Stepmother

The famous evil stepmother, also known as Lady Tremaine, made her appearance in Disney's Cinderella.  She also makes appearances in the sequels Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.  If you would like a short summary of the movie, check out my post titled "Slippers Made of Glass."  Cinderella also had two stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella, who were considered to be evil as well; however, under the influence of their mother they were, but that they weren't truly evil.

Pros:
- Determined: She is not only determined to have her daughters married off to the prince, but she is also determined to keep Cinderella hidden from the rest of the world.
- Wants the best for herself and her daughters:  When she hears about the ball, she makes sure that her and her daughters get new dresses and look their best for the ball.  She would do anything for her daughters no matter what the cost.  For her stepdaughter, that is not the case.
Cons:
- Manipulative: 'like many villains, she is able to manipulated Cinderella into many things.  She always has something up her sleeve to ruin Cinderella's life.   
- Abusive: She forces her stepdaughter to sleep in an attic, to do all of the chores, doesn't let her socialize or leave the house and she locks her in the attic to keep her from coming down the stairs when the duke arrives.  Today, this would be called child abuse.
- Lazy: Really?  She cant do a single chore in the entire mansion of a house?  She cant make her own food?  How did she survive before Cinderella?

In Disney's live action film of Cinderella, the evil stepmother was given more of a backstory than in Disney's original.  I think this helped develop her character and personality and almost gave a reason to feel sympathy towards her, which Cinderella does in the movie.  I honestly believe that villains are the most interesting characters in any story.  It shows what a person can do under the influence of hatred and pain.  Everyone has a bit of evil inside of them and its interesting to watch evil unfold.

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The Fairest of Them All

The Evil Queen was featured in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  She is the very first villain in a Disney princess film!  Fun fact, her name is said to be Queen Grimhilde.  With a name like that, how do you expect your kid to be anything but evil.  If you would like a short summary of the movie, check out my post titled "An Apple a Day."

Pros:
- Strong: She is a strong female character (like many villains within Disney movies), regardless of if she is evil or not.
- Powerful: She is capable of manipulating Snow White as well as transforming herself into an old woman.  That takes a lot of power and a lot of guts.

Cons:
- Manipulative:  She manipulates Snow White and takes advantage of her kindness to kill her with the innocence of an apple.
- Jealous: Her only reasoning behind killing Snow White is that she is simply more beautiful than her.  I personally think the Evil Queen is a lot farther down the list of "the fairest of them all" than second to Snow White, but whatever.
- Murderous Tendencies: She simply wants Snow White dead and if that isn't bad enough, she makes somebody else do it for her.  Luckily he fails and she has to do it herself and look how that worked out. It's nothing we can look past right?... Right?

The Evil Queen isn't a very developed character throughout Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  None of the characters truly were at this point at Disney Studios.  I'm hoping her reasoning behind killing Snow White has a little bit more behind it, but I suppose we'll never know.

If you aren't satisfied with this story of Snow White, I would highly recommend Once Upon a Time on ABC.  It gives all the characters a nice background and makes them all a little less shallow and a lot more real.

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