"Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," 1937 As the first animated villain in Disney history, the Evil Queen sets a prototype for all villains down the road. Her drive comes from the need to be "the fairest of them all," as she falls second to Snow White's pure, natural look.
To trick Snow White, the Evil Queen transforms herself into a grotesque old crone. The transformed version of the queen displays her inner wickedness on the outside, because all elderly people are evil, right?
Usula is literally based on the 1970's drag queen Divine. The resemblance is evident in the eye makeup, lips, cheekbones, and body shape.
(1961) Cruella has stringy, dyed hair, gaunt cheekbones, and the brows, eyeshadow, and lips Disney Villainesses are known for. Her image inspires many designs down the road.
(2000) Yzma becomes the villain when the movie's protagonist, Kuzco, fires her from her job as her advisor. Kuzco can be heard asking "what is holding this woman together," in reference to how old she is.
In an welcome change, Yzma is shown without her makeup, head covering, or false eyelashes when she is woken up in the middle of the night. However, the scene really only exists to drive home how scary she is because she is old.
Madame Medusa removing her false lashes after a long day of tormenting the protagonist paints a grotesque and bizarre picture, and most children don't know what she's really doing. Interestingly enough, Princesses are never shown without their thick, full eyelashes, much less removing them.
1998-2005, Season 6, Episode 5 This villainess gets her start after "trashy" makeup is declared out of vogue and the "dull" look is now 'in.' She bears a slight resemblance to Cruella de Vil. As a villain, she is driven to "put the trashy makeup on everything," and it's up to the cute protagonists to stop her from painting the whole town red.
2004-2007, Season 1, Episode 9 Spectra's sunglasses help mask her true intentions as she feeds off the negative energy and insecurity of her teenage victims. She has the usual purple eyeshadow, but her lip color is darker than any of the "good" female characters.
"Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," 2012 Dubois is the captain of an animal control unit tasked with trapping the movie's animal heroes. Her true intentions are to kill and stuff the lion character, Alex. The high contrast makeup helps in exaggerating her crazed facial expressions.
Dubois inspires her team to get back to work with a tearful rendition of "Non, je ne regrette rien," and her mascara actually runs! Heroines cry all the time, and their mascara never runs or flakes off.
Male villains are rarely seen with makeup, but Jafar is definitely wearing eyeliner. His eyebrows have the usual thick, dark, and arched appearance common in female villains.
Megamind pulls out all the stops with his most evil outfit, The Black Mamba. The getup features eyeliner and powder to give him a sallow, brooding appearance.
Malefecent wears very dark and defined eyeshadow that goes all the way to her arched brows, a common style for real life drag queens.
Mother Gothel keeps Rapunzel locked away so she can use the magical anti-aging properties of Rapunzel's hair. She wears very little makeup for a villain, but she still wears more than Rapunzel, the protagonist. Her vanity is her motivation and eventual downfall.
"The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show," 1960-1964 Natasha Fatale hits all the key points with her severe cheekbones, dark eyebrows, and dark red lips. She dresses much more provocatively than almost any other protagonist.
"The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle," 2014 The modern animated version of Natasha Fatale is just an HD rendition of the vintage design, with the added effects of shading and expression.
"Who Framed Rodger Rabbit?" 1988 "She's not bad, she's just drawn that way;" Jessica Rabbit is an iconic character, mostly for her body proportions. She is a textbook "seductress" villain and frames the hero for murder.
"Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas," 2003 Eris is a goddess of chaos and leading villain in the movie. She sends multiple monsters and obstacles after the heroes. She remarks on how "cute," Sinbad acts as a seductress.
"The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy," 2001-2007, Multiple Episodes In another interpretation of the goddess of chaos, this Eris also wears provocative clothing and heavy makeup.
Not all Villainess's wear the same amount of makeup, but they always have more makeup than their story's protagonist.
Villains are often portrayed as old and wrinkly, therefore needing makeup to make them look younger and beautiful. Other times, they are sultry seductresses, and their heavy makeup is paired with a risque outfit. Many Villainesses are driven by vanity or their need to be "fairest of them all."
​
Makeup worn by real life Drag Queens often features the heavy, arched brow, dark eyeshadow, dark lipstick, and harsh contour that can be found on animated villainesses. Go-to looks for villainesses is purple eyeshadow and red lips.