Beyond Blue Sky: Wicked Kingdoms

One oft-repeated wish in the Disney theme park fandom is for some permanent attraction based on the Disney Villains brand. A Villains ride, or a Villains land (often envisioned as an offshoot of Fantasyland)...sometimes even an entire Villains park, with themed areas based around individual members of the brand.

On the whole, the conceit seems to be the result of Disney's own relentless trend toward character branding running smack into the young adult taste for the dark and edgy. Most Disney animation showcases pretty black-and-white morality, and if the good guys come across as unappealingly twee (as they often do, thanks to child-oriented marketing efforts), there's only one place left to go.

To be honest, I don't think a Villains-themed area, ride, or park would really work. Disney Villains is very much like Disney Princess—a marketing brand that involves characters from several different movies but keeps them rigorously separated instead of allowing true crossover interaction. With Disney's theme parks in thrall to its branded IPs, I can't see the Imagineers being allowed to do anything really satisfying with the concept. Something like Princess Fantasy Faire squeaks by because its target audience is fairly undiscriminating about these things. I doubt the fans wishing for a Villains attraction would be content with a collection of meet-and-greet spots.

On the other hand, there's all kinds of fun to be had with layering the Villains on top of what's already there. “The Villains take over” is the plot bunny for a hundred and two Disney fanfics (including part of my own Crowns of the Kingdom as well as my flight of fancy about the ultimate Disneyland-based video game), but few people (myself included) really explore the potential. Disney itself rarely goes farther than the odd Halloween event, wherein the takeover seems limited to a particular live entertainment location and is quickly defeated. I'm thinking it could be fun to examine the possibilities if the Villains really did take over Disneyland and parcel it out amongst themselves.

Actually, let's make that both parks, maybe even the entire Disneyland Resort. There are a lot of Villains, after all—even considering only those from the Disney Animated Canon—and one of their qualifying traits is that they don't play well with others. They need a lot of territory to avoid getting up in each other's business and fracturing the whole coalition.

For this bit of spitballing, I'll be deviating from my usual practice of examining the themed lands in map order: Main Street, Adventureland, etc. An awful lot here hinges on what goes on at the epicenter of Villain activity: Fantasyland.

As a final note before we dive in, Disney's last few movies have surprised audiences (or not, depending upon how shrewd they are as viewers...no comment on my end) with the identity of the real Villain. So SPOILER WARNINGS apply to the rest of this post!

Fantasyland

By far the greatest concentration of Disney's theatrical animated IPs can be found here, especially those in the fairy tale oeuvre that tend to produce the most memorable Villains. However, it's not as simple as each ride associated with a movie being taken over by the Villain of said movie.

As the de facto chief of the Disney Villains, the Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) lays claim to the Fantasyland Courtyard, and allows other magic-using Villains—the most valuable supporters, in her estimation—their own territories in this choice area. This restriction pushes out certain Villains who would otherwise set up here, forcing them to find holdings elsewhere. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty), her effective second-in-command/enforcer, occupies the Castle. Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone) takes the Carrousel. Hades (Hercules) feels at home in the Hell scene of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Jafar (Aladdin) appreciates the oasis-like terrain of Neverland in Peter Pan's Flight. The theatrical and carnivalesque scenes of Pinocchio's Daring Journey appeal to Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove).

Gothel (Tangled) is not a sorceress per se, but the Queen recognizes her as a kindred spirit and takes her on as a lady-in-waiting. That just leaves Ursula and Dr. Facilier, who find they are more comfortable in...other places.

But that's just the Courtyard. Fantasyland is a large and multi-faceted place, and plenty of Villains without magical powers can nonetheless claim “legitimate” ownership of parts of it. The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland) stakes out the entire Wonderland “mini-district” as her domain. The miniature sets of Storybook Land are just the right size for Professor Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective) and his gang. The Matterhorn makes a tempting prize, but only Shan Yu (Mulan) can tough out its extreme climate and monster-in-residence.

However, there are parts of Fantasyland the Villains leave alone. The Dumbo attractions just don't have much to offer (and the film Dumbo lacks a real Villain to covet them), and as for “it's a small world”...it radiates innocence and good-will in concentrations far too strong for any truly wicked character to withstand.

New Orleans Square

This is naturally Dr. Facilier's (The Princess and the Frog) territory...at least the parts within the berm. So like his hometown, and popular enough with guests to bring him plenty of “lost souls” to dupe and enchant. The major attractions tend to fall outside his forte, however. Captain Hook (Peter Pan), forced out of his natural milieu by the Evil Queen's favoritism toward sorcerers, gravitates instead to Pirates of the Caribbean, along with the alien scallywags of Treasure Planet. The Horned King (The Black Cauldron) stalks the Haunted Mansion, trying to bring the ghosts under his control.

Adventureland

This area is the site of a war between two diametrically opposed factions: Hunters and Quarry. Tellingly, however, both groups believe their own side to be the Hunters. It would be more accurate to label them Humans and Wild Animals. The ringleaders are Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) and Clayton (Tarzan) on the Human side, and Shere Khan (The Jungle Book) and Scar (The Lion King) on the Wild Animals side, with a smattering of less noteworthy Villains filling out the ranks of both. In a contest of gun vs. fang, no one dares to be caught in the middle!

