Drumpe
10 Best Live-Action Family Movie Villains of All Time, Ranked
By Staff
Dec 8, 2023
Family movies have proven themselves to be some of the most immediately recognizable and memorable films for audiences of all ages, continuing to stay relevant and iconic well after we grow up. One specific aspect of many of these movies that has continued to make them endlessly iconic and rewatchable is their magnificent and original villains. While it may initially seem difficult to create an entertaining or engaging villain that’s limited by the confines of being for all audiences, the greatest villains find ways to stay memorable and iconic despite these limitations.
Some of the greatest villains in cinematic history can find their roots back in family movies, as their simplistic motives and high energy can make them that much more entertaining to watch on-screen. While many great family movie villains can be found in various animated family movies, live-action family movies also have their share of massively influential and iconic villains to call their own.
10 Agatha Trunchbull
‘Matilda’ (1996)
Portrayed by Pam Ferris, Agatha Trunchbull is the incredibly strict and uncaring headmaster of the elementary school that Matilda attends in the Roald Dahl adaptation Matilda. She is defined by the frightening wrath that she holds towards the students of her school, treating them much like the dirt under her boots rather than as actual human beings. She uses her massive strength and previous experience as an Olympic hammer thrower to inflict her harsh rules and wrath upon the students and abuse her power position to push everyone around below her.
Roald Dahl adaptations have always been home to a myriad of iconic characters and villains, but few are as immediately impactful and impression-worthy as the initial portrayal of The Trunchbull. A major part of what has made the character so memorable over the years is the amazingly comedic and intimidating performance from Ferris, who perfectly leans into the madness of the character. While the character recently had another portrayal in Matilda: The Musical by Emma Thompson, it’s difficult to follow up on one of the most iconic villain performances of the 90s.
Matilda
Release Date
August 2, 1996
Director
Danny DeVito
Cast
Mara Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris, Paul Reubens
Rating
PG
Runtime
98
Watch on Netflix
9 Jareth
‘Labyrinth’ (1986)
Jareth, the Goblin King in Labyrinth.
Played by the late great David Bowie, Jareth is a Goblin King who is summoned by everyday teen Sarah in the Jim Henson-directed movie, Labyrinth. He soon takes away Sarah’s little brother Toby, giving her only thirteen hours to solve his mysterious labyrinth and defeat him in his mystical otherworldly castle. Labyrinth is easily one of the most well-remembered and iconic family movies of the 80s, with a great deal of the film’s legacy and iconic status coming thanks in part to Jareth.
Jareth steals the show in nearly every scene that he’s a part of. With his extravagant costumes and magical demeanor, he sets himself apart easily as one of the most memorable villains of the era. Even though he isn’t even technically the main character of the movie, it’s hard to even think about Labyrinth without thinking of Bowie’s iconic performance as Jareth, who is easily the most memorable part of the film. Moments such as his amazingly corny musical number just further cement his iconic status as the major selling point of one of the 80s best movies.
Labyrinth
Release Date
June 27, 1986
Director
Jim Henson
Cast
David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson, Christopher Malcolm, Natalie Finland
Rating
PG
Runtime
101 minutes
Rent on Prime Video
8 Count Olaf
‘Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events’ (2004)
Jim Carrey as Count Olaf
Count Olaf is the primary antagonist of the Nickelodeon movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which follows the story of three newly orphaned children who are sent to be under Olaf’s care. Olaf soon quickly hatches a scheme to kill the children in order to seize the fortune left behind by their parents, creating a wild and ever-expanding goose chase between the children and Olaf. Olaf employs a number of conniving tactics in order to get closer to the children as they move from caregiver to caregiver, including a wide array of elaborate disguises.
It’s difficult for such a vibrant and animated actor as Jim Carrey to not steal the show with a stand-out performance, yet the story and setup of A Series of Unfortunate Events lends itself perfectly to Carrey’s signature acting style. Olaf thrives and revels in the world of theater and the extravagance of performances, with his wild and zany yet conniving and heartless demeanor coming through perfectly in Carrey’s performance. The character would also get another exciting and highly effective portrayal from Neil Patrick Harris when the story was adapted into a Netflix series.
