Intro
In my Brother Bear post, I mentioned that there was a difference between an antagonist and a villain. In this blog post, I would like to go deeper into it, so I can give a good understanding of it for your story. Of course, we will be using Disney as an example, but not just one movie this time.
What Is The Difference?
Let's start with the obvious question about this topic. What actually is the difference between a villain and an antagonist. Both do get in the heroes way, so technically a villain is also an antagonist. Think the obvious old Disney villains like Scar, Jafar, Evil Queen, Maleficent etc. These are obvious villains who want to destroy the heroes life.
With an antagonist, things are a bit more complex. They are not villains. They don't want to ruin the heroes life and they don't want to hurt them. But their actions and character traits do hurt the hero. Most of the time by the end of the movie, a villain is defeated, but an antagonist learns from their mistakes and changes.
Writer's note: Sometimes, the antagonist maybe does not learn, but they have to live with the consequences of their actions if the hero has had enough and cuts them out of their lives. Maybe the antagonist becomes the villain by the end? Of course there are countless possibilities of how the story can go for them. There is no set ending for an antagonist, hero OR villain. These are just examples of existing pieces.
Examples Of Disney Antagonists
I will give some antagonist examples here for different Disney movies. Do note, these are my opinions. If you consider someone on this list a villain, no hard feelings. We all have different point of views about characters.
So, let's start going down the list of characters I consider to be Antagonists. I will try my best to explain why they are not villains in my eyes.
Men - Bambi
Not too much to go off, since they are barely in the movie and never seen, but I still want to give it some mention. Of course, the scene of Bambi calling out to his mother, who has been killed by the hunters is heartbreaking and one of Disney's saddest moment. But are they really villains for hunting in the wild? To them, it is just a normal hunting day. They didn't seek out Bambi to kill his mother. They didn't seek out Faline by the end of the movie. Hunting is sometimes necessary. With the little information we have, we assume that they are there ethically and therefore are antagonists. Would they be poachers or doing it for sports however, they would be villains. For example, Clayton from Tarzan IS a villain despite being a hunter too, because he is deliberately looking for the gorilla's, capturing them and wanting to earn money with them.
Amos Slade - Fox And The Hound
Another hunter, but a bit more personality. He bought Copper as a hunting dog. A dog that could follow his older dog Chief in his footsteps. Apart from the fact that the puppy has made friends with a literal fox (which he is taught to hunt), Copper keeps running away from home. That is the reason he was tied to his barrel. Not because he was playing with a fox, but because he kept walking away from home.
As for him shooting Tod when he was younger... That could probably be put at a misunderstanding. It isn't clear in the movie if he actually knows that copper is playing with Tod. He just calls out for him and Copper comes back. Then, hearing Chief bark and seeing him chase a fox... It would be natural to assume the fox was after his chickens, as he claimed to the old Widow.
By the end of the movie, he is actively trying to kill Tod, so in some way you could argue that makes him a villain. But he still cares and he has a heart. The only reason he wanted to kill Tod was because Chief got hurt in the chase. But when Copper steps in front of Tod and begs him not to kill him... He changes his mind and gives in. A villain would have gone through with it. A villain would have shot, but he didn't. He just gave in and told Copper that they were going home, leaving Tod alive and well.
In addition, we could count Copper as an antagonist near the end of the movie, because he is also chasing Tod.
Abuela - Encanto
This is a more obvious one. Abuela is not a villain who gets redeemed by the end of the movie, she has always been an antagonist. She loves her family, and she loves Mirabel even though she neglects her and seems to be more found of the others just because they have magic powers. She doesn't hate Mirabel, she is only worried about Casita, and remembering what happened to her and her husband all those years ago. To her, the gifts and the house are a part of her husband who sacrificed himself for his whole family. Mirabel's outburst made her realize her mistake, and she changed, trying to make things right.
Simba - Lion King 2
You might be thinking:The hero of one of the greatest movies of all time an antagonist in his second movie? But hear me out!
I have talked a little bit about this in my post about Simba's flawed character. In the second movie, he is definitely not perfect either. He is a good king, and he loves his daughter, but his trauma from the past is still with him. He is over protective over his daughter, in which he sees himself. Just as playful and reckless. He is so worried about her that he sends Timon and Pumba after her all the time. As a cub, that might be a normal thing to do. His mother also wouldn't let him go off with Nala without Zazu, probably because she knew they were not going where they said they were going. But when Kiara is a teen/young adult, he doesn't trust her either. She is supposed to go hunting alone for the first time. What does he do? Sending Timon and Pumba after her to make sure she stays out of trouble.
Only by the end when they are fighting the outsiders, Kiara manages to get through to him. He told her 'we are one' when she was younger. But she still has to be the one to remind her of his own lesson by the end. Simba learns she is strong enough to take care of herself and he doesn't always need to send someone after her.
King Triton - Little Mermaid
He has the same problem as Simba. He loves his daughters and he wants what is best for them. He is worried about Ariel's obsession about humans, because his wife was taken by humans. It's a valid reason to be afraid, but that is causing a problem. He destroys Ariel's treasures in anger when he realizes she has fallen in love with a human, pushing her to go to Ursula. By the end of the movie, he understands, and knows he needs to let her go, giving her back her human legs.
Conclusion
These are a few examples of an antagonist. I hope I made the case of what makes them not a villain, but feel free to ask me any questions. Are there any movies you consider to have an antagonist? Do you agree with the picks I made? Please let me know in the comments!
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