crawford
Wolf, the literal personification of death, is visually, without doubt, the most frightening villain of all times. Right from his jump-scare entry, he offers an array of unsettling details –like the haunting whistle, the raging fire when he fights or those disturbingly bottomless scarlet eyes. The choice of making him a ‘hooded wolf’ was excellent despite being a cliche. Juxtaposing him with Puss, a tiny cat after all,–revives an unspoken fear in us. The terrifying masculine demeanor he carries, the way he threateningly walks and snarkily roars is downright prima, thus fear-inspiring.
On paper, the design of The Wolf sounds almost generic. A pitch black hood, piercing red eyes, fancy curved blades … none of these are exactly new ideas for how to design a villain. Yet, and maybe this is just because of the stellar animation and lighting, but the design choices used here all just work in tandem to create a memorable appearance.
(https://collider.com/puss-in-boots-the-last-wish-wolf-villain/)
His central theme –the inevitability of death, the value of ‘life’ –is something that is very deep, perhaps intended towards the adult audience more than the children. The Wolf isn’t exactly evil but boy o boy does he appear to be so. He’s simply against Puss because of how Puss has abused the chances he got at life. It would have been an easy kill for The Wolf if we are being honest, but his desire to ‘play and have as much fun as possible’, to incite and scare Puss is what makes him so entertaining. Wagner Maura voices him incredibly — he is legit a ‘horror’ level villian. Death as a wolf in Puss in Boots was too good to be true in my opinion — I wish they would make a solo movie for him.
2. Lord Shen — Gary Oldman — Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) — Jennifer Yuh Nelson
To have a ferocious snow leopard or a bulky bull as an antagonist is predictably satisfying; but to have an albino peacock, a mastermind of a weapon artist — an heir to a glorious dynasty, a despotic maniac, bruised and triggered by the past but channeled shrewdly by the future? — now that’s something I can get behind firmly.
Lord Shen’s story starts with this beautifully shattering montage of a shadow-puppetry sequence(adds to the whole Chinese aesthetic) which shows us his mad-scientist power-lust and the rejection from his parents conceding to the classic antagonist formulae — evil is often often born and fueled out of childhood trauma. At an early age, Shen turns to darkness after committing genocide against all pandas, and he thinks he has won against destiny — destiny being the central theme in Kung Fu Panda movies. Shen’s blindness towards his self-destructive nature is captured subtly and the enigma around his contribution in Po’s parent’s death acts as a real suspense.
The whole chase sequence flashback where Shen commands the wolves (a peacock ordering wolves — such a unique power-dynamic pulled so marvelously — it emblemizes brains over raw strength) to follow Po’s mother leaves me emotionally paralyzed. The mark of his feather, how it makes Po snap into the past — such psychologically convincing animation — which also adds a special connection between Shen and Po — it’s personal between them, and so Shen ranks higher than Tai Lung or Kai. Shen inflicts the pain that his parents gave him (though they never meant to) and projects his suffering onto Po when he lies to Po saying ‘You’re parents didn’t love you’ in the cannonball factory scene — a most ubiquitous human flaw — the mark of a person who has not ‘healed’.
Shen’s detailed visuals, movements and colors also speak volumes of his character. He’s agile and sharp. The way his crest fidgets delicately alludes to the manipulative churning going inside his head, also a realistic depiction of how bird’s heads vibrate when they trill. Shen has royalty in his blood and modernism in his warfare. He agrees that he is no match for ‘our King Fu’ — but something he created is. We can see his fighting style is different than that of Po’s or of any other Kung Fu warrior.
In fact, the animators based Shen’s fighting on Cai Li Fo, a martial arts form which is characterized by graceful, circular movements and agile footwork, as well as a wide range of weapons. Additionally, there are several instances where Shen uses the eyespots on his tail feathers as a distraction, particularly for Po, for whom the eyespots trigger traumatic memories. This is also a reference to nature. Though the primary use for a peacock’s eyespots is to attract a mate, they may also use them as a psychological defense against predators. (https://theshapeofevil.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/lord-shen-when-character-design-meets-character/comment-page-1/?unapproved=77&moderation-hash=fb73456d3bd9ef75d1051e218bea5c70#respond)
Shen’s scornful voice and visuals make him a very broken character — somebody who cannot make peace with the past. The contrast which Shen offers to Po’s acceptance and inner peace approach acts as a huge learning lesson — ‘You gotta let go of that stuff in the past, the only thing that matters is what you chose to be right now.’ Shen’s appeal remains in his inability to ‘let go, to heal his scars’, something which as adults we struggle a lot with.
1. Eris — Michelle Pfeiffer — Sindbad and the legend of the Seven Seas — Tim Johnson and Patrick Gilmore
‘I pull one tiny thread and their whole world unravels into chaos, glorious chaos’ — Eris is the literal embodiment of chaos and discord, as she is adapted from the Greek goddess by the same name. However in Greek mythology, Eris is supposed to be ‘neutral’; in the film she is a pure evil incarnation, coercing Sindbad and tapping into his darkest potentials. ‘Your heart is as black as mine,’ she tries to gaslight him into submitting to his dark side. Eris, being a celestial being, is supremely overpowered. The world is practically in her fist and she is beyond and above human entanglements — to her it’s all a little game — that is exactly what is so seductive about her, her whole approach to the hero-villian dynamic. Only a loophole can trick her, defeat her only temporarily — the inevitability of her dark conquest is what provides such reliability to her villainy — because you see, there are no ‘good gods’ in the film — there’s only the Goddess of chaos up there.
Eris creates monsters out of constellations, she casually plants obstacles in Sindbad’s path with her breaths and literally takes a bubble bath in the galaxy. She has a cynically slick humor and also some honorable attributes that add to her omnipotent charm. In the end, she accepts her defeat sportingly, doesn’t make any violent melodramatic promises of revenge; she simply flirts with Sindbad and lets him know that she will win some other time — because she has an eternity to cause chaos in. So classy, so sexy.
Michelle Pfeiffer's smoky and tempting voice-over gives justice to the brilliant animation. Sketching and filming Eris and Torturous in 2003 must have been tough — but that is by far, for me, the best animation which corresponds so directly to her instable and tumultuous character. She’s never in one place. She’s always oozing from one form to the other in that purple one-piece of hers, she’s flowing in the breeze and shape-shifting so glossily like a ghost — she has a ‘good hair day’ everyday and she seems very fashionable. She’s sultry in an evil way; playful and dangerous — the perfect femme fatal. Her evil laugh is iconic and she pulls strings of darkness with such sheer indifference that she convinces us she is inhuman.
