4. The Wicked Witch Of The West - The Wizard Of Oz
Though it is still considered a family classic, The Wizard Of Oz carries a fundamentally dark thread in its story of escapism and fantasy, and The Wicked Witch, in all of her green-faced glory is one of cinemas pioneering villains. Her cackle, that visage, and the hunched-back are all elements that would become the hallmarks of cinematic villainy: she was an archetype who informed even the most unlikely of villains who followed her to screen. Her singular evil agenda is to fill Dorothy with regret, not only for her accidental killing of her sister, but also because of who she is at a more fundamental level: Dorothy represents the antithesis of everything the Witch represents, and as such she cannot be allowed to thrive. Her acolytes, a throng of flying monkeys, terrorise Dorothy and her pals, and the villain herself has no inclination to play fair, using her satellite simians to keep tabs on Kansas' most famous daughter. Her appeal was based on the fundamental universal fear that everyone
Gem Seddon
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Gem is a freelance writer, musician and librarian.
Her hobbies include: recreating movie death scenes from LEGO, concocting new types of bird suet cakes, walking on fresh snow and playing the glockenspiel - all at the same time.
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