Cartoon villains frequently become fan-favorite characters, easily outpacing the heroes who defeat them in popularity. Something about a cartoon antagonist attracts attention, whether they’re hilarious or terrifying. However, some movies for kids introduce villains with far more intelligence than the audience might expect. Even if the character exists only in cartoons, their brilliance is impressive.
The average kid’s movie villain tends to be silly, rather than scary. Thereare plenty of exceptions, but the typical cartoon antagonist brings a comical scheme with bizarre stakes. They’re often defeated by the power of friendship, and they almost always sport personality traits that kids need to learn to avoid. Some, however, also bring a level of fierce intellect to the party.
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Syndrome -The Incredibles
Buddy Pine wanted nothing more than tobecome the Boy Wonderfor his favorite superhero. He didn’t have any powers, but he was a child prodigy with a cadre of useful inventions. The kid invented functioning rocket boots, granting himself the power of flight before he hit puberty. After his idol spurns him, he turns his considerable brain power to the task of establishing himself as a hero. Sure, he could’ve just used his technological superpowers and genius intellect to save people, but he didn’t want to become a hero. He wanted to become the only hero, earn billions, and erase heroes by leveling the playing field.Syndrome’s plan involves bringingdesperate heroes to an island and feeding them to a powerful machine, which grows more powerful with every kill. He’ll then sick the machines on the populace and sell the weapons necessary to save everyone. It’s brilliant, and perfectly in keeping with his character.
Shen -Kung-Fu Panda 2
Tai Lung might be the most visually compelling villain in this franchise, but Shen is clearly the smartest. It’s hard not to be impressed by the character that invented the cannon within the franchise’s canon. In theworld ofKung-Fu Panda, the use of gunpowder was restricted exclusively to fireworks. Lord Shen changed that, when, after years of labor alone in a cave, he invented the cannon. He’s basically the Iron Man of the era, but he’s also a descendant of royalty and an extremely rare leucistic peacock. Shen received a baleful prophecy when he was a child, being warned that he’ll be defeated by a warrior of black and white. Subsequently, he slaughters pandas by the millions. Shen leaves nothing to chance, and he has the genius to execute his plans.
Dr. Olivia Octavius -Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Across all adaptations of Marvel’s material,Doctor Otto Octavius isone of the most intelligent beings in the universe. He’s a brilliant inventor, an inspired career criminal, and an unstoppable force fueled by spite. In Miles Morales’s universe, she’s all of those things, along with the added feat of being genuinely charismatic. The Kingpin is the primary villain of the film, but Doc Ock is the brain of the operation. She invents the Super Collider that allows the disparate Spider-Folks to make their way onto Earth-1610. She also creates her trademark robotic arms, this time with a more tentacle-like design and added rotating blades that act like buzz-saws. What makes Liv most interesting is her scientific curiosity. When sheencounters Peter B. Parkerand discovers the effects of travel between dimensions, her impulse isn’t to destroy him, it’s to study him. Kingpin makes every battle personal, but Liv is a scientist first and a villain second.
Bellwether -Zootopia
The plot ofZootopiahas been picked apart in the six years since it came out, but Mayor Bellwether’s plan remains unassailable. Like most villains, she seeks power, but she doesn’t approach it in a typical way. Bellwether is prejudiced against predators, and she seeks to convince the rest of the world to believe what she does. To put her plan in real terms, she intends to drug members of species she doesn’t trust and use the resulting acts of violence as propaganda. She’s effectively staging false flag attacks, then uniting her people against the other classes. This is the kind of plot one could expect from a Tom Clancy villain but played out in a charming Disney film.
Megamind
What more need be said? Megamind isn’t always the villain of the film that bears his name, but he is depicted as one of the most intelligent characters in the Dreamworks universe. He lacks social skills, and he’s far too emotional, but Megamind is smart enough to get himself into nightmarish situations and get himself out. He’s got the power of Brainiac, the drive of Lex Luthor, the showmanship of Alice Cooper,and a meme empireshouting his brilliance. The enduring popularity of this 2010 sleeper hit speaks to its clever subversion of the superhero paradigm, but the film plays Megamind’s intelligence straight. He makes some mistakes, but Megamind is the brilliant villain turned-hero that the world needs.
