Here's Why The Villains Are Actually The Relatable Heroes Of Disney Movies

    "Being young and beautiful isn't a crime, you know."

    Sam Stryker
    by Sam Stryker

    BuzzFeed Staff

    If you're like me, you probably were raised on Disney movies (and if you're a '90s kid, you might even still be able to smell the VHS tapes). Growing up, we all wanted to be like the princes and princesses — to live in a shiny castle and to have a happy ending.

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    But we're adults now, and reality has set in. Taxes, the 9-to-5 grinds, a million "We should grab coffee sometime..." conversations — life is frickin' HARD. And you know what? Those happily ever afters don't seem so relatable anymore. In fact, it's actually the VILLAINS we should have been aspiring to be all along.

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    These are the villains that, upon further examination, made me go, "Wait a second, that's me as hell":

    1. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty

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    What you saw as a kid: Cursed a newborn baby in her first scene. Mistress of All Evil.

    What you see as an adult: Basically, Maleficent got pissed and cursed Aurora because she didn't get a party invite to her christening. TBH, I find that I'm usually more grateful to NOT be invited to things so I don't have to leave my house but Maleficent has EVERY right to be pissed. Everyone else in the kingdom nabbed an invite to the hottest royal event of the year, and she was left alone. Who's to blame her for having a serious case of FOMO and crashing the party?! Sure, cursing a baby is maybe not the best PR move but, we see you, Mal. We see you.

    2. Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove

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    What you saw as a kid: Kuzco's evil assistant who attempted to murder him but instead accidentally turned him into a llama.

    What you see as an adult: Here's the thing — Yzma didn't want to get rid of Kuzco because she wanted to rule his kingdom. She wanted him gone because he was a shitty boss who abused all of his employees. She was ON to something. She's every one of us who has ever had to deal with an incompetent boss who's driven us crazy beyond belief. Also, she got food stuck in her teeth at the most inopportune moments. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a relatable queen.

    3. Meredith Blake from The Parent Trap

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    What you saw as a kid: A gold digger who was trying to prevent Lindsay Lohan and British Lindsay Lohan's parents from reuniting.

    What you see as an adult: What we have here, ladies and gentleman, is a feminist icon. First and foremost, it's incredibly sexist to call Meredith a gold digger. At the young age of 26, she had a successful public relations career in a major metro area — she didn't NEED Nick Parker to support her. She had locked down a handsome, SINGLE man (seriously, late '90s Dennis Quaid is serving DILF realness) and then her life plans were thwarted because two elementary-aged kids wanted to see their parents live out their version of a happily ever after. Meredith Blake is the misunderstood HERO of The Parent Trap, and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

    4. Hades from Hercules

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    What you saw as a kid: Greek god who rules over the Underworld, wanted to destroy Hercules and Zeus so he could rule over Mt. Olympus.

    What you see as an adult: Hades is basically an extreme version of you watching all of those people you went to high school with post engagement photos and pictures. While all the other gods and goddesses are hanging out together celebrating the birth of Hercules with Zeus and Hera, Hades is stuck running things down in the Underworld. NOT COOL. I feel you, bb.

    5. Ursula from The Little Mermaid

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    What you saw as a kid: Evil sea witch who wanted to steal Ariel's voice so she could take over Triton's undersea kingdom.

    What you see as an adult: Ursula is basically just a small business owner trying to SECURE the bag. Sure, she might have to play a little dirty to do it — but I doubt any of you heathens reading this article are about to be sainted. We're all out here trying to make a living and do better for ourselves. Ursula was THAT girl.

    6. Mother Gothel from Tangled

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    What you saw as a kid: An evil stepmother figure who kept Rapunzel locked in a tower for her own nefarious purposes.

    What you see as an adult: I can't defend the whole kidnapping and imprisonment thing. HOWEVER, when you look at it, it's really just an elaborate skincare regimen — Mother Gothel just wants to preserve her youthful looks. As someone who has a pretty uncomplicated skincare regimen yet STILL has multiple moisturizers, masks, cleansers, and sunscreens that they have to use, I totally get where she's coming from!

    7. The Evil Queen from Sleeping Beauty

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    What you saw as a kid: An incredibly vain and jealous monarch who wanted Snow White out of the picture.

    What you see as an adult: The Evil Queen is evil, don't get me wrong — she wanted Snow White's heart delivered to her in some fancy Tupperware, which like, EW. But she's every adult ever who's tried to mind their own business, only to be thwarted by the #Youths. All she wanted to do was rule her kingdom in peace and look snatched as hell in the process. Instead, she had Snow White looking fine as hell right on her doorstep. We ALL get a little jealous sometimes, who are we to judge her for feeling a little petty!

    8. Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations

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    What you saw as a kid: A puppy murderer! Literally nothing worse in the world.

    What you see as an adult: In the age of Instagram, who among us HASN'T gone to extreme lengths to get the perfect outfit? Now none of us would go to the lengths she did, but basically Cruella was just another #OOTD crazed queen. She was just looking to feel her look, can we let her LIVE?! Also, she was a truly terrible driver and I connect with that on a whole different level. Totally relatable.

    9. Chernabog from Fantasia

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    What you saw as a kid: A demon from hell.

    What you see as an adult: Turns out being a demon sent from hell describes adulthood pretty damn well. Disney Wiki says his actions "are not committed in pursuit of any discernible goal other than general havoc–wreaking and tyranny on all." Sounds like me on an average Monday morning. TBH he sounds like the most relatable one of them all.

    So thank you, Disney Villains, for being relatable as heck. And to close things out here's a GIF of Yzma which is basically a MOOD and a half:

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