Pixar movies have produced plenty of memorable villains over the years, and the best ones are just as popular as beloved main characters like Buzz Lightyear or Mike Wazowski. Not all Pixar movies use villains, at least not in the traditional sense. Finding Nemo and Inside Out are two good examples of classic Pixar movies in which the heroes go on their own journey without a clear antagonist. Inside Out 2 could potentially add another villain to Pixar’s rogue’s gallery, but this seems unlikely based on the nature of the first movie.
A great Pixar villain, like any functioning villain, should have clear goals that run counter to the protagonist’s, and they can make themselves stand out in a number of ways. Unique character design usually helps, as does an outstanding vocal performance, but the true key is that the best villains are just as complete as the heroes. Movies like The Incredibles and Up take the time to show things from the perspective of the villain, and this makes their conflict with the hero even more intense. Some Pixar villains are even more complex and interesting than the heroes.
There are many more evil villains in Pixar movies, but Chick Hicks could be the most annoying. A rival to Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks is just as self-absorbed as he is. The difference is that Lightning goes on an emotional journey in Radiator Springs and learns a little humility, while Chick just seems to get louder and more obnoxious. The media hate him, the fans hate him, and his fellow racers hate him. Chick plays dirty, and he almost totals Strip “The King” Weathers in his final race. He may win in the end, but a trophy isn’t worth much compared to the widespread condemnation he faces. He doesn’t seem to mind.
Although Gabby Gabby isn’t Toy Story‘s strongest villain, she still has a lot of creepy moments. Toy Story has made inanimate objects into cute characters for years, so it’s a striking effect when Toy Story 4 subverts this technique for Gabby Gabby and her gang of wordless ventriloquist dummies. They are all slightly inhuman in the most unsettling way, and their eyes are a little glassier and soulless than Woody’s or Buzz’s. Gabby Gabby is motivated by her desire for a child’s love, which makes her a sympathetic villain, and she does eventually get her happy ending after decades of isolation.
Pixar has some scenes which look like horror movies, and Merida’s confrontations with the demon bear Mor’du definitely fall into this category. No Pixar villain is as visually terrifying or as brutally powerful as Mor’du, and he could have been much more memorable if he had been more involved. Mor’du seems like nothing more than a violent bear at first, but Merida discovers that he is actually a cursed prince who underwent a transformation just like her mother does. This makes Mor’du even scarier, because his animalistic rage is a grim portent of what could happen to Queen Elinor.
WALL-E is a gorgeous love story between two robots, and the Axiom’s attempts to return to Earth are less important than WALL-E and EVE’s romance. The main antagonist in the struggle is AUTO, the AI-powered autopilot whose main directive is to ensure that humanity remains safe in space, not on Earth. AUTO is an allusion to 2001: A Space Odyssey‘s HAL, in looks, voice, and behavior. This makes AUTO a fun Easter egg for sci-fi fans, but it also limits how far the character can go. AUTO is far from the most important element of WALL-E, so it doesn’t need to be the most captivating villain.
The ending of The Incredibles seemed to set up the Underminer as the next big foe that the Parr family would have to deal with, but they get rid of him in the first scene of Incredibles 2. Instead, Helen is tasked with taking down Screenslaver, a mysterious villain who can hypnotize people via any screen. Screenslaver makes a good point when she talks about people’s over-reliance on consumable entertainment over real lived experiences. If Incredibles 2 had managed to align this philosophy with her main goal, ensuring superheroes remained outlawed, Screenslaver would have been one of Pixar’s very best villains.
Woody and Buzz face such massive obstacles in their everyday lives that Toy Story could have functioned without a real villain. They have to try and keep all the toys together without alerting any humans to their presence, but Sid’s sadistic experiments on abandoned toys make him a great villain. He doesn’t know that he’s harming sentient beings, so he isn’t truly evil. He’s just a little bored and destructive, and he could probably use a friend. The Toy Story franchise created more complex villains in later films, but the abstract horror of Sid’s reconstructed toys still makes him stand out in his own way.
Chef Skinner is the belligerent head chef at Gusteau’s who has overseen the restaurant’s steady decline from a fine dining paradise into a middle-of-the-road establishment trading off the name of a long-gone chef. Partly due to his overblown Napoleon complex, Skinner runs his kitchen like a military unit. He’s suspicious of Linguini at first, but he quickly changes his tune when he realizes he can use him for profit. Money drives all of Chef Skinner’s decisions. He’s even willing to sully Gusteau’s legacy by plastering his face on a range of cheap microwavable meals.
