There's something so special about childhood it can hardly be described. It can, however, be completely demolished by the wonderful people over at Disney, who saw fit to ruin everyone's innocent dreams by filling their films with terrible people. Most of whom are female. Here are some of Disney's greatest female villains.
The Evil Queen (Snow White) - Her given name is Queen Grimhild, and she is the first Disney animated features canon villain. Determined to remain the fairest of all, the Queen becomes insanely jealous of Snow White, the only one whose beauty surpasses her own. She eventually uses dark magic to transform herself into the Witch, in a final attempt to do away with her only, unknowing rival. Depicted in early designs as a fat, comical character, her appearance eventually evolved into a much more sinister, stately beauty. She is generally one of Disney's most iconic and menacing first villains, once being voted the 10th greatest movie villain of all time. For a different view of her, read Neil Gaiman's "Snow, Glass, Apples." You will not be disappointed.
Lady Tremaine (Cinderella) - The original evil stepmother. The arch-enemy of Cinderella, Lady Tremaine doesn't harm her stepdaughter physically, but seeks to destroy her psychologically, motivated by jealousy, accentuated by the greediness and awkwardness of her own daughters, Anastasia and Drizella. Lady Tremaine is also a socialite, determined to gain higher status by marrying one of her daughters to Prince Charming or some bachelor of noble state. She is often considered the most hated Disney villain, being very cold, calculated, bitter and ruthless, and also for callously maltreating her stepdaughter even when there is no material gain to be made; she locks Cinderella in her tower room when she knows her own daughters won't fit the glass slipper.
The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland) - All the residents of Wonderland are mad (insane) in some way, but the Queen of Hearts is the most dangerous of them all, by being the ruler of the land. She completely dominates her weak husband, the King of Hearts. She is also very egotistical, as she likes to hear the words "Yes, your majesty" and insists that "All ways are my ways!" Like any insane person, she has huge mood swings, from content to enraged at a moment's notice. Her immediate solution to every problem is beheading, whether her roses have been planted white, she misses a shot in croquet, or feels insulted in any way.
Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmations) - Unlike previous Disney villains Cruella is not a schemer. Instead, she acts purely on impulse and is thus prone to reckless behavior, particularly tearing through the snowy landscape in her car. Cruella was seemingly invincible in the eyes of the Dalmatians, who, though they could just about able to keep Jasper and Horace Badun at bay, were unable to face "that devil woman." Their only hope was therefore to flee; Cruella's defeat in the film is brought about not through the deeds of the animals but her own stubborn relentlessness (which, by the end of the film, has seemingly degenerated into a mad fury), and the incompetence of her henchmen.
Ursula (The Little Mermaid) - Ursula is actually Ariel's Aunt. Ursula is based on the "sea witch" character in Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Mermaid. In the original story, the sea witch is a neutral enabler, but for Disney's animated adaptation, the character was modified into a full-fledged antagonist and plays a larger role in the overall story. Ursula is a cecaelian sea witch who "helps" unfortunate merfolk to achieve her own goals. Her appearance is of an obese purple-skinned, white-haired female human and from the waist down has black octopus-like tentacles.
Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) - Simply put, Maleficent is pure, deliberate, evil. She is ruthless and devious, and will do whatever it takes to achieve her (evil) goals. Additionally, she is very spiteful, which is shown by taunting Prince Phillip after she captures him. Her most famous quote "You poor simple fools, thinking you could defeat me. Me, the mistress of all evil," indicates that she is somewhat narcissistic. She thinks herself above everyone, even calling her closest allies "her pets." Other than herself, the only entity that she seems to have genuine care for is her pet raven, Diablo. This is especially evident in her horror at Diablo being turned to stone.
Women in Horror Recognition Month (WiHM) assists underrepresented female genre artists in gaining opportunities, exposure, and education through altruistic events, printed material, articles, interviews, and online support. WiHM seeks to expose and break down social constructs and miscommunication between female professionals while simultaneously educating the public about discrimination and how they can assist the female gender in reaching equality.
More information can be found at: womeninhorrormonth.com
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