Appeared in: Sleeping Beauty (1959) Let's get the obvious one out the way first. While she was once the most formidable of Disney villains, Sleeping Beauty's nemesis the evil fairy Maleficent was turned into the protagonist of the recent live-action movie starring Angelina Jolie. However, even before that film Maleficent was still the character to side with. First and foremost, she is simply the coolest Disney villain, with her iconic character design and ability to transform into a fire-breathing dragon (an ability the later film sadly robbed her of). With Aurora being far from the feisty princesses of today's Disney films, relying completely on bland Prince Phillip to save her, the one who wants to kill them both, Maleficent, is clearly the character to root for. And, though her reaction may have been a bit over-the-top, her frustration at being uninvited to Aurora's christening is fair enough - no one likes feeling left out. If there was a fight between Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent and Angelina Jolie's, the former would surely win.
