Pixar has created some of the most iconic animated characters of the last couple of decades. From Woody and Buzz to Miguel and Remy, Pixar has created, and will continue to create, legendary characters that will stand the test of time.
However, for every Buzz Lightyear, there must be a Zurg and for every Steve McQueen there must be a Chick Hicks. While some villains have fallen to the wayside and failed to make their mark on the viewer, others have indeed stood the test of time and went on to be as iconic as the movie in which they starred. This article, then, will rank the 10 best Pixar villains to have appeared so far.
Chef Skinner
Chef Skinner’s main goal was to secure ownership of Gusteau’s restaurant. It was in Gusteau’s will that Skinner would inherit the Chef’s business interests if no heir were to appear two years after Gusteau’s death. Consequently, he was willing to do anything in his power to achieve this goal.
While he is not as evil as some of the others on this list, he is certainly a greasy snake of a man. This grounds the character into the real world - we’ve all met a character like Skinner.
Sid
While it may be unfair to include Sid in this list, he was just a child after all, the creepy little boy was certainly cruel and meanspirited. Sid was a combination of two horrifying archetypes. In one sense, he was like a proto-Ramsay Bolton in the way he tortured and dismembered his toys, but also like a Dr. Frankenstein in the way he put them back together.
Regardless of whether or not we, as adults, would consider Sid a villain to our childhood selves, he was certainly that. He treated his toys without respect and tried to kill Woody and Buzz.
Prospector
While he initially came across as a nice old man, Stinky Pete the Prospector wanted to force Woody and the other Round-Up toys to join him in a museum in Tokyo. After years of isolation in his box, the Prospector came to believe that children only damage and destroy toys, leading him to dream of spending his time in a museum.
As the Tokyo museum will only take the complete set of Woody’s Round-Up toys, the Prospector is incredibly selfish and is more than willing to tear Woody apart if it means he will go to Tokyo.
Randall
While Waternoose may be the big villain in Monsters, Inc, Randall is the villain we think of most when we think of Monsters, Inc. This villain is more akin to a henchman than a full villain, but as with Oddjob in James Bond, sometimes the henchman outshines the true villain.
Randall is a greedy, cunning, and manipulative character who was more than willing to use the torturous scream extractor on children. Randall is more than willing to harm or potentially kill children to benefit himself. He certainly deserves a place on this list.
Mor’du
Arguably, Mor’du is the most terrifying villain on this list. While Mor’du takes the form of a giant black bear, he is actually an ancient prince who was hungry for power. When his father split the kingdom between his four sons, Mor’du asked a witch for the power of ten men and she turned him into a bear.
Naturally, a bear cannot be a king, and his subjects turned on him. After centuries of living in a bear’s body, Mor’du grew to forget he was even once human. Fortunately, Merida and her mother were able to defeat the bear and free the soul of the prince.
Waternoose
Waternoose is the quintessential evil CEO. While at first Waternoose appears to be a warm and fatherly figure to Sully and the gang, he is later revealed to be behind a plot to kidnap children and use a scream extractor in order to keep up with the demand for Scream energy. Waternoose famously declared, “I would kidnap a thousand children before I let this company die.”
This shows that Waternoose will do anything to prevent his company from dying. Waternoose, in this sense, represents an evil capitalist that only sees worth in his company and does not value sentient life.
Charles Muntz
Charles Muntz is the reason why you should never meet your heroes. Muntz was the childhood hero of both Carl and Ellie. Muntz became obsessed with reclaiming his former glory and made it his life goal to find a new species of bird. Specifically, a species of bird that he was previously ridiculed for believing in.
He is so obsessed with this bird that he has murdered any other explorers trying to find it and even sacrificed several dogs trying to capture it.
Lotso
Since his appearance in Toy Story 3, Lotso the bear has been compared to the The Walking Dead’s Governor. It is easy to see why. Both individuals offer sanctuary to newcomers, only for it to be revealed that he is an evil, sadistic control freak who wishes to keep them locked away in a prison. While the Walking Dead’s Governor traps the protagonists in a literal prison, Lotos transforms Sunnyside Daycare into a prison.
Lotso also comes worryingly close to actually murdering our beloved gang of toys - we all thought the worst when Woody and the gang held hands in the incinerator.
Syndrome
Syndrome may be the most powerful of the villains on this list, but he was also one of the most successful. After being rejected by Mr. Incredible as a boy, Buddy Pine (Syndrome) would then spend his life trying to get revenge on Mr. Incredible. As an adult, Syndrome started luring heroes to an island in order to murder them with his AI robots called Omnidroids.
Due to this childhood urge for revenge, Syndrome has been credited with the murder of at least 15 superheroes. He is, perhaps, the most murderous on this list.
Ernesto
Ernesto is, after Chef Skinner, the most realistic villain on this list. It is not only the fact that his backstory is grounded in realism but also due to his emotional impact that he tops this list.
Ernesto, at first, pretends to be the Grandfather of Miguel, knowing full well that he is not related to the boy. However, it is actually revealed that Ernesto killed Miguel’s actual Grandfather and then proceeded to take all of the credit for Miguel’s Grandfather’s musical ability. If this was not enough, Ernesto also tried to kill Miguel and also ensure that his Grandfather would die the final death.
