I love villians

If you asked when I was 4 what my favorite movie was I would have said The Little Mermaid. If you'd asked me the same question at age 6 I would have said Beauty and the Beast. If you were to ask me that question now, at 22, I would without a doubt say Sleeping Beauty. This in itself is not all that surprising, we are perpetually finding new favorite movies all the time, but what you would find interesting is that it is not the heroines that make this movies so special for me but the villains.
I absolutely loved the idea that the villain was in fact Ariel’s very own aunt (if you don’t believe watch the DVD extras). There’s something so wicked about what she does but at the same time you want to know more; its very much like wondering what your crazy _____ (insert relation here) will say or do, you want to know so you can’t look away but at the same time you don’t want to know and really want to look away. As I am sitting here and typing this I am listening to the Little Mermaid soundtrack and it just occurred to me that in a way Ursula represents a very Victorian view of women:
Ariel: But without my voice, how can I...
Ursula: You'll have your looks... your pretty face... and don't underestimate the importance of "bo-dy lan-guage." Ha!
[singing]
Ursula: The men up there don't like a lot of blabber / They think a girl who gossips is a bore / Yes, on land it's much prefered / for ladies not to say a word / After all, dear, what is idle prattle for? / Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation / True gentlemen avoid it when they can / But they dote and swoon and fawn / On a lady who's withdrawn / It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man.

As far as Beauty and the Beast is concerned I don’t think that I could even begin to imagine the film without Gaston. He is so deliciously dim-witted, conniving and vain that you can’t help but to begrudgingly like him. In high school I was lucky enough to get to see the musical version on Broadway and I found that I began to like the character even more, mainly because of a song that I hadn’t heard before: Maison Des Lunes.



Every time I watch Sleeping Beauty I can't help but love Maleficent. It has nothing at all to do with her actions, the allure is in her words. This is my favorite part of the entire movie and one that I can quote nearly verbatum: