20 best movie villains of all time

Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove)

As a child, you may have found Yzma mean or scary the first time you watched The Emperor’s New Groove. But as we got older, we realized that maybe Yzma isn’t so bad. In fact, she’s just a strong woman who’s sick of being treated like garbage by her egotistical boss, Emperor Kuzco.

Yzma is power-hungry, manic, and malicious. She has zero remorse for her evil ways, and always manages to come up with unnecessarily elaborate plans for her evil-doing, such as when she tries to kill Kuzco for firing her after years of dedication to the kingdom but accidentally turns him into a llama instead. Her lovably dim henchman Kronk keeps her grounded, because her genius is always foiled by his misunderstandings.

So despite her evil ways, Yzma manages to be hilarious, sassy, and throws side-eye like no one else. She’s not ashamed of being a villain, and even in the movie’s spin-off show, The Emperor’s New School, she’s still evil and seeking her revenge on Kuzco, even if he tried to redeem himself. She’s also fabulous, even if she looks like she is 300 years old and slowly decomposing. She wears a slinky purple dress, a feathered choker, and an eccentric headpiece — plus she has her own secret lair. Every villain needs a signature look and an evil hideout!

Yzma really is one of those characters who we loved to hate as kids, but still appreciate as adults, because let’s face it, she is amazing, hilarious, and a real boss who’s just annoyed with all the incompetence around her. And honestly, who isn’t?