Watch on Prime Video
7 Fegan Floop
‘Spy Kids’ (2001)
Juni (Daryl Sabara) and Floop (Alan Cumming) in Spy Kids (2001)
Played by the impeccable Alan Cumming, Fegan Floop is a children’s tv show host whose variety of childish creatures on his show are actually mutated and transformed secret agents being held prisoner on his island. It soon becomes up to the Cortez family of spies in order to take down his mysterious reign of terror in the first Spy Kids film. However, by the end of the movie, Floop has a change of heart as he only wants to make the greatest kids’ show possible, and gives up on his evil ways in the film’s finale.
While acting as one of the few villains to have their own redemption arc, Floop is still incredibly iconic for his unmistakable villainy throughout the first film. Cumming does a great job at bringing this children’s entertainer turned evil, bringing a great mixture of sadistic pleasure and childlike wonder to make for an iconic family movie villain. While the Spy Kids franchise would continue to have a number of great villains in the subsequent films, none of them hold a candle to the series’ first iconic villain.
Spy Kids
Release Date
March 30, 2001
Director
Robert Rodriguez
Cast
Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming, Teri Hatcher, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Robert Patrick,
Tony Shalhoub, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara
Rating
PG
Runtime
88
Watch on Netflix
6 Phoenix Buchanan
‘Paddington 2’ (2017)
Paddington 2 Hugh Grant
The signature villain of one of the best modern family movies, Phoenix Buchanan from Paddington 2 is a now D-list actor who is in search of a famous pop-up book to continue his grandfather’s legacy. In order to achieve his seemingly simple goal, he commits a number of absurdly evil acts, including a great deal of bribery, robbery, and getting Paddington framed for his crimes and sending him to jail.
There are many different reasons that can be cited for the massive support and legacy that Paddington 2 has surmounted in recent years, and Phoenix Buchanan’s role as the villain is just one of many pieces to the puzzle. Thanks to the iconic villainous performance from Hugh Grant, Phoenix revels in his cartoonishly evil and conniving ways in a tone and style that fits perfectly with the quaint and quirky world of Paddington. The true highlight of his character is the finale, in which he performs an amazing choreographed musical number in his new home in jail.
Paddington 2
Release Date
November 9, 2017
Director
Paul King
Cast
Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Ben Whishaw, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Sally Hawkins
Rating
PG
Runtime
103
Watch on Max
5 Dr. Robotnik
‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ (2020)
Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik
Adapted from the iconic family video game franchise, Dr. Robotnik is the main villain of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and uses his broad and versatile robot army in order to conduct research and do dastardly schemes. He has a massive power fantasy and is always on the search for something that will grant him massive amounts of power so that he can rule the world. In the first film, this comes in the form of the powerful energy emitted from Sonic and his quills, and in the second movie, the magical and all-powerful energy of the chaos emeralds.
Jim Carrey continues his streak of playing iconic over-the-top villains in children’s movies with one of his latest and greatest performances in recent memory. Combining the positive attributes of the character from the games with his own signature style, Carrey reinvents the character for new audiences to become one of the stand-out aspects of the series of films. While it seems unlikely that he would return for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3, he’s already surmounted a powerful legacy as a near-perfect adaptation of the character to the medium of film.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Release Date
February 12, 2020
Director
Jeff Fowler
Cast
Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Neal McDonough, Tika Sumpter, Ben Schwartz, Adam Pally
Rating
PG
Runtime
99
Watch on Paramount+
4 The Fratellis
‘The Goonies’ (1985)
The Fratellis are a notorious family of Italian criminals from The Goonies that, after having escaped from prison, are in hiding and conducting numerous illegal schemes and plots to wind up rich. Run by the ruthless Mama Fratelli, they strike fear into the hearts of numerous characters, as the main cast, unfortunately, discovers their hiding place while on the search for the legendary treasure. However, their undoing would eventually be caused by a member of their own family, the lovable outcast who is often tormented by his own family, Sloth.
