10 Disney Villains Who Were Just Misunderstood

DisneyIt's a necessary evil that Disney films have to create characters that exist in a black and white world in terms of morality. After all, despite the fact that they have fans of all ages, they are primarily made for children, who often lack the higher level thinking required to deal with the existence of moral gray areas. So they usually have a pretty binary system -- you're either a hero or villain, good or evil. But is that really fair? Some of the villains featured in Disney's films are far more complex than that. They're not so much evil villains as they are victims of circumstance, and if you take a few minutes to really think about them, you can feel sympathy or pity about the things that have happened to them in their life that led them to the stereotypical black hat role. Sure, there are some that are just plain monsters (Cruella DeVille, anyone?), but it's not always that simple. Sometimes we need to get out of our hating the villain mode, and just try to understand where they're coming from instead. We're not experts, but we think that this sort of holistic approach to conflict would dramatically reduce the number of people falling off cliffs (seriously, that happens a lot).

10. Maleficent Just Wanted To Feel Included

DisneySo here's the thing about Maleficent: all she really wanted was to be invited to a party. This entire film could have been resolved with a little bit of royal decorum. As a king and queen, you have certain responsibilities, and part of those involve making diplomatic choices about crown-sanctioned events. Don't like Maleficent? That's not really the issue. When you're the king celebrating the baptism of your first child, you have to invite everyone who matters to the celebration. When they invite all the other fairies to the party, but not Maleficent, they're slighting her in a very public manner. Imagine how you feel when all of your friends go out to dinner without you, and multiply it by a thousand. Can you really blame Maleficent for being offended? But you know what the worst part is? If Maleficent had been invited, you know she would have brought a really awesome gift for Aurora, none of this beauty and song rubbish. But instead, they chose to alienate one of the most powerful people in their kingdom, setting her up with a grudge against their daughter before she can even talk. Smooth move, king and queen. Aren't they supposed to have prime ministers or something to stop them from committing these kind of major faux pas? So anyway, in conclusion, Maleficent is just another would-be party guest feeling particularly hard done by. And we've all been there, right?