Five Best...Creepy Disney Villain Songs

#5. “Who’s Been Painting My Roses Red?” from Alice in Wonderland


The phrase “off with their heads” is thrown around a lot these days, but when you actually think about it, it’s actually referring to someone literally getting their head cut off by an executioner’s axe. And in Alice in Wonderland, that’s the punishment the Queen of Hearts wants for Alice after noticing her flowers are a different color. Very kid friendly, no?

Creepiest verse:
They're going to lose their heads
For painting the roses red
It serves them right
They planted white
But roses should be red
Oh, they're going to lose their heads...


#4. “Cruella De Ville” from 101 Dalmatians

In the middle of writing this posting, my friend Kyle from the newspaper commented that one of the staff members of the New School Free Press reminded him of Cruella. For my safety, I won’t say who he’s referring to. I had totally forgotten about Cruella and this creepy song—which isn’t necessarily sung in a scary fashion (after all, it’s good-guy Roger who sings it), but is more because of what she symbolizes: greed, cigarettes, fashion, ugliness—all reasons good enough for this song to be here.

Creepiest verse:
Cruella de Ville, Cruella de Ville
If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will
To see her is to take a sudden chill
Cruella, Cruella de Ville

#3. “Be Prepared” from The Lion King

The best kind of Nazis? Hyena Nazis. At least that’s the thinking of Disney, which decided to give Scar’s minions an authentic Nazi feel, complete with raised arms and having them march in unison. The song, sung by Scar, tells of what’s to come for his hyena brethren: “I know it sounds sordid/But you’ll be rewarded/When at last I am given my dues/And injustice deliciously squared/Be prepared.” If that’s enough to reel you in, let it be known that the voice of Scar is provided by Jeremy Irons.

Creepiest verse:
So prepare for the coup of the century
Be prepared for the murkiest scam
Meticulous planning
Tenacity spanning
Decades of denial
Is simply why I'll
Be king undisputed
Respected, saluted
And seen for the wonder I am
Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared
Be prepared!

#2. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid

Ursula is the creepiest man-mermaid (notice I didn’t say woman-merman) I’ve ever seen, but “Poor Unfortunate Souls” used to bore me as a child. Now, it’s one of my favorite villain songs because Pat Carroll, the voice of Ursula, has a perfectly whoreish singing voice. It’s those kind of details that you don’t appreciate when you’re a 7-year-old, but as you get older, you begin to recognize the underlying message of, well, a whore.

Creepiest lyric:
Poor unfortunate souls
In pain, In need
This one longing to be thinner
That one wants to get the girl
And do I help them?
Yes, indeed

#1. “Hellfire” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

First off, the use of the word “hell” in a Disney animated movie is shocking enough—not to mention how biblical and just down right terrifying the scene and song is. The movie’s bad guy, Claude Frollo, lusts after the gypsy Esmeralda and with “Hellfire,” he’s singing out his worries that he’ll be damned to hell. I can still remember seeing this movie with my grandparents, and being a little freaked out by the cloaked ghosts that look like the Dementors from Harry Potter. It’s also no wonder that Disney went down hill after this movie…

Creepiest verse:
Like fire
Hellfire
This fire in my skin
This burning
Desire
Is turning me to sin
It's not my fault