Toon Talk Special: Disney's 50 Most Wanted Villains - Part 2 - Oct 31, 2005

Toon Talk Special: Disney's 50 Most Wanted Villains - Part 2
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EMBODIMENTS OF ALL EVIL

These characters represent more then just a single sin, but embody (in whole or in tandem) aspects of the ultimate evil, the devil itself.

THE MANY VILLAINS OF PINOCCHIO

Film: Pinocchio (1940)
Voice Actors: Walter Catlett as “Honest John�?, Mel Blanc as Gideon, Charles Judels as Stromboli and The Coachman and Frankie Darro as Lampwig
DVD: Available

For a cute little wooden puppet, Pinocchio sure has a lot of enemies (to numerous, in fact, to narrow down to just one, thus this joint entry). They run the gamut of sins, from greed (J. Worthington Foulfellow, a.k.a. “Honest�? John, and his stooge Gideon), lust (for fame, that is, with the vicious puppet master Stromboli), wrath (the fierce Coachman), sloth (the lazy Lampwig) and gluttony (that briny behemoth Monstro).

Gotta Sing-Sing: “Honest�? John’s “Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee�?
Quotes: “Honest�? John: “Pleasure Island! Where every day is a holiday!�?
Gideon: “Hiccup!�?
Stromboli: “I’ll a-slap you silly!�?
The Coachman: “Give a bad boy enough rope, and he'll soon make a jackass of himself.�?
Lampwig: “Hey, who's the beetle?�?
Monstro: “Rooooooooooooar!�?
Final Verdict: All apparently go on to commit more crimes and atrocities, save for Lampwig, who gets his comeuppance by being turned into a donkey.

CHERNOBOG

Film: Fantasia (1940)
Animator: Bill Tytla
DVD: Available

Pure evil personified, Chernobog reigns over Bald Mountain when night has fallen, coaxing the spirits of the dead out of their graves to bask in his unholy visage. Eyes aglow and bat-like wings blotting out the sky, the demon lords over his spectral and skeletal followers in their raucous celebration of the macabre.

Final Verdict: Church bells chime as dawn breaks, sending Chernobog withering back to his eternal resting place.

MAN

Film: Bambi (1942)
DVD: Available

Has there ever been a more insidious specter of evil in the world of a film then that of “man in the forest�? in Bambi? Although never seen, their presence is constantly felt, their violence forever imminent. Never has a single cinematic death as that of Bambi’s mother, at the hand of man, ever been so traumatic, so immediate.

Final Verdict: A destructive blaze, caused by a carelessly unattended campfire, destroys the forest, indicating the destructive nature of mankind will never cease.

THE HORNED KING

Film: The Black Cauldron (1985)
Voice Actor: John Hurt
Supervising Animator: Phil Nibbelink
DVD: Available

With a skull-like mask for a face, topped by two mangled horns, plus cloven feet and a spiked tail, it is not difficult to liken the Horned King to the image of the devil of centuries-old lore. (Throw in that hacking cough and he’s even more akin to a certain Lord of the Sith). His mission is a simple one: use the Black Cauldron to raise his own army of the undead and destroy all of Prydain.

Partners in Crime: Creeper, the aforementioned Army of the Dead.
Quote: “Now I call on my Army of the Dead, the Cauldron-born! Arise, my messengers of death! Our time has arrived!�?
Final Verdict: After Gurgi makes the ultimate sacrifice to stop the zombie horde, ol’ Horny is sucked into the cauldron itself and destroyed, PG-rated style.

OOGIE BOOGIE

Film: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Voice Actor: Ken Page
DVD: Available

The classic childhood fear of the “Bogeyman�? is envisioned here in the form of Oogie Boogie - a form that is a stitched-together bag of creepies and crawlies guaranteed to give you the willies. The big Oog likes to gamble with his prisoner’s lives, and thanks to his trick-or-treatin’ disciples, his latest victim is none other then “Sandy Claws�? himself.

Partners in Crime: Lock, Shock and Barrel.
Gotta Sing-Sing: “Oogie Boogie’s Song�?
Quote: (To Santa Claus) “You like to gamble, “Sandy�??
Final Verdict: Ooogie’s evil is unraveled by Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown.

HADES

Film: Hercules (1997)
Voice Actor: James Woods
Supervising Animator: Nik Ranieri
DVD: Available

This big blue hot head has it in for big brother Zeus and plots to take over Mount Olympus with a little help from his friends. A clash of the Titans ensues, but, as the Fates predicted, that wonder boy Hercules crashes the party. Hades strikes back at Herc’s Achilles’ heel … Megara, the hero’s lady love and Hades former femme fatale.

Partners in Crime: Megara, Pain and Panic, the Titans.
Quote: “Name's Hades, Lord of the Dead. Hi, how ya doin'?�?
Final Verdict: After rescuing Meg from the sea of lost souls, Hercules tosses in the Lord of the Dead, who are more then happy to welcome their despised despot.

* * * * *

 

We hope you enjoyed this Disney Halloween treat, and be sure to toon in next time for the next edition of Toon Talk.

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

  • The sky is falling in Disney’s first fully computer animated feature, Chicken Little (November 4th).
  • Voldemort rises in Warner Bros.’ newest adventure of the boy wizard from Hogwarts, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (November 18th).
  • December 6th brings wave 5 of the Walt Disney Treasures series, with Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts, Legendary Heroes: Elfego Baca and Swamp Fox, The Adventures of Spin and Marty and The Chronological Donald, Volume 2.

And Coming Soon from Buena Vista Home Video:

  • Christmas is coming a little early for Disney DVD fans, November 1st to be exact, with the releases of Disney Channel Holiday, A Very Playhouse Disney Holiday, Disney Princess: A Christmas of Enchantment and the Wal-Mart exclusive The 3 Wise Men, plus two new DVD games ready for gift-giving, Disney’s Princess Fantasy and Disney Channel Showdown. Also available, just in time for its big screen debut, is Chicken Little: Sing Along Songs, plus the newest documentary from James Cameron, Aliens of the Deep.
  • First season sets of some favorite Disney television series become available November 8th: DuckTales, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Five Mile Creek and Tales from Avonlea.
  • On November 15th, Old Yeller returns in a DVD two-pack along with its sequel, Savage Sam, plus the second season of Scrubs and Winnie the Pooh stars in two new Disney Learning Adventure DVDs: Shapes and Sizes and Wonderful World of Words.
  • Even more TV series sets on November 22nd, with the third seasons of The Golden Girls and Home Improvement, plus the best of season one of Extreme Make-Over: Home Edition.
  • Celebrate Kermit the Frog’s 50th anniversary with four of his films: The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island (November 29th).
  • Sky High flies onto DVD November 29th, along with several television titles including the complete mini-series Empire, the first season of Project Runway and Their Eyes Were Watching God, starring Halle Berry in her Emmy-nominated role.
  • Two Disney Channel favorites are coming to DVD on December 6th: The Proud Family Movie and That’s So Raven: Raven’s House Party. Plus: volume one of season two of the animated cult hit, Gargoyles.

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-- Kirby C. Holt
-- Logo by William C Searcy, Magic Bear Graphics

Kirby is a lifelong Disney fan and film buff. He is also an avid list maker and chronic ellipsis user ...

Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.

The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted October 31, 2005

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