Sometimes viewers just want to be entertained, and 2022 has seen no shortage of lighthearted movies that don't take themselves too seriously, from Thor: Love and Thunder to Minions: The Rise of Gru. However, even the lightest films can take some unexpectedly dark turns, especially by introducing a genuinely threatening villain.
A solid antagonist is one of the most important parts of almost any movie, driving the conflict and giving the heroes something to fight against. With that in mind, making the villain in a comedy or family movie as evil and scary as possible is a good way to tell the viewer that the conflict is still real, and the stakes are high.
One of the more memorable family films to come out of the 1960s, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a classic of the era that's perfect for viewers who want feelings of childlike wonder. However, as befitting a movie co-written by subversive children's author Roald Dahl, the movie has no trouble going dark, especially when the Child Catcher enters the picture.
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While Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's main antagonists, the Baron and Baroness, fit right into the silliness of the rest of the movie, their child-hating henchman is genuinely terrifying, with everything from his appearance to his evil deed of choice being the stuff a kid's nightmares are made of.
Galaxy Quest is a rare Star Trek parody that's just as good as the real thing, being both a hilarious send-up of the Trek cast and fandom and a genuinely well-done space adventure. The movie is filled to the brim with memorable characters, but one who doesn't get enough love is the alien warlord Sarris, portrayed by the late Robin Sachs.
In contrast to "Commander" Jason Nesmith and crew, or the comically naive Thermians, Sarris is a dead serious villain whose evil is played seriously throughout the movie. What really cements his monstrous cruelty is when he tries to exterminate the Thermians by suffocation, even saying that a quick death would be "too good" for them.
With an excellent comedic cast led by Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, Ghostbusters is heavy on laughs, but it also works as a dark fantasy movie about malevolent spirits. When the destruction diety Gozer and his minions show up, the movie has some genuine scares and a creepy atmosphere, while still remaining very funny.
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Zuul in particular is genuinely unsettling, with his deep voice and growling giving many an '80s kid nightmares, and Sigourney Weaver effectively sells Dana's terror when she's getting possessed. Even the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, as silly as he looks, is a creature of the uncanny valley whose movements, noises, and facial expressions make him quite disturbing.
Like many '80s movies about childhood friendship, The Goonies is a great choice for viewers looking for a fun adventure that will leave them feeling nostalgic for their own tween years. But someone expecting a pure kid's movie might be shocked by all the profanity, scary imagery, and legitimately threatening villains in the Fratelli family.
While the Fratellis certainly get their fair share of comedic moments as the story goes on, The Goonies never lets the audiences forget that they are dangerous criminals, with the scene where they kidnap Chunk being especially unsettling. Mama Fratelli is even more frightening than her sons, being a no-nonsense boss with actress Anne Ramsey's signature raspy voice.
Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame deals with more serious issues than their typical fare, but it still has plenty of levity from comic relief characters like the Gargoyles. However, whenever Frollo comes onscreen, the laughs stop dead, and the film jumps headlong into some of Disney's heaviest territory.
Frollo is a regular human being with no supernatural abilities, but his goal of exterminating an entire ethnic group makes him one of their most terrifying big bads, and his character flaws, like xenophobia, hypocrisy, and lust, are very human. It's this very darkness that makes Frollo so interesting, and some fans think Frollo deserves his own movie.
Following the dark and gritty Snyderverse, Shazam! is one of the DCEU's most comedic and lighthearted films, as well as their most family-friendly. But even with all of Billy Batson and Freddy Freeman's shenanigans, the movie knows to have them square off against a credible antagonist like Thaddeus Sivana, played to perfection by classic British baddie Mark Strong.
Sivana's backstory, involving harassment by his father and brother, and rejection by the wizard Shazam, gives him some sympathy points, but it doesn't make him any less evil, to the point that he murders his family without a second thought. His magical powers are also quite scary for younger viewers, showing director David Sandberg's horror roots.
Thor: Ragnarok was a radical change in direction after its two relatively serious predecessors, with Taika Waititi's signature style being well-suited to a fantasy comedy. The movie may have brought more jokes and lightened the tone, but when it came to the villain, Marvel knew that the end of Asgard called for someone who wouldn't mess around.
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Hela certainly fits the bill of a terrifying villain, with a lust for power, thirst for blood, and a complete lack of remorse for any of her victims, to the point of being willing to execute innocent people purely to punish Thor for not surrendering to her. She's also the first Thor antagonist to pose a serious physical threat to the title character, and their final battle is very suspenseful because of it.
Pixar is a studio well known for making movies with like heroes, and even some of their villains have sympathetic qualities, with Stinky Pete and Gabby Gabby being good examples. But for Toy Story 3, they pulled the ultimate bait-and-switch by making the seemingly kindly Lotso one of their most vile baddies, and an iron-fisted dictator who runs Sunnyside Daycare as a thinly-disguised dystopia.
Not only is Lotso easily the Toy Story franchise's most evil villain, being sadistic to his enemies and abusive to his supposed friends like Big Baby, he never takes a chance at redemption, even when the story sets one up. It's for these reasons that sites like Ranker rate him as Pixar's best villain, one with real bite in such a fun, heartwarming movie.
One of the pioneers of live-action/animation hybrids, Who Framed Roger Rabbit dazzled critics and audiences back in 1988 and became an instant classic, even inspiring a popular ride at Disneyland. People may love characters like Eddie Valiant and Jessica Rabbit, but one everyone remembers for the nightmares he gave them is Christopher Lloyd's Judge Doom.
There's something off about Doom from the moment he's introduced, with a creepy appearance and sinister vibe complementing his coldly serious villainy, but it's the climax that cements him as an icon. Seeing him reveal himself in an evil tone, complete with a terrifying high-pitched voice, is enough to make even the adults in the audience have trouble sleeping at night.
The Wizard of Oz is an all-time classic with universal appeal, celebrated by generations of fans who love following Dorothy and her companions down the Yellow Brick Road. But while the Land of Oz may be a great fictional movie setting, it has a darker side beneath the bright and colorful exterior, exemplified by the Wicked Witch of the West.
With her green skin, terrifying voice, and motivation that's both evil and petty, the Witch has been scaring both kids and adults for over eighty years in a way few movie villains have. Just when Dorothy thinks she's safe, like in Munchkin Land or the Emerald City, the Witch always lets her (and the audience) know that she's on her trail and will stop at nothing until she has the girl in her clutches.
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