The Bronze Age of Disney animation ran from 1970 to 1988. It is also called the Dark Age or the First Dark Age of Animation because it falls during the time following the death of Walt Disney right up until the start of the Renaissance. Most of the films released during this timeframe were made from properties for which Walt had acquired the film rights. There are some memorable films during this timeframe but also some forgettable films. Let’s take a look at the Bronze Age villains.

8. NO ONE – THE MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH

There’s no real villain in this classic Walt Disney Animation Studios film. Winnie the Pooh and the rest of his friends have adventures that involve honey, a blustery day and a hunt for Tigger. While Rabbit can be mean, he’s not really a villain.

7. EDGAR – THE ARISTOCATS

Edgar is one of the weaker villains in the entire Disney canon. He is a butler working for an elderly lady who has decided to leave her money to her cats. Unfortunately, Edgar decides that he will kill the cats, so he can inherit the money. It all comes across like a low rent version of “101 Dalmatians.” But Edgar is far less effective than Cruella de Vil.

6. AMOS SLADE – THE FOX AND THE HOUND

Amos is a hunter with two hunting dogs. He sees a fox on his grounds and wants to go hunting. That’s normal. The only truly villainous thing he does is take Copper on to a game preserve to hunt down Todd after Chief gets injured. Honestly, the little old lady who domesticates a fox and then lets him go in the wild could be more villainous, but that doesn’t make for as compelling of a story.

5. PRINCE JOHN, SIR HISS AND THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM – ROBIN HOOD

These three are a mixture of several different villains. The Sheriff of Nottingham is clearly the most effective of these villains with his direct interactions with Robin Hood and Little John. Prince John is the least effective but also the funniest. He mostly sucks his thumb and cries for his mother, but it brings a lot of humor to the film. Sir Hiss is in between. He is smarter than Prince John but can’t get the Prince to listen to him.

4. BILL SYKES – OLIVER AND COMPANY

Bill Sykes is a loan shark who wants his money from Dodger’s owner. He is willing to put Oliver’s life, as well as the lives of Dodger and his friends, in jeopardy to get what he wants. While Dodger’s owner is at fault for falling into debt, Bill Sykes still takes it too far.

3. MADAME MEDUSA – THE RESCUERS

Medusa kidnaps an orphan girl from New York and takes her to Devil’s Bayou because the girl is small enough to retrieve the Devil’s Eye diamond. While she’s far from the first villain to ever kidnap anyone, she is very careful in how she chooses her victim.

2. THE HORNED KING – THE BLACK CAULDRON

The Horned King is a sorcerer who wants to release an army of immortal warriors from the Black Cauldron. He’s willing to sacrifice everyone and everything for his goal. He’s evil through and through. If the film he appeared in would’ve been better, he would be remembered as the great villain he is.

1. SIR RATIGAN

The villain in Disney’s mouselike retelling of Sherlock Holmes really takes the cake when it comes to evil villains. He is willing to kidnap a child to force her father to build his chosen weapon. He is trying to overthrow the British mouse government. He allows his pet cat to eat his followers. He’s voiced by Vincent Price. Sir Ratigan is the most evil of the Bronze Age villains.

Those are my rankings. How would you rank the victims of Disney’s Bronze Age of animation? Remember you can watch all of these films on Disney+.

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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