Disney villains should be by default the face of evil. At least that's what we use to think as kids. However, aside from their often repellent looks and deviant goals, in some cases they can be bigger role models then the protagonists, and here are few examples of that:
The evil queen from the Snow White animated movie is indeed a vicious and simplified representation of evil and immorality. She’s striving to be the most beautiful women living and would do anything to get there. So, how on earth could she be a role model to anyone? Well, simply put, even though her motives are extremely shallow and her ways are Machiavellistic, she is the strongest female character in the movie. She obtained a great power, stayed focused on her goals and showed a thing that Snow White is missing from the beginning of the movie- ambition. Snow White is an inactive female character who apart from dancing with the animals makes only two decisions on her own- to run in the woods and eat the poisonous apple. I guess that I don’t have to remind you that the later almost got her killed.
Sleeping Beauty, the all famous princess with 16 minutes of screen time, is a naive child who does one thing right. That thing of course, is trying to run away from an older guy jumping from a bush behind her. On the other hand Maleficent, the saltiest of all the villains, was able to win over the whole kingdom with a single spell. Now that is what I call a strong female character. Having an evil laugh doesn't make you the villain, and dancing with animals doesn't make you a hero. That’s something all of the children that watch Disney movies should know. Maleficent is a rebellious witch who didn't like the system and she did all it took to bring down the existing king. If we look deeper into her motives, not only was she not invited to the party, but the guards threatened her with weapons when she bumbled in. I’m really glad that the new Angelina Jolie movie was made, because it shows how little the black and white cartoon characters had to change for villains to become protagonists.
Dr. Facilier is possibly one of the most charming Disney villains, from one of its latest animated movies- The Princess and the Frog. Being a voodoo master, the most immoral characteristic of his, apart from doing the black magic, is greed and lust for power. But isn't that what almost every character of Disney’s New Orleans wants? Tiana is ready to kiss a frog to become a princess; Naveen plans to marry a princess only for her money (because he recklessly spent the money his parents left him), while Charlotte makes a joke that she is going to marry prince’s younger brother when he grows up, of curse only for his title. Therefore all of the characters have more or less the same intentions. Furthermore, Dr. Facilier is the only one who on his way to glory helps a poor servant by making him rich and good looking.
No one could say who would be the better ruler- the villains or the heroes (because we usually don’t see the villains rule), but we sure can commend the ambition and courage of Disney villains to grab their goals. Let’s face it, some of the Disney protagonists were massive killers (ex. Mulan- who creates an avalanche, Mufasa- who eats some of his subordinates), while some of the Disney villains turned out to be very capable leaders (ex. Hans from Frozen). Let’s not forget that if there wasn't that big of a difference between the attractiveness of the protagonists and the antagonists it would be harder to conclude who is moral and who isn’t. In so many cases villains are the outcasts who search for power as a form of acceptance and the integration in the society. Sure, they are vicious, selfish and often ready to kill for their goals, but compared to some of the protagonist, they are the bright examples of self love and goal oriented life.