20 film villains who really weren’t baddies after all

Miranda Priestly had a job to do, and anyone who made that job more difficult or questioned her vision was rightfully reprimanded. Her monologue about the cerulean sweater lives rent-free in the minds of everyone who’s ever seen The Devil Wears Prada. Miranda deserved better. 

We would love to see a Beauty and the Beast film from Gaston’s perspective. He was simply a veteran trying to save a local woman captured by a literal beast. How was he supposed to know that Beast was a human under a spell? 

All of Snape’s actions were motivated by his love for Lily. He saved Harry’s life a number of times despite not being particularly fond of him. There are a lot of reasons not to like Snape, but calling him a villain isn’t accurate. 

Sure, Draco Malfoy is a bit of a bully, but there’s a big difference between a bully and a villain. Draco showed himself to be different from his family on multiple occasions, and ultimately, he became a good husband and father, which is impossible for a true villain. 

Javert was another man who was just trying to do his job. Was he a little obsessed with Jean Valjean? Sure. But who among us hasn’t become irate when someone routinely questioned our authority? And Javert paid the price for his obsession. There’s no need to rag on him now. 

Anyone with a shred of sibling loyalty would want revenge on the woman who killed their sister, especially if said death was by way of a house falling on top of them. To make matters worse, Dorothy stole the Wicked Witch of the East’s shoes. The Wicked Witch of the West had every right to be upset with Dorothy. 

It is truly wild to villainize someone for simply doing their job, but we find once again that it happened with Ed Rooney. High school does its best to convince students that several things are going to matter in adulthood, but one thing that actually does matter when holding a job is attendance. Rooney was just trying to get Ferris to understand an important life lesson. 

In the story of Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph is the protagonist. But in his video game, he’s a villain. But the entire film is proof that sometimes people’s actions are motivated by what they think they’re supposed to be doing, and everybody is capable of redemption and change. 

The Barbie movie finally recognized a universal experience of anyone who’s played with dolls: at least one doll gets destroyed by its owner. Sid was a normal kid playing with his dolls in a way millions of other normal kids have. 

Sharpay worked hard to become the top musical theater student at her school. She had a lot of competition! Of course, she wouldn’t want two people who seemingly only care about basketball and science to steal her spotlight. She was a diva, sure, but she wasn’t a villain. 

Even though absolutely none of the cast could pass for the age of their characters, it’s important to remember that Rizzo was just a teenager. She was literally in high school. She might’ve been a bully to Sandy, but she wasn’t a villain. 

In Monsters, Inc., Randall is a villain actively involved with his evil boss’ plot. However, in the prequel, Randall is just a college kid with untapped scaring potential — seizing opportunities as they come. His actions are totally understandable. 

As Meredith Blake said herself in The Parent Trap, being young and beautiful isn’t a crime. Meredith was just trying to find love in a wealthy man. And considering that her fiancé had another child he never even told her — or his daughter — about, Meredith wanting to send Hallie to boarding school isn’t all that evil.

The Baroness did absolutely nothing wrong in The Sound of Music. She pursued a single man and interacted with his children. Her only crime was not being Maria. Hopefully, the Baroness found love in another man with a stunning European villa. 

It was not right for the Grinch to steal the present of everyone in Whoville, but the Whos deserved it. Their commercialism had gotten out of hand, and many of them were guilty of being genuinely cruel to someone who looked a little different. They needed a wake-up call. 

You already know what we’re about to say: Benny was just trying to do his job. He let his friends skip their rent payments for a very, very long time. They would’ve been evicted long ago if their landlord had not been their friend. 

Syndrome’s whole deal was an elaborate plan to gain attention from and prove himself to someone who dismissed him long ago. It might not have been the healthiest way to go about it, but he felt he had no other choice. Mr. Incredible needed to be reminded of the importance of kindness. 

Dennis didn’t earn his nickname for no reason. Mr. Wilson was just trying to enjoy his retirement, and Dennis did everything in his power to make that difficult for him. Yes, Dennis is just a kid, but it’s never too early to learn to be considerate of others. 

Miranda Hillard had every right to be upset with Daniel. He did make irresponsible decisions, namely pretending to be a housekeeper to sneak back into his house. No matter how pure his motives were, it was a crazy thing to do.

One last reminder that many movie villains are portrayed as villains for simply doing their jobs. Mr. Hector had every right to call out Kevin for stealing a credit card to pay for his stay. Kevin was definitely clever, but it would have been far more responsible to tell someone at the airport that he had been separated from his parents instead of coaxing a hotel staff for accommodations.