The Goonies has gone down as one of the most iconic 80s movies of all time, and while many aspects can be attributed to this, the true terror and intimidation factor of The Fratellis played a major part in keeping stakes high throughout the film. They are easily some of the most ruthless and cutthroat characters in family films, as they toe the line and commit a number of evil acts that wouldn’t be seen today, such as threatening a child with a blender. Their truly despicable nature makes them work extremely well as villains and makes it all the more satisfying when they are defeated in the end.
The Goonies
Release Date
June 7, 1985
Director
Richard Donner
Cast
Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton
Rating
PG
Runtime
114
Rent on Prime Video
3 The Sanderson Sisters
‘Hocus Pocus’ (1993)
Hocus Pocus
The trio at the center of one of the biggest cult classics of the 90s, The Sanderson Sisters are a trio of witches who are accidentally resurrected in Salem on Halloween after 300 years of slumber. Now that they have been unleashed upon the world once again, they take the opportunity to bring havoc and chaos upon the populous, bringing a reign of terror upon all those who come into contact with them. It soon becomes up to a group of kids in order to put an end to the sisters’ evil and return them to their eternal slumber.
Hocus Pocus has become one of the best and most iconic Halloween family movies of the modern era, thanks in part to the iconic and unforgettable villains at the center of the story. The Sanderson Sisters make for such electric and fun-to-watch villains that it’s difficult not to get wrapped up in the fun and wicked magic of their unforgettably fun schemes. Halloween is always a time for spooky fun villains, and The Sanderson Sisters have become icons for how to make great Halloween family villains.
Hocus Pocus
Release Date
July 16, 1993
Director
Kenny Ortega
Cast
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw
Rating
PG
Runtime
96
Watch on Disney+
2 Harry and Marv
‘Home Alone’ (1990)
The iconic villains from one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time, Harry and Marv are two incompetent low-level crooks who plan to rob the McCallister home while they are on vacation. However, their plans don’t go according to plan, as Kevin is left home for the season, leading to a comedic game of cat and mouse where Kevin uses any tactic possible to defend his house from the duo. Soon enough, their end goal goes beyond simply robbing the McCallister house, and they do everything that they can in their power to defeat Kevin.
Harry and Marv are nearly as iconic as Kevin himself when it comes to the lasting impact and legacy of Home Alone. It’s hard to have an amazing slapstick comedy without having a suitable victim of slapstick, and there are arguably no better subjects of modern slapstick humor than Harry and Marv. The multitude of painful and hilarious traps that the duo find themselves into confounds the mind itself, and continues to earn barrels of laughs over 30 years later. Even after the duo were soundly defeated in the original film, they returned for another round of mischievous chaos in the sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Home Alone
Release Date
November 16, 1990
Director
Chris Columbus
Cast
Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Roberts Blossom, Catherine O’Hara
Rating
PG
Runtime
103
Watch on Disney+
1 The Wicked Witch of the West
‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is one of the most iconic and recognizable villains not just from family movies and not just from movies in general but in all fiction. The iconic visual of the jet black cloak and hat with emerald green screen with the cackling laugh, army of flying monkeys, and absolute hatred and disdain for the hero has made her an icon for the ages. Especially as The Wizard of Oz continues to be one of the most iconic and recognized cinematic achievements of all time, The Wicked Witch continues to reign as a queen of villainy.
In terms of villain characters from the golden age of Hollywood, few have had the lasting legacy and continued recognizability as the Wicked Witch, a testament to how effective of a villain she plays in the story. The amazing performance from Margaret Hamilton can also be credited for the character’s lasting impact, as it’s hard to imagine the character without the iconic voice and stature that she gave the character. While many more amazing family movie villains will continue to come and engross the lives of audiences of all ages, none will reach the same levels of impact and legacy as the Wicked Witch.
The Wizard of Oz
Release Date
August 15, 1939
Director
Victor Fleming, Mervyn LeRoy, Richard Thorpe, King Vidor
Cast
Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke
Rating
G
Runtime
101
Watch on Max