Disney villains aren't very liked by fans, but there may be more to their story than meets the eye. In fact, it could be said that some were just plain misunderstood. Every Disney character has a story to tell that explains their personality and behavior, including the villains. But the audience often thinks that the "bad guy" is simply pure evil, heartless, and ultimately deserves the worst fate coming to them.

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Take Maleficent, for example, she is considered to be the worst of the fairy sisters who is just bent on making people's lives miserable. But there is more to these villains backstories and viewers may have gotten the wrong idea.

Ursula - The Little Mermaid

Animated Ursula and Ariel in The Little Mermaid

In the Disney animated film, The Little Mermaid, Ariel is a loved character who is tricked and sabotaged by the seemingly evil sea witch, Ursula. Yet, how did Ursula come to be such a loathsome and sinister sea creature? Ursula was supposed to rule the underwater kingdom, along with King Triton, but instead was banished, so she remained resentful ever since.

Her evil-doings were against merfolk whom she felt deserved punishment. Ursula may have been a schemer and a trickster, but fans may remember that she only enticed Ariel, she never forced her hand. In the end, Ariel had her own will and decided her own fate and Ursula took advantage of an opportunity.

Gaston - Beauty And The Beast

Disney's Beauty and the Beast is a classic that has stayed popular due to its unique story and memorable music composition. Gaston is the character who got a bad rep and was deemed the villain in this film. So what did he really do? He attempted every means to get the girl he egotistically thought he deserved and then hunted down a beast who had her trapped in an old castle.

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Belle's father ranted about an evil and monstrous beast that would strike fear in anyone's heart and Belle returned love-struck to an animalistic beast-man who had kidnapped her. Could it be that with his limited knowledge, Gaston was simply a brave but egocentric hunter trying to eliminate a threat to his village?

Shere Khan - The Jungle Book

Shere Khan skulks through the jungle in The Jungle Book

In the story of The Jungle Book, animal characters play a huge role in the adaption of the story. Shere Khan is a dominating tiger who cannot stand humans for all of the terrible things they have done. But there is a thin line between pure evil and being misunderstood and this villain might not be as bad as fans think.

Although the film makes him a relentless and sly villain who tries to kill the human cub, Mowgli, there is no avoiding the dark truth that humans are the reason for deforestation, environmental degeneration, and animal extinction and endangerment. Looking at it this way, it's clear Shere Khan had a just cause.

Lady Tremaine - Cinderella

Depicted as the vile stepmother who turned Cinderella's world upside down and subjected her to a home life of servitude, Lady Tremaine had her own plights that make her more human than viewers think.

She was from a higher class in society and became a widow after her wealthy husband died. In the male-dominant world that she existed in, she had no choice but to remarry for the sake of her two daughters and their future. As it turns out, her next husband also died, leaving her in huge debt and misery. Due to tragedy after tragedy, she had to become cut-throat in order to survive.

Captain Hook - Peter Pan

Captain Hook from Disney's Peter Pan

The story of Peter Pan has quite a few interesting details, along with some sad character backgrounds that make the story all the more intriguing. Captain Hook is a villain who demands the death of Peter Pan because he hates him with a desperate passion. Even his crew is fed up.

Captain Hook is depicted as a true sailor who prides himself on his nobility and gentleman-like manners, but he harbors a hot-tempered, low-patience demeanor which causes some unfortunate circumstances. So what's the big vendetta all about? Peter Pan, the troublemaker, cut off his hand and fed it to the crocs. That is definitely a means for revenge.

Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty

Maleficent holding her staff

For anyone who has ever been left out for being different, here a story that is relatable. Maleficent is a fairy sister who did not conform to normal fairy ways. Apart from this, she suffered a traumatizing heartbreak that would make any woman bitter. In Disney's Sleeping Beauty, the king and queen do not invite Maleficent to the christening of their daughter, Aurora.

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Maleficent crashes the party in a big way and after being told she was not wanted, she places a curse on the baby. All of the fairies gave gifts to the baby princess, it's only reasonable to assume that telling a fairy to go away because she wasn't wanted would cause her gift to be a hex.

Scar - The Lion King

In The Lion King, Mufasa's brother Scar is weak and an outcast, rejected by the pride. The backstory is that his real name was Taka, which in Swahili can mean "garbage." He was a devious cub who wanted the throne from his brother, but he was too frail and did not have the physical capability to be king.

His only hope to rule would be his position as next in line to the throne, but the birth of Simba ruined that, too. He was just doomed to misfortune since birth and was trying any trick up his sleeve to get recognition.

Syndrome - The Incredibles

In the Disney release, The Incrediblesa young boy is a super fan of Mr. Incredible. He is so star-struck by him that he stalks him and follows him everywhere trying to "help," but ends up always getting in the way or causing bad situations to escalate.

That little boy grows up to become a super-villain named Syndrome and his real target is the super-hero who rejected him. Syndrome is a villain with some serious attachment issues gone wrong. It may not be entirely his fault that he was pushed away by his favorite hero as a child.

Yzma - The Emporer's New Groove

In the 2000 film, The Emperor's New Groove, the character of Yzma is the villain that wants emperor Kuzco dead so she can take the throne. The motive behind this the lack of appreciation she feels for her service to the empire, even before Kuzco's birth. Kuzco is much-feared and despised by anyone around him because of his lack of empathy and his spoiled and rude demeanor.

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As she is dealing with small village matters, self-absorbed Kuzco suddenly fires her in a very careless manner and expects no retaliation. Vengeful Yzma devices a plan to get rid of Kuzco.

Hades - Hercules

Hades from Hercules

Disney released Hercules in 1997, with Hades as the villain, the Greek god of the underworld, and his little henchmen. Hades always set his sights on overthrowing Zeus and ruling over Mount Olympus.

The chip on his shoulder came from the unfortunate task of looking after the dead and being stuck in the underworld forevermore. He disliked this job and didn't think he should be the only God subjected to such a burden. So he devised a plan to punish the God's for treating him so unfavorably.

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