Critter Country

Brer Fox and Brer Bear (Song of the South) have obviously taken over Splash Mountain, while the Heffalumps and Woozles (The Many Adventres of Winnie The Pooh) cast a dark cloud over the Winnie The Pooh side of the area (or maybe they don't...it's hard to tell whether they're bad or not or maybe just a bad dream). But the real one to watch out for here is Dawn Bellwether (Zootopia), who gleefully riles up half of the Critter community against the other half in order to cement her own status!

Frontierland

There aren't many Villains at home in a Western-inspired setting...which gives the few that are here plenty of space to call their own. There's no Pocahontas attraction, but Governor Ratcliffe heard there was gold in Big Thunder Mountain and immediately moved in. Most of the rest of the land falls under the sway of Alameda Slim (Home on the Range), for familiarity's sake if nothing else (especially since there are no live cows here anymore).

The most surprising Villain to make Frontierland his home is Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Recognizing evil in everyone except himself, he roundly denounces the rest of them and takes refuge on Tom Sawyer Island, which is especially isolated during this long period of construction.

Tomorrowland

Likewise, only a few Villains really take to Tomorrowland as their domain. It's pretty hard to compete with the Sith...

Commander Rourke (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) may not be a fan of this new-fangled future stuff, but he knows his way around submarines. He claims the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage as his own, and secretly schemes to expand his territory and thus his share of the Disneyland profits.

Captain Gantu (Lilo and Stitch) thinks the rest of Tomorrowland is his to patrol (and ruthlessly ferret out “abominations”), but what he doesn't know is that his domain is actually Ground Zero for an insidious infiltration! Turbo/King Candy (Wreck-It Ralph) has slunk into the area's computer systems and is gradually expanding his influence over the network for the entire park!

Mickey's Toontown

Even Mickey Mouse's own home isn't safe from the Villain incursion. Pete (Mickey Mouse shorts) has installed himself as the swaggering head of the Neighborhood area, with Mortimer Mouse as the traditional bully's sidekick. Meanwhile, the Downtown area is entirely under the control of the Weasels (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), and there is a rumor that they still take their marching orders from Judge Doom himself...

Main Street, USA

And at last we come to the area that would usually be first on the list: Main Street. Its prosaic theming keeps it beneath consideration for the majority of Villains, who tend to be quite flamboyant and extreme. It has become the base of operations for a handful of nasties who lack the oomph to make it elsewhere or simply are not interested in Villain politics. Lady Tremaine and her daughters (Cinderella) have adapted the Main Street Opera House and Disney Gallery into a fashionable dwelling space. Si and Am (Lady and the Tramp) join the family, cadging food from Lucifer's bowl and terrorizing the sparrow population. Edgar (The Aristocats) has found lodgings in the downstairs portion of the Firehouse. Bowler Hat Guy (Meet the Robinsons) slinks up and down the street all day, bunking at night in the Main Street Cinema where vaudevillian characters like himself belong.

California Adventure

This park has much less in the way of Disney movie themes, and only a handful of Villains have moved in. Things may eventually become more equal if the Villains at Disneyland start getting on each other's nerves, but for now...

Bill Sykes (Oliver & Company) has found a nice out-of-the-way spot in Hollywood Land to function as an office. It's the closest thing to a functional city in either park.

The Coachman (Pinocchio) and Ursula (The Little Mermaid) jointly rule over Paradise Pier. The amusement park attractions on the land area are similar enough to Pleasure Island to satisfy the Coachman, who was denied his associated attraction due to the Evil Queen's politics.* This leaves the water—Paradise Pier Lagoon, the largest continuous body of water in the Disneyland Resort—for Ursula.

Youkai (Big Hero 6) finds the San Francisco-esque street area of The Golden State just familiar enough to live in, and the empty building spaces behind the façades make excellent storage areas for his new stocks of microbots.

Other

You may have noticed by now that at least one very well promoted Villain has been absent from this rundown: Cruella DeVil (101 Dalmatians). She and Madam Medusa (The Rescuers)—two highly materialistic women—have laid their claim on Downtown Disney, where they can rake in the retail profits while enjoying some of the more upscale merchandise themselves.

Prince Hans (Frozen) opportunistically wanders the Resort, looking for schemes he can get in on...or take command of. In the meantime, he lives it up in the hotels.

Finally, one Villain emerges only at night: Chernabog (Fantasia). Technically he manifests on the peak of the Matterhorn (Shan Yu hunkers down and puts up with it), from which position he can see the entire Resort and cast his shadow anywhere he desires. Even the other Villains fear him, but see his presence as an unavoidable side effect of their conquest.

Okay, enough playing around. Was it at least fun to read? I welcome your ideas about Villain activity in the Disneyland Resort, especially those areas and characters that I left out!

* There's a decently supported theory in the Disney fandom that the Coachman is actually a supernatural being (such as the Devil) in a human disguise, who would thus be included in the Queen's cadre of sorcerers. However, he doesn't overtly evince any magical powers and in any case is not usually considered one of the prominent Villains, so for my purposes, he is passed over for membership.