Anita Daaahhling!

Well, please excuse the unfortunately low concentration of posts on this website for the past few weeks, i've been busy! The Disney animated canon features a fantastic range of villains, and with the release of Maleficent impending, disney have announced the development of Cruella, a live action adaptation featuring Cruella De Vil. In this post i will be listing some of my favorite villains, why they too deserve a live action adaptation. Disney live action films have been troubled for the last few years, with The Lone Ranger and John Carter standing out as monumental failures, so disney turned to adaptations, adapting some of their most beloved animated classics to celluloid, such as Cinderella and Alice In Wonderland.

MALEFICENT: A film adaptation is already in post production, and Angelina Jolie seems perfect to play the iconic role. Maleficent truly embodies what it means to be a disney villain, she is driven, focused, iconic and menacing. Voiced by Eleanor Audley in the 1959 film she remains one of Disney's most visually inspired and daring characters. With pallid green skin and a long thin neck, like many disney villains she carries a staff and has a bird on her shoulder. The only thing that would make this character better would be if she breathed fire...oh wait.

CRUELLA DE VIL: Here is one of my favorites, a film adaptation is in development, with Glenn Close set to produce but not star in the film, as far as casting goes i personally would love to see Emma Thompson in the title role, she is a great actress and has the guts to committ to such a heavyweight role. Cruella DeVil is a fabulous villain, she has a great dress sense, and of course, like all iconic villains, a great catchphrase, she's also british which only sweetens the pot, and has a pretty awesome car. Giving Cruella a live action adaptation allows us to see further into her history and background, and gives us the opportunity to see some pretty great costumes
HADES: There is nothing actively in development for this character, but there should be, Hades is not only menacing and iconic, but also highly funny. Whats really stopping this character from coming to the big screen is the visuals, a grey man with a flaming head might not work on screen, but we'll see.

JAFAR: Here is a really underrated disney villain, visually iconic, and with an animal sidekick on his shoulder, Jafar uses a wry wit and sardonic humor that make him highly entertaining. He also manages to be physically menacing, like many disney villains he's tall and thin, and he holds a staff shaped like a snake, he even turns into a giant viper at one point and traps Jasmine in a giant hourglass. We know almost nothing about Jafar's backstory, and an adaptation would allow us to get to know him a little better.

CLAUDE FROLLO: Here is one of the only characters who actually makes any kind of political statement, the character of Frollo, whilst not explictly a judge, dresses rather like a priest, is based on a character who is an archdeacon and who seems to spend rather a long time at the cathedral. Frollo sees himself as effectively above the law, Frollo is a critique of religion and the role it plays in society, the way it makes us fear strangers and outcasts. Frollo is a truly compelling character and an adaptation of this character would really help us to understand his motives and his past.