Anton Ego isn’t a true villain in the strictest sense, but his role as the most feared food critic in Paris makes him an imposing figure who Linguini and Remy have to contend with. The only villainous facet of his character is his apparent willingness to abuse his standing to destroy the reputation of any restaurant he deems unfit. He represents the kind of elitist food snobbery that’s entirely antithetical to Gusteau’s philosophy. Only after tasting Remy’s ratatouille and having a flashback to his childhood does he realize that Gusteau was right all along. Anyone can cook.
Toy Story 2 has more than one interesting villain. There’s Al McWhiggin, the toy collector who steals Woody, and Emperor Zurg, who returns for a controversial role in Lightyear. Stinky Pete the prospector is the main antagonist. He’s the one who works against Woody and the rest of Andy’s toys to ensure that the Roundup gang all head off to the toy museum in Tokyo. Stinky Pete has a sad backstory that almost rivals Jessie’s. Being a less desirable toy, he has never felt the joy of being played with, and he sees the museum of being his only chance at some appreciation.
They say never to meet your heroes. This would have been good advice for Carl Fredricksen, who is inspired by the intrepid adventures of Charles Muntz as a child, but finds himself, decades later, being chased by a pack of dogs. Muntz’s obsession with finding a live specimen of the bird he saw at Paradise Falls poisons his mind. Just as Carl learns to make peace with the past and live a life for himself, Muntz’s rigid pursuit of the bird isolates him from the outside world. Up almost gave Muntz a redemption arc, but he gets his leg tangled in a balloon string and falls off a cliff instead.
A Bug‘s Life may be one of Pixar’s most forgotten movies, but there’s a lot to love about the tale of Flik and his fellow ants. Hopper is the leader of a gang of grasshoppers who exploit the labor of the ants to get an easy meal. There are sides to his character which make him seem like a stereotypical mob boss, but he’s also much more involved and violent. The brilliance of Hopper’s character is that his power is merely a matter of perspective. As a grasshopper, he towers over the ants, but he doesn’t seem too intimidating once they decide to band together and revolt against him.
Ernesto de la Cruz is one of Pixar’s great twist villains. Originally thought to be a legendary musician, the first twist is that Miguel believes that he has discovered proof that he is one of his ancestors. Ultimately, Ernesto’s true story is revealed, and his facade as the benevolent man of the people is shattered, revealing a narcissistic, pampered hack who will stop at nothing to ensure that his legacy is kept alive. Ernesto gains extra bad guy points for straight-up murdering someone, which is something not many villains in children’s movies can claim.
Henry J. Waternoose is the brains behind the scheme to kidnap children and strap them into scream extractors, but Randall, his slimy, sneering sidekick, is far creepier. In a world filled with monsters, Randall’s design makes him stand out as a particularly insidious creature. He has the ability to blend in with his surroundings like a chameleon. More importantly, he lacks any of the emotional attachment that makes Sulley and Mike heroes. Reptilian in more ways than one, Randall is driven by spite and petty self-interest.
Lotso is the best Toy Story villain so far, and he’s so menacing that it’s easy to forget that he started out as a friendly face who welcomes Woody, Buzz and the gang to Sunnyside Daycare. It doesn’t take too long for Lotso to reveal the truth. He’s a strawberry-scented dictator ruling Sunnyside with an iron fist, and he even wipes Buzz’s memory to use him as an enforcer. Lotso is offered a chance to redeem himself later, but instead he abandons Andy’s toys as they are slowly dragged toward the incinerator. Toy Story 5 will struggle to create a villain as engaging as Lotso.
Syndrome is Pixar’s greatest villain, as he combines genuine power with an emotional arc. He starts out by idolizing Mr. Incredible and the other heroes, but a bitter rejection gives him a change of heart, and he endeavors to eliminate all superheroes. Syndrome makes some good points about power and accountability, but he ultimately loses himself to his blind rage. He also runs foul of Edna Mode’s cardinal rule of superhero costume design: No capes! Syndrome, or Buddy, can be seen as a tragic figure. His childhood dreams are crushed, and this trauma consumes him.