Which Disney Villains are the greenest of them all? Heatable rules the leader board.
Disney villains may not be our favourite characters, but some of them sure know how to pinch pennies and live an eco-friendly life.
You may find yourself reminiscing on your childhood as you go through some of these villains. With the launch of Disney+, you can watch these long-loved movies once again.
This time, take note of how eco-friendly the villains are. You may think that since they are villains, they wouldn’t care about the earth, but there are some who are actually more sustainable than the good guys.
A common theme among these villains is the way they live in their homes. Most of them save on electricity by keeping their home dark cutting back on electricity use.
Another common theme you will notice is they often wear the same clothes and lack fashion, which means they aren’t contributing to the fast-fashion craze.
To see which villain was truly awful for the environment, Heatable analysed some of the most iconic villains to determine which one did the least harm to the environment. They received two points for every eco-friendly trait. Game on! Let's see who wins.
Which Disney Villain is Greenest of them all?
Our analysis reveals that the most eco-friendly villain was Lady Tremaine from Disney's Cinderella (1950) as she had a whopping 12 points.
She came in just ahead of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast (1991) who had 10 points. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (1959) came in at a close third place with 8 points.
Villains that were identified as the worst for the environment were Cruella De Ville from 101 Dalmatians (1996) awarded zero points making her the least eco-friendly.
Slightly greener was Ursula from The Little Mermaid (1989), who scored just 6 points and Governer Ratcliffe from Pocahontas (1995) with 7.
#1 - Lady Tremaine “the wicked stepmother”
Movie: Cinderella (1950)
This wicked stepmother dressed her stepdaughter in rags. While that is not how we would ever treat our own children, she definitely wins this award for not spending excess on clothes.
She even wore simple clothing herself, aside from fancy events.
Her heavy curtains may be a little creepy with a dark and dreary home, but that is considered eco-friendly to control the temperature and keep the cold out, plus keep the sun out on humid days.
The heavy curtains also helped with keeping light out.
The candle she often had provided extra warmth plus light.
She doesn’t drive, so she wins extra points.
Points: 12
#2 - Gaston
Movie: Beauty and the Beast (1991)
While Gaston is not a highly sought-after character, he certainly is highly sustainable.
He rides a horse everywhere he goes. His transportation does not cause any pollution.
He’s very self-sufficient.
With his socks full of holes, he doesn’t like to waste what is still working or wearable.
He’s definitely not into fashion, either so his simplicity adds to his eco-friendly manner.
His home is made of eco-friendly materials, and he keeps the light down in his home, so he’s not wasteful of electricity.
Points: 10
#3 - Maleficent
Movie: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Maleficent is the dark villain in this movie, but her actions are not harmful to the planet. She is highly eco-friendly.
She keeps her home mostly dark, which means she doesn’t waste electricity.
This villain carries around a single candle to provide light.
She keeps to herself and doesn’t rely on outside sources.
Points: 8
#4- Queen Grimhide
Movie: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Queen Grimhide uses a wicker basket to carry her apples. She doesn’t use plastic.
She is known to wear the same outfit over again, which means less waste on clothing.
Walking through the forest barefoot is another eco-friendly quality she is known for. She spends nothing on shoes.
She always walks instead of travelling by vehicle.
Points: 8
#5 - Mother Gothel
Movie: Tangled (2010)
She has retained her youth for hundreds of years through the healing properties of a magic, golden flower, which means she uses natural resources and doesn’t waste plastic bottles of products.
Her home is not made of eco-friendly materials, but she keeps it dark and doesn’t waste power.
She has simple attire.
Non-polluting transportation.
Points: 6
#6 - Dr. Facilier
Movie: Princess and the Frog (2009)
Dr. Facilier may be towards the bottom of the list, but his home is made from eco-friendly material, which means his home is highly sustainable.
His clothing doesn’t change much. It’s simple.
His transportation also shows sustainability in his living.
Points: 6
#7 - Hans
Movie: Frozen (2013)
While Hans is not highly sustainable like other villains, he is not too far off.
He keeps his home up with a minimal amount of lighting so he doesn’t waste electricity.
He wears the same clothing.
Eco-friendly travel.
Points: 6
#8 - Ursula
Movie: The Little Mermaid (1989)
Ursula is a bit like Hans, in terms of sustainability.
Her home materials and lighting are earth-friendly.
Her basic clothing style and win her points in this area.
Points: 4
#9 - Jafar
Movie: Aladdin (1992)
Jafar is not only miserable, but he is not so good when it comes to living sustainably. The only thing giving him points in his home.
The materials it is made out of are sustainable.
His home lighting saves on electricity.
Points: 4
#10- Governor Ratcliffe
Movie: Pocahontas (1995)
This villain is not so sustainable.
His lack of home lighting helps to save on energy.
His attire doesn’t change.
Points: 4
#11 -Cruella De Ville
Movie: 101 Dalmatians (1996)
This villain is far from eco-friendly. We struggled to find anything eco-friendly about her.
She’s an avid chain smoker, releasing significant amounts of CO2.
She drives everywhere and at speed.
She’s a vehement capitalist and loves fast fashion, changing outfits at every opportunity.
Her love of fur from endangered animals puts several ecosystems at risk.
Points: 0
Of course, these movies would not be too interesting if we consciously watched every single action the characters did that was eco-friendly, but we live in a time where sustainability is important.
It’s interesting to look back and see what traits they had. While we can’t change others’ habits, we can educate ourselves and live a bit more sustainably. If the villains can do it, so can we.
