Disney's Greatest Villains
Encyclopedia
Disney's Greatest Villains was a one-hour television special that first aired on May 15, 1977 on The Wonderful World of Disney
. It was a somewhat updated version of 1956's Our Unsung Villains
, and was also used to feature Madame Medusa
, the villain in the then-upcoming Disney animated film The Rescuers
.
The program was hosted by Hans Conried
reprising his role as the The Slave of the Wicked Queen's Magic Mirror
from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
and other Disney specials. The Mirror explained the importance of villains, with most of his dialogue taken from Our Unsung Villains.
Clips from various Disney films were featured, with the Magic Mirror providing biased, yet humorous, commentary. Most of the Villains received a good-sized clip from their respective films, although some were featured in a very brief 30-second segments. One sidenote is that the music featured in Madame Medusa's segment would not be used in The Rescuers
.
Disney's Greatest Villains would be shown again in reruns, the last time being on the Vault Disney block of programming on the Disney Channel
. In 1983, portions of Disney's Greatest Villains were incorporated into the 90-minute special A Disney Halloween
. In the UK, it was released on video around the same time.
Disney anthology television series
The Walt Disney anthology television series refers to a television series which has been produced by the Walt Disney Company under several different titles from 1955 to 2008...
. It was a somewhat updated version of 1956's Our Unsung Villains
Our Unsung Villains
Our Unsung Villains was a one-hour television special that aired in 1956 as part of Walt Disney Presents. The program has Walt Disney handing over the hosting duties to the Magic Mirror, who promptly decides to do a show devoted to the Disney Villains...
, and was also used to feature Madame Medusa
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
, the villain in the then-upcoming Disney animated film The Rescuers
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
.
The program was hosted by Hans Conried
Hans Conried
Hans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
reprising his role as the The Slave of the Wicked Queen's Magic Mirror
Magic Mirror
Magic Mirror is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher which was first printed in January, 1946.It depicts a mirror standing vertically on wooden supports on a tiled surface. The perspective is looking down at an angle at the right hand side of the mirror. There is a sphere at each...
from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
and other Disney specials. The Mirror explained the importance of villains, with most of his dialogue taken from Our Unsung Villains.
Clips from various Disney films were featured, with the Magic Mirror providing biased, yet humorous, commentary. Most of the Villains received a good-sized clip from their respective films, although some were featured in a very brief 30-second segments. One sidenote is that the music featured in Madame Medusa's segment would not be used in The Rescuers
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
.
Disney's Greatest Villains would be shown again in reruns, the last time being on the Vault Disney block of programming on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. In 1983, portions of Disney's Greatest Villains were incorporated into the 90-minute special A Disney Halloween
A Disney Halloween
A Disney Halloween was a 90-minute Halloween-themed television special that included portions from both Disney's Halloween Treat and Disney's Greatest Villains featuring classic short cartoons and excerpts of various villains from Disney feature films...
. In the UK, it was released on video around the same time.
Featured Disney Villains in Order of Appearance
- Captain Hook - Peter PanPeter Pan (1953 film)Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO Pictures...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - The Evil Queen - Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
(19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Madam Mim - The Sword in the StoneThe Sword in the Stone (film)The Sword in the Stone is a 1963 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney and originally released to theaters on December 25, 1963...
(19631963 in filmThe year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
) - MaleficentMaleficentMaleficent is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Walt Disney's 1959 adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. She is the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil" who, after not being invited to the baby's christening, curses the infant Princess Aurora to "prick her finger on the spindle of a...
- Sleeping BeautySleeping Beauty (1959 film)Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - Lady Tremaine - CinderellaCinderella (1950 film)Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - Cruella DeVilCruella de VilCruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
- 101 DalmatiansOne Hundred and One DalmatiansOne Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith...
(19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - The Queen of Hearts - Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1951 film)Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Madame Medusa - The RescuersThe RescuersThe Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
(19771977 in filmThe year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
) - EdgarEdgarEdgar is a common name from Old English words ead + gar . Literally meaning "prosperity-spear" or "prosperous spearman." It may refer to:-Historical:...
- The AristocatsThe AristocatsThe Aristocats is a 1970 American animated feature produced and released by Walt Disney Productions in 1970 and stars Eva Gabor and Phil Harris, with Roddy Maude-Roxby as Edgar the butler, the villain of the story...
(19701970 in filmThe year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
) - Willie the Giant - Fun and Fancy FreeFun and Fancy FreeFun and Fancy Free is a 1947 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures on September 27, 1947. It was one of the "package films" that the studio produced in the 1940s...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - Shere Khan and Kaa - The Jungle BookThe Jungle Book (1967 film)The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released on October 18, 1967, it is the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was inspired by the stories about the feral child Mowgli from the book of the same name by...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
)
External Links
- Internet Movie Database listing: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0931734/
- CBS promo for Disney's Greatest Villains: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb7tvNXd3fE